IS SHEER SHOCKING ENOUGH?
By: Hali Mecklin
The 2023 VMAs proved that after decades of debate and scandal, sheer clothes are fully socially acceptable – but are they shocking anymore?
A host of A-listers and rising stars alike donned see-through ensembles at the yearly event, from Megan thee Stallion’s elegant mesh boned dress to Tinashe’s black transparent gown, complete with visible tape underwear. Male attendees also sported the look, with musician Prince Derek Doll arriving in an extravagant feathered mesh jumpsuit.
The reintroduction of sheer clothing to the mainstream can be reasonably attributed to Rihanna’s 2014 CFDA’s outfit, a slinky Adam Selman gown adorned with 230,000 hand-attached Swarovski crystals. The superstar, who won the Fashion Icon Award that night, said in her speech that fashion is “an outlet for me to express myself, to speak up, to say who I am and to be very loud about it at times.”
Evidently, she did just that with this outfit, which spurred viral memes and solidified itself as an iconic moment in awards show fashion and pop culture. See-through dresses have historically garnered similar incredible amounts of press, good and bad; Jennifer Lopez’ sheer chiffon Versace dress at the 2000 Grammy awards became the most searched dress on Google at the time, and is credited with creating Google image search.
This year, dozens of celebs showed up in gowns that would have monopolized the front covers of tabloids for weeks in the 2000s, but now don’t even warrant a trending hashtag. In the age of the internet, it seems that nudity has become monotonous.
Over the course of history, fashion trends have followed a cyclical pattern impacted by the economy. According to Masterworks, data going back to 1929 has shown that “style trends become riskier and more explorative during economic downturns.” In an effort to encourage shopping in years leading up to recessions, retailers experiment with interesting silhouettes and textures, like Doja Cat’s distressed spiderweb VMAs outfit.
However, directly following recessions, trends once again become more conservative and minimalist. Remember the odd fascination with business-casual clubbing outfits following the 2008 market crash? Even after the Great Depression, the rebellious and boyish women’s style of the 20s was replaced with “hemlines [that] descended back to ankle length and waistlines [that] moved back to their natural place,” according to the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Fashion History Timeline.
According to a recent Forbes article, a recession is predicted to hit by late 2023 or early 2024. Inflation rates are once again rising after recovering from a four decade high in summer 2022, and the cost of living rate has seen the highest increase this year since 1981 according to USA Today. All signs point to an impending economic downturn, and we’ve already begun to see the changes reflected in fashion trends.
As the public grows bored of risque fashion stunts, a new trend of professionalism and “old money” style is silently brewing. In accordance with the recession style cycle, traditional silhouettes and conservative choices are making a comeback. Blazers and loafers as casual wear are having a massive resurgence thanks to their Tik Tok virality, with classy bride and social media influencer, Sofia Richie, heading the trend.
While it’s impossible to predict where fashion will go in an unprecedented time of turbulence and interconnectivity, one thing is quite “clear”: Society is tired of sheer dresses.
A host of A-listers and rising stars alike donned see-through ensembles at the yearly event, from Megan thee Stallion’s elegant mesh boned dress to Tinashe’s black transparent gown, complete with visible tape underwear. Male attendees also sported the look, with musician Prince Derek Doll arriving in an extravagant feathered mesh jumpsuit.
The reintroduction of sheer clothing to the mainstream can be reasonably attributed to Rihanna’s 2014 CFDA’s outfit, a slinky Adam Selman gown adorned with 230,000 hand-attached Swarovski crystals. The superstar, who won the Fashion Icon Award that night, said in her speech that fashion is “an outlet for me to express myself, to speak up, to say who I am and to be very loud about it at times.”
Evidently, she did just that with this outfit, which spurred viral memes and solidified itself as an iconic moment in awards show fashion and pop culture. See-through dresses have historically garnered similar incredible amounts of press, good and bad; Jennifer Lopez’ sheer chiffon Versace dress at the 2000 Grammy awards became the most searched dress on Google at the time, and is credited with creating Google image search.
This year, dozens of celebs showed up in gowns that would have monopolized the front covers of tabloids for weeks in the 2000s, but now don’t even warrant a trending hashtag. In the age of the internet, it seems that nudity has become monotonous.
Over the course of history, fashion trends have followed a cyclical pattern impacted by the economy. According to Masterworks, data going back to 1929 has shown that “style trends become riskier and more explorative during economic downturns.” In an effort to encourage shopping in years leading up to recessions, retailers experiment with interesting silhouettes and textures, like Doja Cat’s distressed spiderweb VMAs outfit.
However, directly following recessions, trends once again become more conservative and minimalist. Remember the odd fascination with business-casual clubbing outfits following the 2008 market crash? Even after the Great Depression, the rebellious and boyish women’s style of the 20s was replaced with “hemlines [that] descended back to ankle length and waistlines [that] moved back to their natural place,” according to the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Fashion History Timeline.
According to a recent Forbes article, a recession is predicted to hit by late 2023 or early 2024. Inflation rates are once again rising after recovering from a four decade high in summer 2022, and the cost of living rate has seen the highest increase this year since 1981 according to USA Today. All signs point to an impending economic downturn, and we’ve already begun to see the changes reflected in fashion trends.
As the public grows bored of risque fashion stunts, a new trend of professionalism and “old money” style is silently brewing. In accordance with the recession style cycle, traditional silhouettes and conservative choices are making a comeback. Blazers and loafers as casual wear are having a massive resurgence thanks to their Tik Tok virality, with classy bride and social media influencer, Sofia Richie, heading the trend.
While it’s impossible to predict where fashion will go in an unprecedented time of turbulence and interconnectivity, one thing is quite “clear”: Society is tired of sheer dresses.