‘This isn’t very #MeToo,’ an editor whispered as we watched a parade of see-through dresses float by on a Paris runway during Couture Week, the models’ pert breasts and knickers on show for all to see.
There are few trends as divisive as sheer dresses right now. Most young shoppers don’t think twice about it, while over-35s balk.
Celebrities rely on them as a racy, red-carpet staple, while fashion insiders dismiss the idea as the desperate attention-grab of the unimaginative. Some feminists consider that sheer garments pander to the male gaze, while others view them as a symbolic stand against victim- and slut-shaming.
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Yet transparency is inescapable and perhaps even more so in recent seasons. The spring runways were filled with literal sheer madness. It was one big reveal.
Christopher Kane explored the idea for spring 2019, featuring gauzy, airy dresses with bejewelled buttons, mesh frocks with sporty zippers, and provocative lace styles for cocktail hour with cut-outs.
Meanwhile, Maria Grazia Chiuri showed electric-coloured sheer skirts and dresses worn over striped and bedazzled bodysuits for Dior SS19.
Designers presented transparency for both day (Jonathan Anderson’s barely-there, see-through sweater dress for Loewe, Preen’s pastel, wispy asymmetry and Isabel Marant’s ivory eyelet minis) and evening (the dramatically flowing, diaphanous gowns at Valentino, Gucci, Chanel and more).
We’ve seen translucent done subversively sweet at Simone Rocha and bombshell-Barbie-style at Balmain. ‘I loved how Miuccia Prada put transparent slip dresses over sweaters and knitted underwear beneath coats. The lightness of a transparent garment worn over clothes is just a really nice treat for the eyes,’ says All The Pretty Birds editor and influencer Tamu McPherson.
On the runways, sheer dressing was far from a one-note trend, but the reaction from critics was, by and large, a unanimous ‘non’.
Simply put: it’s the thing fashion insiders love to hate. Blame Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashian family, with their wardrobes full of naked dresses.
The cultural context is what makes the look so controversial right now. Last year, The New York Times described concealing clothes as ‘the defining sartorial style of the 2010s’. We’re dressing in the age of modesty, when the slightest sight of nipple, thong or thigh feels particularly transgressive and off-script. But should it?
Can You Wear Sheer Now?
The #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault heightens the collective ‘need’ to shield one’s body. The 2018 awards-season red carpet was the most modest in recent history, with A-list Hollywood actresses largely wearing high-neck dresses, black tailoring and long sleeves — which they rightfully refused to talk about, instead using the opportunity to shine a light on issues of misogyny and the gender pay gap.
It seems old fashioned to dismiss a pretty, sheer skirt or provocative, chest-baring dress as counter to feminism, though.
To quote the popular social media meme, aren’t we all fighting for the right to be ‘girls doing whatever the fuck we want’ in 2018 – self-expression, clothing and all?
And yet, I readily admit one can hardly assign a naked dress the heft and power of, say, the Free The Nipple movement. But if a woman wants to flash the flesh through a thin layer of tulle, more power to her – judge not.
How Do You Style Sheer Clothes?
On a more logistical note, sheer dressing can seem tedious to style, especially if you aren’t into the idea of flashing underwear or the body parts they’re meant to conceal.
Finding the right slip, camisole or bra to hold all the right things in place while not revealing all the wrong things can be a time-consuming hassle.
So I avoid the problem altogether by using sheer as a decorative top layer over T-shirts, rollnecks, trousers and denim. And I’m hardly the only one.
At ELLE, editor-in-chief Anne-Marie Curtis likes to wear her see-through tulle skirt by Simone Rocha over a black rollneck and cigarette trousers… to the office. Because, yes, sheer dressing works for work, too!
‘Sheer has historically been quite a tricky thing to wear if you’re not on the catwalk or the red carpet. It has its pitfalls. The idea of seeing someone’s underwear can read tacky,’ Anne-Marie admits.
‘But it’s not about showing skin, it’s about using the sheer as a layer over an opaque base, like tights or very narrow trousers,’ she continues. Tamu, who has been known to wear a tulle dress over jeans, agrees: ‘I love that kind of play between transparency and solid. It leaves something to the imagination.’
People also dismiss the trend because sheer can look chintzy.
Scroll through the stock on your favourite high street e-tailers’ dot-coms and the fabrics can often make you wince. Sheer at a high-street price point can look cheap and flammable, but there are also good deals to be had: a shimmery, floral midi dress at Zara, for example, or a Topshop version with beaded peacock feathers, both of which look more expensive than they actually are.
So why bother to wear a piece if it seems so… fraught? Because if you’re going for a brand of femininity that is rebellious, or romantic, or cool, or pretty, or airy, or elegant, or a bit punk, or a little grunge, sheer can be one or all of those things.
Like anything in fashion, it’s all about how you style it out.
Sheer Bliss: Fashion For The Fearless
Kenya Hunt is the Editor-in-Chief of ELLE UK. Her career spans working for some of the world's most influential women’s titles on both sides of the Atlantic from her post-graduate days as an Assistant Editor at the seminal magazine, Jane, to her time as Deputy Editor of Grazia UK and ELLE UK. As the founder of R.O.O.M. Mentoring, she advocates for greater diversity within the fashion industry by providing a supportive network for some of the many talented aspiring designers, journalists and image makers of colour London has to offer. In 2021, she was recognised by The British Fashion Council for her work and given a Global Leader Of Change Award at its annual Fashion Awards. An American based in London, she lives south of the river with her husband and two sons. Her critically-acclaimed book, Girl: Essays on Black Womanhood (HarperCollins/HQ), is out now.
