For some, showing up to a significant event without clothes would be a nightmare. For others, like Elle Fanning at the Met Gala on Monday night, it's a carefully orchestrated statement. Fanning turned heads in a completely transparent Balmain gown, appearing almost fragile, as if one wrong move could cause her to shatter.
The gown was made from organza, layered with four coats of resin to mimic the look of glass, reminiscent of the delicate "crystalline flowers" from JG Ballard’s 1962 story, "The Garden of Time," which was also the theme of this year's Gala.
Fanning was not alone in her choice of attire. Celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Kardashian, Doja Cat, Phoebe Dynevor, Greta Lee, and Eddie Redmayne also opted for sheer looks on the red carpet, with minimal coverage provided by strategic embroidery or crystal work, showcasing the trend of the "naked dress" - or in Redmayne's instance, the "naked suit."
The see-through dress was made with organza and layers of resin
Designs that suggest nudity, varying in subtlety, have become a staple on celebrity red carpets and fashion runways. At the Grammy Awards in February, Doja Cat and Miley Cyrus wore almost invisible nude gowns; then at the Oscars in March, stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner, Ice Spice, Charli XCX, Charlize Theron, and Iris Law showcased the diverse range of "naked dresses," featuring everything from sheer lace to crystal mesh.
The trend continued on the Spring-Summer 2024 runways, where transparent skirts were ubiquitous, seen at shows from Prada to Erdem, Acne Studios to Dior.
However, this fascination with teasing through fashion is far from novel. Back in 1962, Hollywood star Carroll Baker was captured in what might be considered one of the earliest examples of the naked dress, designed by Balmain. Baker's outfit featured her breasts mostly concealed by decorative pasties attached to a sheer torso panel, with the sleeves, neckline, and skirt adorned with embroidered beads and sequins.
This custom piece was crafted for Baker by Pierre Balmain at his Paris atelier. ELLE magazine noted in 1964 that Baker favored "muslin dresses with sparkles placed at critical points," mentioning she already owned seven such dresses, with Balmain having just designed her eighth.
Hollywood starlet Caroll Baker also wore one of Balmain's transparent dress designs in 1962
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The current saturation of nude gowns at events can sometimes give the red carpet the appearance of a Spencer Tunick installation. However, in the early days of these revealing outfits, they still caused quite a stir. Notably, when Carroll Baker appeared at the Plaza cinema in London for the premiere of "The Carpetbaggers" in 1964, her sheer Balmain dress not only turned heads but also made headlines.
The Daily Mirror reported, "Carroll goes to the show — almost topless," describing the dress as "about as near as you can get to a topless dress without actually being topless." Balmain's "transparent" dresses were among the first high-fashion naked dresses to attract significant attention, predating Yves Saint Laurent's first full-sheer look by two years in 1966.
During the 1960s, fashion across America and Europe was undergoing a swift transformation, influenced by the sexual liberation movement and the advent of the contraceptive pill. Mary Quant introduced the provocative mini skirt, while Edie Sedgwick opted for an even more daring look by forgoing pants altogether, preferring a combination of underwear and tights, a style that remains influential to this day.
The French luxury fashion house Balmain has been making naked dresses for 60 years
However, Carroll Baker's barely-there dress might have signified more than just the era's shifting fashion norms. In 1964, just months before her "topless" appearance at London's Plaza cinema, the New York Times labeled Baker as "the most controversial female star in Hollywood," primarily due to her apparent ease with on-screen nudity.
In the United States, nudity in films was heavily regulated by the Production Code Administration, an entity that depended on distributors to enforce its standards.
Following the Paramount Decrees in 1948, which mandated that major studios like Paramount, Fox, MGM, and Warner Brothers divest from theater ownership, cinemas gained more autonomy. By the 1960s, a violation regarding nudity under the Production Code had significantly less impact than it had two decades earlier, since theaters now had the ultimate say in whether to screen a film.
According to the New York Times, Baker had become "a major target of heated arguments about nudity in American films." She responded with a casual and almost prescient remark, stating, "I believe that in the next 10 years nudity will be accepted in movies… I do not think movie nudity will injure the national character." So, while the press and public were preoccupied with her on-screen nudity, Baker chose to escalate the conversation by offering a real-life glimpse.
Although Elle Fanning's outfit was far less contentious than Baker's, it demonstrated that even after sixty years, the concept of the naked dress remains as pertinent as ever.
