It appears that a new fashion trend has been ushered in at the Cannes Film Festival, worn by the likes of Sydney Sweeney, Scarlett Johansson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. The iconic exposed bras of the early 2000s have made a comeback, but not everyone is fully on board with a seemingly half-baked iteration of a once-beloved trend.
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney stepped out in Cannes, France, wearing a silky slip dress layered over a powder-blue Miu Miu bra, with its cups and straps peering over the bustier top. While waltzing through the lobby of the Hotel Martinez with her fiancé Jonathan Davino, Sweeney paired the visible bra look with white platform heels and small diamond hoop earrings.
Over on the Cannes red carpet for the premiere of Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, actor Scarlett Johansson showed off her own version of the exposed bra trend with a pale pink custom Prada number. The light pink column dress included a thin-strapped white bra built into the bodice.
Meanwhile, model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley embraced the exposed bra trend in Fendi couture. Her white thigh-slit gown came equipped with a sparkly bra insert. In fact, much of the Fendi Spring 2023 couture collection was dominated by visible bras and negligee-inspired ensembles.
Underwear as fashion is nothing new. Pop icons of the early to mid-2000s, like Amy Winehouse and Nicki Minaj, were rocking the visible bra trend before it was cool. In the 2004 comedy Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan’s character Cady Heron unabashedly wore a hot pink bra under her satin strapless dress as she made her way to the top of the high school food chain. Plus, who could forget the recent revival of the controversial “whale tail” trend?
Some people online are praising the return of the beloved exposed bra, while others believe these A-list celebrities aren’t fully embracing the resurgence.
“Actually loving this ‘visible bra’ trend we’re seeing at Cannes! It’s so cute to me and pokes a bit of fun at a common faux pas that really shouldn’t be one imo [in my opinion],” said one person on Twitter, while another wrote: “Whatever this ‘exposed bra’ trend is I don’t like it, let’s get back to the drawing board.”
Someone else pointed out that wearing visible cups “has to be done right,” as they showed images of rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice perfecting the exposed bra trend.
On the other hand, many people believed that a black-tie, red carpet event like the Cannes Film Festival wasn’t the appropriate occasion for an otherwise casual fashion trend. Rather than accompanying bra straps with a floor-length gown, it seems fashion lovers would prefer if celebrities stuck to the basics.
“They’re trying to make it classy and elegant when it has to be the exact opposite!” one user claimed.
As exposed bras are set to become one of the biggest fashion moments of the year, others are hoping that the emerging trend will soon be done right, like one person, who wrote: “Maybe the executions so far are bad and we’re just not seeing the vision yet.”
Aside from underwear and bras, there have been many best-dressed moments from this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The Great star Elle Fanning turned heads with her silver Paco Rabanne dress – which was declared the “party dress of the season” and included long, shard-like sequins and two metal cut-out snowflakes that covered the actor’s chest.
Jennifer Lawrence arrived on the red carpet on Sunday wearing a crimson Christian Dior couture gown featuring a corset bustier with ruffled bust and matching red shawl. But it was her footwear that really stood out as the Oscar-winner opted for a pair of casual black flip-flops instead of heels.
Stranger Things star Maya Hawke wore a moss green Prada mid-length dress for the premiere of Asteroid City, while Natalie Portman donned a recreation of Christian Dior’s iconic Junon dress, which was first designed in 1949.
