It’s 1993, and Kate Moss is attending Elite Model’s “Look of the Year” party in a completely sheer slip dress and little black briefs. It’s 1998, and Charlotte York tells Carrie Bradshaw her backless DKNY slip for her first date with Big on Sex and the City looks more like a “naked dress.” It’s 2014, and Rihanna is crowned the CFDA’s Fashion Icon, braless under a starry pink net of Swarovski crystals. It’s 2015, and Beyoncé is ascending the Met Gala steps cloaked in a Givenchy gown made up of nude tulle and strategically-placed crystals. It’s 2024, and Emily Ratajkowski or Zoë Kravitz or [insert your preferred KarJenner here] is arriving at some red carpet, somewhere, in a corset or sheath that leaves nothing to the imagination.
All those outfits are variations on the same red carpet theme: naked dressing, which has become a catch-all term for garments that include sheer fabrics, strategic cut-outs, and body-hugging silhouettes that reveal more than they conceal. It’s become the default mode when celebrities want to be seen.
