Bare-Naked Ladies: How Nudity Became Fall’s Hot Topic on the Runways

Feminism has been a hot-button issue in pop culture lately—whether through the lens of a TV show like Girls or a moment such as Beyoncé’s VMA appearance, when she performed with the word feminist spelled out in bold letters behind her. In fashion, the topic has manifested in a myriad of ways, from Chanel’s Spring ’15 protest march-cum-runway show to an abundance of “Free the Nipple”-type nudity on the Fall ’15 catwalks. “I think with all the minimalism and androgyny fashion has experienced in the past seasons, designers are exploring more the sexuality of women and expressing the beauty of the human form,” mused MyTheresa’s Justin O’Shea on the abundance of T-and-A in New York, London, Milan, and Paris.
The subject of nudity started trending on the very first day of the Fall collections at the Rachel Comey show with a performance by Tracee Ellis Ross as Madame Hiver, a life coach whose proclamations included, “Your vagina wants to sing!” and “It’s just a vagina. It’s a scary thing, isn’t it?” A week later in London, Christopher Kane put said private parts, as well as other parts of the female and male anatomy, on display in a series of guipure lace dresses showing intertwined nude figures. “I wanted a feeling of attraction and sensuality in the collection, something sexual but not grotesque,” Kane told Style.com of the designs inspired by figure drawings made by his studio. “It reflects that sense of togetherness, of male and female in an almost molecular and mechanical attraction, as well as a more classical sensuality—both feelings that I wanted to come across this season.”
In Paris, nakedness really caught on, with breast-shaped bags at Lemaire, topless models at Jacquemus, and Lida Fox power-strutting down the Saint Laurent runway with a single breast exposed by her one-shouldered dress. “That dress was actually created the last time I did a worldwide exclusive for Saint Laurent for Spring ’14, but it wasn’t used in the collection in the end,” Fox said. “When they brought it back this time, I was so happy and then of course elated when I found out I got to wear it! We always called it the mono-boob dress,” she went on, confirming that indeed the dress is meant to be worn with one breast exposed. “I think that now was the perfect time for the dress, though, with the whole Free the Nipple movement and the increasing exposure of feminism.”
Others in the industry agree, citing the abundance of nudity as a pro-feminist act that exalts the power of the female body. “I think in this case it’s also really about female confidence and the fact that we’re more confident with our bodies, and maybe this is a more proactive approach,” said Avenue 32 founder Roberta Benteler. “Maybe this is us saying, ‘We are the ones who say yes to nakedness, as opposed to being objectified on Page Three,’” she continued, referencing the British tabloid The Sun’s habit of publishing nude pictures of women. “In general, I think it’s all about the ’70s at the moment,” Benteler added. “It’s that sort of ’70s free spirit, about female empowerment, sex, and rock ’n’ roll. In that sense I also think it’s not asexual; it’s very sexy. Sexy is back, the big hair is back, the makeup is back, the platform shoes are back, the miniskirt is back, and it all ties in with that. It’s about confidence.”
Philosophical discussions aside, will clothes like this sell? It seems that buyers, for the most part, are unfazed. “I’m not freaked out about it because there is always a more commercial version available in the showroom,” Benteler said. As for pieces that depict the human form, from Lemaire’s “boobs and ass” leather bag to Kane’s orgy dresses, O’Shea explained that while these pieces might not translate to retail in a “commercial way, there is always a customer for statement pieces.”
Still, when the question as to whether MyTheresa would advocate for wearing one’s Jacquemus pants sans shirt was asked, O’Shea laughed, “I am no prude, but in this case it’s not a styling tip I would be promoting. At least not in public…”
Are you pro or con Fall’s bare-naked ladies? See 12 statement-making nudes from the Fall collections in the slideshow, and weigh in below.