REVEALED SUMMER 2023 - Flipbook - Page 44
Not Your
Grandmother’s Girdle
BY LAUREN DAVID PEDEN
Shapewear Enters a New Era
trend recently seen on the runways
Shapewear has been a wardrobe
staple since brands like Spanx
at Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent,
and Miraclesuit revolutionized
Michael Kors, and Prabal Gurung.
the market in the early aughts,
This is leading to a resurgence
evolving the conversation from
in the popularit y of cur ve-
“girdle” to “shapewear.” Today,
enhancing
brands like Skims, Fenty and
structured corsets. These pieces
bodysuits
and
Lizzo’s line, Yitty, are putting a
are designed to be worn solo
new spin on the category with
or peeking out from beneath a
boxy blazer or button-down.
more inclusive st yles, sizes,
patterns and colors to complement
Ditto the “look ma, no pants!”
a broader range of body types and
trend, which can be easily—and
skin tones.
flatteringly—achieved with shapewear
These are not your grandmother’s rib-
briefs or boy shorts, as well as the recent
crushing girdles. In addition to more
uptick in sheer dresses and tops (see
inclusive sizing and colors, high-tech,
lightweight fabrications have made these
foundation garments more natural and
easier to wear, with comfort and versatility
leading the charge, especially as women
head back to the office and out on the
town post-pandemic.
“The fabric of shapewear
has to be reinvented. It
has to be lighter, thinner
and completely sheer.”
Kamakshi Agarwala,
Founder and CEO of Butt-Chique
Prada, Miu Miu, Tory Burch, Tibi, Dries van
Noten) and nip-waist hourglass or peplum
looks (Jason Wu, Alaia, Versace, Dior, Dolce
& Gabbana, Brandon Maxwell), all of which
require the proper underpinnings to
showcase the wearer’s assets best.
“ The lines bet ween inner wear and
“There has been a decline in the popularity of excessively tight
outerwear continue to coincide,” says Kamakshi Agarwala,
or restrictive styles that compromise comfort and mobility,”
founder and CEO of Butt-Chique, citing colorful, eye-catching
says Juan Pablo Pastor, export coordinator of Fajitex, which
corsets as a significant trend. For summer’s sheer looks, he
makes butt-lifting shorts and long-line, post-surgery and post-
adds, “neutrals are still the most popular choice because
partum shapewear along with more standard compression
women want their shapewear to match their complexion and
garments. “Consumers are increasingly looking for shapewear
be invisible under dresses.” To this end, Butt-Chique offers skin
that offers all-day comfort without sacrificing functionality and
tone-matching body tape and colorful, meant-to-be-seen star
freedom of movement.”
or heart-shaped Passion Pasties for those who dare to bare all.
Consumers are also embracing the underwear-as-outerwear
With the return to special occasion dressing (weddings, proms,
R E V E A LED - T HE SU MME R IS SUE #9
