A Modern Take on Body Shaping
It’s no secret that throughout fashion’s entire history that body shaping has changed the way it has presented itself through trends over time. With this also came beauty standards.
Contrary to the older forms of body shaping we saw way back when, the modern day spin is far less painful and being done in loose ways that don’t bring such a focus on slimming but styling an outfit instead.
Each season the corset is rethought by designers, so it is crucial to dicuss it’s evolution.
The idea of the “ideal” body presented itself over different periods of time and different cultures. Each time and place had a different definition of what was considered ideal beauty. From the 1800’s until the 1950’s (which in retrospec isn’t that long ago) clothing was used to change the way bodies were outwardly presented.
Nowadays, the corset is being reworked outside the world of lingerie and into the world of streetwear. Whether you layer, button up, or button down, styling a corset into your everyday looks has never been easier because of how many ways people are learning to style with them.
Dion Lee SS20
Claudia Smith SS20
Dion Lee SS20
Many designers forecasted for the re-worked corset to be trending this current Spring and Summer. Different approaches to body shaping range widely between insanley tight looks, to looks that don’t even really cling to your body at all. Some designers we saw style the corset on the runway this season were Dion Lee, Claudia Smith, and Jacquemus.
Dion Lee took a minimalistic view simply in the color story chosen for the runway show. A big focus with Dion Lee’s looks revolved around layering simple shapes and adding depth by breaking up outfits with different fabrics from lace to knits. Using these types of fabrics also brought in the corset’s past of being a lingerie staple, and showing how this type of look is accepted to be worn as modern day street style, not an undergarment.
Claudia Smith’s approach to this trend was brought out largely through acessories. We have been seening a lot of different belting options make themselves present this season, so using it to mimic a corset and body shape is just a new spin on an old classic. What made Claudia Smith’s collection so different than many others with similar styles was the looseness the belts gave the garments. Allowing the focus to not actually be about shaping the body to be something it isn’t allows for wearers to show their body to the world for what it really is. Embracing trends with bigger pictures like this can hopefully later down the line help fix body insecurity and inclusion issues.
Jacquemus SS20
