With Paris Fashion Week running until next Wednesday, all eyes are currently on the catwalk to see what trends women will wear next season. Will ‘quiet luxury’ finally die a death? Maybe miniskirts are back in fashion.
As challenging as they are to wear, a miniskirt at least offers some coverage; the primary function, one might think, of clothing. But apparently not for Anthony Vaccarello, the creative director of Saint Laurent, whose new collection showed off more nipples than you’d spy on a Swedish nudist beach. Of the 48 looks shown, 36 featured tops so sheer they left nothing to the imagination.
If Saint Laurent weren’t one of the most influential – read “copied” labels in the firmament, this wouldn’t be so alarming. But where YSL leads, the high street usually follows. This means that the pure trend is unlikely to remain within the confines of the catwalk.
After the show, Vaccarello said, “I’d rather have people love it or hate it than not feel anything at all.” There is certainly no danger of that. Reactions ranged from anger to surprise to bewilderment, with some critics seeing it as a step backwards at a time when women’s bodies are already highly objectified.
As provocative as the collection was, it was far from new territory for the legendary French house. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent outraged Parisian society by showing off a see-through blouse and saying, “Nothing is more beautiful than a naked body.”
It is an opinion that is probably shared by the new designer at Chloé. Chemena Kamali’s debut collection included a series of sheer dresses that left the models’ breasts clearly visible, in an aesthetic that echoed Karl Lagerfeld’s stint at the fashion house in the 1970s.
It seems fashion’s current obsession with the ’90s extends beyond hipster jeans to embrace that decade’s penchant for bare breasts. In 1991, Sonia Rykiel sent model Tyra Banks down the runway in a fishnet top that exposed her nipples.
In 1992 – the same year that the New York Supreme Court changed nudity laws, allowing women to go topless in public – Madonna appeared in a Jean Paul Gaultier show held to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research, wearing a dress with pinstripe that stopped cutting. of her breasts, which were completely visible and were given a fetishistic undertone by means of a leather harness. In 1993, Naomi Campbell’s breast deliberately fell out of a lavender dress at a Chanel couture show.
The number of nipples remained sky high throughout the 1990s, especially in the European cities of Milan and Paris. During his tenure at Gucci, Tom Ford often incorporated exposed nipples into his collections, as did John Galliano, both in his eponymous collections and in the collections he designed as creative director of Christian Dior. Whether it was by exposing them in sheer fabric or letting them slip out of a low-cut silk shirt, the sight of nipples was so common that they almost lost their ability to shock.
Translated to the advertising world, this was less the case. While ‘nip slips’ on the catwalk may be viewed with ambivalence, on a billboard there is no intention other than deliberation. In 1992, a Calvin Klein jeans ad featuring the then 17-year-old Kate Moss wearing nothing but jeans caused controversy, not least because she looked so young. “Sex sells” was one of Calvin Klein’s favorite mantras, and Moss was one of his favorite models, often appearing topless in his advertisements. It wasn’t until 2022 that the supermodel admitted she had “not very good memories” of the experience. Speaking Desert Island Drivesshe said she had felt “vulnerable and scared” during the 1992 shoot, adding, “I was quite young and innocent, so Calvin loved that.”
The model and socialite Sophie Dahl had similar regrets when she appeared nude in a 2000 ad for Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium fragrance, in which she cupped a breast in her hand as she lay naked on the floor, save for a pair of high heels . The Advertising Standards Authority lists it as the eighth most complained about advertisement of all time. In 2003, Dahl said she was ashamed of showing so much flesh and called for less nudity in advertisements.
Photographers, like fashion designers, will generally argue that provocation is not their primary motive and defend any nudity as ‘art’. Alexander McQueen used this defense in his infamous 1995 ‘Highland Rape’ collection, which featured models in see-through tops, and was labeled misogynistic in some quarters. The show featured both tartan and naked breasts, and was a statement about “the rape of Scotland,” McQueen explained. Known for his meticulous research and historical references, his argument was widely accepted. McQueen always liked to shock, but nudity usually served a greater purpose.
Vaccarello makes similar claims. His show notes explained that his goal was “to remind us of what was once central to fashion by making it invisible: clothes.” In other words, the profusion of bare breasts was a commentary on how nudity has become too important, at the expense of clothing.
“I’m not sure how many women’s hearts will leap at the sight of the repeatedly exposed garments on display in Paris this week; mine is not, but I am not in the relevant target group,” says Justine Picardie, biographer of Chanel and author of Mrs. Diorand the former editor of Harper’s Bazaar.
“There is nothing new about revealing nipples – as evidenced in every museum or art gallery, from the earliest depictions of goddesses, madonnas, mistresses and muses. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent unveiled his pure designs that seem to have inspired Vaccarello’s latest collection for the brand. It’s also worth remembering that Saint Laurent also launched its iconic ‘Le Smoking’ jacket in 1966, at the same time as those fleetingly provocative sheer pieces; and he certainly seems to have regarded the tuxedo as the most important of his designs.
That jacket is, as we all know, Saint Laurent’s most worn creation – especially on the streets of Great Britain. The modern woman does not seek social commentary on her clothing. She is looking for wardrobe solutions. So while she may appreciate the clever artistry of the nipple reveal on the runway, that’s right there. There are easier ways to stay on top of fashion than by exposing them.