In 2025, is fashion about bodies or clothes?

At the latest The Row show, the models walked barefoot, with their feet and legs wrapped only in thick black tights. Also in Paris, Alaïa presented maximalist designs, monochrome but three-dimensional dresses that twisted around the bodies, leaving only the models’ torsos exposed. At Chloé, rapper Doechii created a stir by appearing covered in cascading ruffles and fur but barefoot. The body was also in the spotlight in independent fashion, with young Dutch designer Duran Lantink pairing tailored trousers with torso and breasts-shaped prosthetics. While the obsession with nudity is nothing new in the fashion industry, the trend among luxury and alternative brands to celebrate the body this season has revealed a previously unseen side of contemporary fashion. Even in Milan, the 2000s bumster jeans presented by Diesel—and the subsequent movement they generated on social media—raise a significant question about the true interest of the public and consumers: what do we value more, the body or the clothes? One inevitably depends on the other, but now that fashion is becoming increasingly conservative, the creative direction of fashion houses more and more homogenised, and consumer passions increasingly driven by nostalgia, the narrative of bodies during Fashion Week seems to have gained extraordinary importance.

Even when bodies were completely covered by clothing, in recent days the main focus of design has been on body proportions. At Miu Miu, pointed bras deformed the models' nipples, indicating a search for the meaning of femininity, a theme that designer Miuccia Prada and stylist Lotta Volkova dedicated the season to. Meanwhile, once again at Duran Lantink, the shapes of more traditional garments, such as tartan skirts and Aran sweaters, became so voluminous that they appeared grotesque. In their own way, Lantink's strange silhouettes recalled the famous SS97 collection by Comme des Garçons, where humps and padded shoulders distorted the body wrapped in gingham patterns. The collection became a symbol of 90s countercultural fashion, which at the time was desperately trying to distinguish itself from the 80s and its obsession with sculpted bodies and Amazonian models. «The clothes could be the body and the body could be the clothes», commented Rei Kawakubo in UNLIMITED: COMME des GARÇONS. «This was an idea for possible new clothes. I didn’t expect them to be easy garments to be worn every day, but Comme des Garçons clothes should always be new to the world and inspiring».

Even the bumster jeans reintroduced by Diesel originate from the 90s. It was Alexander McQueen, fresh out of fashion design school, who first brought them to the runway with the FW93 collection, Taxi Driver, and again two years later with FW95, Highland Rape. In both cases, the designer presented completely standard garments such as jeans and tailored trousers with a waistline so low that it exposed the upper part of the buttocks. The look shocked many for its vulgarity, but it quickly established itself as a radical innovation. Later, McQueen explained that the invention was meant to show that exposing the lower back in such a way, as if it were a décolleté, dramatically elongated the female torso, essentially altering the body’s proportions with a single tailoring trick. It wasn’t about sexualizing the female body but rather enhancing it—giving women, in some way, the freedom to choose how they were perceived. One of the most famous quotes from the English designer states: «I design clothes because I don’t want women to look all innocent and naive. I don’t like women to be taken advantage of. I don’t like men whistling at women in the street. I think they deserve more respect. I like men to keep their distance from women. I like men to be stunned by an entrance. I’ve seen a woman get nearly beaten to death by her husband. I know what misogyny is. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress.»

It is a critical time for women's bodies. Until just a few seasons ago, fashion and pop culture exuded a sense of freedom, with the increasing presence of curvy and plus-size models on the runway and the rise of the radical self-acceptance movement gaining ground on social media and red carpets. However, new phenomena have halted the trend. First, the rise of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, then the return of ethical and aesthetic conservatism. The luxury financial crisis delivered the final blow to inclusivity, suddenly shifting nostalgia from Y2K to the 1950s. But just as the 2000s brought back velour tracksuits, the era of trad wives has dragged along a whole set of values we thought we had left behind, from modesty to outdated gender roles. In this period where the body is a political battleground, designers have stepped in to make their statements—subtly, so as not to upset the higher-ups. This Fashion Month has demonstrated a renewed interest in femininity: at Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello chose to eliminate trousers, while Hermès, a house long synonymous with quiet luxury, sent a confident, assertive woman down the runway—a dominatrix clad in glossy leather suits that exposed skin with sharp cut-outs.

Will the blend of traditional clothing and modern femininity appeal to consumers? Take Miu Miu, for example, a brand that has led the movement with its office-siren and coquette aesthetics: in 2024, it reached (yet another) revenue record, with an overall sales increase of 93%. Even the FW25 bras have already driven both the public and models crazy—«All the girls were excited, they wanted them more pointy», Miuccia Prada said after the show. In hindsight, the collection carried an enticing double political meaning: on one hand, the traditional depiction of women; on the other, the inclusion of trans models in the show’s cast (a theme that was central even at London Fashion Week thanks to designers Willy Chavarria and Conner Ives). The social significance of the pointed bra escapes conservatives who would criticize a politically charged show, which makes it—pardon the pun—even sharper. Like all trends, fashion’s recent infatuation with quiet luxury, gender distinctions, and modesty may already be running out of steam. From this Fashion Month, once again marked by chaos and shifts in creative direction, one thing is clear: when fashion cannot speak freely, it will always find a way to do so through the body.