The Spanx backlash has begun. Functional underwear hidden under a little black dress is over: in 2016, underwear will be pale, loose, silky – and on show.
Underwear as outerwear is back, but this time without the sleaze. The first image released from the new Givenchy advertising campaign shows eight models in what are, in fashion speak, lace-edged, spaghetti-strapped, lingerie-inspired outfits. Nighties, in other words. Imagine the dreamy sisters from the Virgin Suicides, if they had been street-cast from an Alexander Wang store and shot in a New York loft, and you’ve got the look.
The Céline spring/summer collection teamed vintage-look silk slips in ivory and black with daywear-appropriate flat shoes and boots, and work-sized handbags. The Chanel Metiers d’Art show in Rome earlier this month showed filmy black slip dresses edged with lace, layered over sheer tights and under cardigans.
The appeal of lingerie-inspired dressing is not a head-scratcher to decipher. This is a sexy way to dress. The challenge that the new season’s look tackles head on is how to channel underwear-as-outerwear in a way that doesn’t read like the beginning of a striptease. Early adopters in the fashion industry are wearing next-season’s camisoles already, layering their under layers over polo necks for after-work drinks. Inside-out dressing is next season’s first look. Just don’t try it with Spanx.
