The runways from New York to Paris served up body big time for spring 2025, much to the delight of retailers.
Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo, Gallerie Lafayette’s Alix Morabitto and Brigitte Chatrand of Ssense were among those who pointed to fleshy, lingerie-inspired looks as their highlights, saying these encapsulated the radical spirit overtaking fashion in the wake of modest-leaning stealth-wealth.
While designers have been stripping things down for decades, scant clothing still tends to draw the most eyeballs online (ironic for an industry that trades in fabric), but their intention this season wasn’t merely attention-seeking. It was to spread a sex-positive message and promote female empowerment.
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Even Demna shed his bulky layers at Balenciaga, opening the show with innerwear looks that included trompe-l’œil garters and hosiery knitted onto bodysuits mimicking skin. Denim pieces and covered-up dresses also revealed a sleight of hand with corset laces only visible from the backside.
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“I really wanted something more, not boudoir because boudoir sounds very old, but something very sensual and almost erotic,” the designer told WWD’s Miles Socha.
The boudoir may have marked new territory for Demna, but Nensi Dojaka has made herself comfortable there since establishing her namesake brand in 2017. Still, the Albanian designer dialed up the heat for her LFW return by releasing a capsule collaboration with the underwear king: Calvin Klein. Strappy bras with crisscross lines inspired by Dojaka’s love of math were exposed underneath sheer layers to give a bondage-effect, reported WWD’s Tianwei Zhang.
Gucci and Vetements also leaned into fetish, albeit more aggressively, pairing their transparencies against leather. Raul Lopez did the same at Luar, telling WWD’s Thomas Waller during a preview his goal was to conjure a punk attitude. “Walking into a room and feeling hot,” he explained. “That’s punk.”
On a softer note, WWD’s Sandra Salibian observed Alberta Ferretti’s take on the lingerie trend was infused with lightness and a sense of ease. The Italian designer’s collection, which turned out to be her swan song, focused on elevating simple silhouettes with romantic flourishes, like the mauve-gray nightie seen here with macramé lace.
Another female designer, Chemena Kamali exalted lace at Chloé, spraying it across puff-sleeve blouses, bloomers and slips with a vintage elan. They all left little to the imagination, but spoke to a similarly “uplifting, dreamy femininity,” thought Socha.
Elsewhere, the likes of Luis De Javier and Christian Siriano used lace to spotlight underpants, which was a focus for designers looking to push boundaries southward as exposure on top grows increasingly normalized.
Many cheeks were flashed in more conventional, sexy thong styles, but high-waisted granny panties emerged too as a retro alternative, seen at Chloè as well as Vaquera and Alessandro Michele’s lauded Valentino debut.
For these and more of the best lingerie looks from spring 2025, see the gallery above.