Paris has been inundated with nipples this week.
Some bites are more acceptable than others in the strange world of modern body politics.
At the Yves St Laurent couture show, fashion editors praised an army of perky, edgy nipples paired with oversized pants as the epitome of high elegance. A brave few had the courage to declare the relentless parade of naked flesh “boring.”
A handful of publicity-hungry personalities in the front row dared to appear braless and in loose clothing, to the delight of the assembled press.
But stripping off your underwear to make a splash can be risky, as Kanye West’s wife Bianca Censori discovered when she got the nod for her topless, bottomless (if you can call it that) dinner dress worn at a restaurant. elegant in the same city. one day before.
Bianca might be a laughing stock, but other topless women have fared better. Actress Florence Pugh (an avid fan of frontal display) says critics are making a big deal about nothing. That women should be able to show their breasts and not attract sexist comments or criticism.
Bianca Censori put on a defiant display when she went out to dinner with husband Kanye West in Paris this week.
Models appear braless at Paris Fashion Week on February 27.
Janet Street-Porter (pictured) writes that publicity-hungry stars ditching their bras in the name of girl power have set feminism back 50 years.
Oh, if only life were that simple.
Taking out your boobs and claiming that it is an act of empowerment is an absolute lie. Gratuitous nudity is divisive and makes many women feel inferior, old and ugly. Everything we have been trying to eradicate in the last decade.
In the 1960s, when feminists burned their bras, they claimed that women had the right to dress however they wanted. They didn’t say never wear a bra again. A bra is not a garment designed to reduce women’s size. It has a practical purpose. Since then, women’s underwear has revolutionized: it’s cheap, comfortable and there’s a bra for everyone who wants one.
Selling the braless style as haute couture is a sign that the best designers are not interested in appealing to all women, they are not interested in equality or the real lives we lead, unlike some moments of high profile in the industry. Red carpet. They are obsessed, like many of their celebrity clients, with one thing: getting noticed, whipping up their brand and shoring up their stock price.
The current trend of exposing flesh in the name of feminism began in July 2022, when Florence Pugh wore a sheer pink dress by another couturier, Valentino (complemented by a nose ring), and the images received widespread coverage around the world. . She said: “We are so terrified of the human body that we can never look at my two pretty nipples behind the fabric in a non-sexual way.”
Taking off your underwear to make a splash can be risky, as Kanye West’s wife Bianca Censori discovered when she got the nod for her topless, bottomless (if you can call it that) dinner dress worn at a fancy restaurant. in Paris.
A model walks the runway during the Saint Laurent Womenswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week.
At the Yves St Laurent couture show, fashion editors praised an army of perky, edgy nipples paired with oversized pants as the epitome of high elegance.
Before that, actresses and celebrities opted for controlled nudity on the red carpet to ensure maximum press coverage, using their bodies to slam movies, albums, you name it. From Kim Kardashian to countless young actresses, showing a little flesh is always guaranteed to get you noticed.
First was the strategic leg sticking out at a ridiculous angle in a split skirt. Then the side boob…how ugly was that? Now it’s the nipples. It has nothing to do with freedom of expression and everything to do with a superiority, the art of selling. Promote a designer’s name using their body. Nowadays you can promote a movie with your nipples.
Good luck, but don’t say it’s new, it’s groundbreaking, because it isn’t.
He is politically naive.
Worn by beautiful models with youthful teenage bodies at the Yves St Laurent show, sheer tops and see-through skirts made of the same fragile nylon as thin stockings, the garments may look elegant, but practical – not at all! Since 2016, Yves St Laurent designer Anthony Vaccarello has created form-fitting, brilliantly tailored garments that have been hugely successful and widely copied.
The current trend of exposing flesh in the name of feminism began in July 2022, when Florence Pugh wore a sheer pink dress by another couturier, Valentino (complemented by a nose ring), and the images received widespread coverage around the world. .
They have never been sluts. But last year, St Laurent, like many couture houses, suffered a drop in sales. And the best way to get publicity seems to have been to jump on the nudity bandwagon. It helped that Instagram ‘banned’ nipples, so you could say you’re taking a stand. Top designers like Chloe and Valentino have also created sheer pieces that stars like Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa have enthusiastically worn at major events.
Women with the bodies of a girl or young teenager. No woman over 40 would be seen dead in a topless dress; It is the ultimate sign of desperation, of longing for attention at any price. Both Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista appeared at the St Laurent show wearing large coats. That was a political statement.
Others were more willing to put themselves out there in exchange for publicity.
Braless, front row at St Laurent, proudly wearing her slippery, loose top, was Georgia May Jagger, 32, along with Olivia Wilde, 39, a one-time actress and director and ex-girlfriend of Harry Styles, whose last film Don’t Worry Darling received terrible reviews. Olivia, in a sheer stocking, aviator sunglasses and a pencil skirt, looked incredible. This woman must spend hours perfecting a perfect body in the gym.
Some people might say that Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, also has a wonderful body, a curvy and rounded physique, the type of body that artists and painters dreamed of a century ago, but that the fashion industry tends to ignore today, despite claiming that fashion is more accessible and inclusive.
Kanye West and his wife Bianca Censori go out to dinner at Ferdi restaurant in Paris this week
About a day before the St Laurent show, a garment made from the same type of fine fabric, worn by Bianca Censori, attracted nothing but ridicule, not to mention threats of a fine for violating French public decency laws. The mute muse attracted a lot of attention when the couple went out to dinner in Paris, and Bianca seemed to have forgotten not only her bra, but also her pants.
This odd couple has spent months touring Europe with Bianca parading around in a series of ugly clothes, presumably designed by her husband. They have certainly made sure that she never leaves the press, despite her controversial reputation. She seems happy to be paraded around like a show pony, walking alongside the large man (who is usually covered from head to toe in baggy clothing and wearing a mask). Bianca doesn’t seem particularly happy to me.
In the precious and demanding world of haute couture, fashion editors might claim that transparency is the latest thing, but it’s nothing new. Yves St Laurent created the first transparent blouse in 1966, a truly revolutionary gesture at the time. He later posed completely naked for the advertising campaign for his first men’s fragrance, Pour Homme, photographed by the legendary Jeanloup Sieff.
Yves St Laurent said at the time that “there is nothing more beautiful than a naked body” and there is currently an exhibition titled “Transparency” in his Paris museum.
I would be horrified by the Nippuestate.
As for Kim Kardashian’s nipple-embedded Teardrop bra, Skims’ advertising claims that a “fake nipple” will provide a “shock factor.”
Is this what feminists fought for more than half a century ago?