JANET STREET-PORTER: No more nipples please! Why publicity-hungry stars ditching their bras in the name of girl power have set feminism back 50 years

Paris has been awash with nipples this week.

Some nips are more acceptable than others, in the strange world of modern body politics.

At the Yves St Laurent couture show, an army of fashionably perky nipples paired with oversized trousers were hailed by fashion editors as the epitome of high chic. A few brave people had the audacity to call the brutal parade of bare flesh ‘boring’.

A handful of publicity-hungry VIPs in the front row dared to appear braless in their complimentary attire, much to the delight of the assembled press.

But taking off your underwear to stand out can be risky – as Kanye West’s wife Bianca Censori discovered when she was complimented for her topless and bottomless evening dress (if you could call it that), worn in a chic restaurant in the same city. a day before.

Bianca may be a joke, but other topless women have done better. Actress Florence Pugh (an avid fan of the frontal display) says critics are making a fuss about nothing. That women should be able to show their breasts and not receive sexist comments or criticism.

Oh, if only life were so simple.

Pulling your t**s out and claiming it’s an act of empowerment is an outright lie. Gratuitous nudity is divisive and makes many women feel inferior, old and ugly. Everything we’ve tried to eradicate over the past decade.

In the 1960s, when feminists burned their bras, they claimed that women had the right to dress however they wanted. They didn’t say never wear a bra again. A bra is not a garment designed to cut women down to size. It serves a practical purpose. Since then, women’s underwear has been revolutionized: it’s cheap, comfortable and there’s a bra for everyone who wants one.

Selling the braless look as high fashion is a sign that top designers aren’t interested in appealing to all women, they’re not interested in equality or the real lives we lead, contrary to a few high-profile moments on the Red carpet. They, like many of their celebrity clients, are obsessed with one thing: getting noticed, flagging their brand and keeping their stock price up.

The current trend of baring your flesh in the name of feminism started in July 2022, when Florence Pugh wore a transparent pink dress by another couturier, Valentino (with a nose ring as an accessory) and the photos received massive attention worldwide. She said: ‘We have become so afraid of the human body that we can never look at my two cute little nipples behind fabric in a way that is not sexual.’

Before this, actresses and celebrities opted for controlled nudity on the red carpet to ensure maximum press attention – using their bodies to flog movies, records, whatever. From Kim Kardashian to countless young actresses, flashing a piece of flesh always guarantees you’ll be noticed.

First it was the strategic leg sticking out at a ridiculous angle in a split skirt. Then the side boob – how ugly was that? Now it’s nipples. It has nothing to do with freedom of expression, but everything to do with one man, the art of selling. Promoting a designer’s name using your body. Nowadays you can promote a movie with your nipples.

Good luck, but don’t say it’s new; it’s groundbreaking, because it’s not.

It is politically naive.

Worn by beautiful models with the bodies of boyish teenagers at the Yves St Laurent fashion show, sheer blouses and transparent skirts made from the same fragile nylon as fine tights, the garments may look elegant, but practical, absolutely not! Since 2016, Yves St Laurent designer Anthony Vaccarello has created body-conscious and brilliantly tailored clothing that has been hugely successful and widely copied.

They have never been slutty. But last year, St. Laurent, like many couture houses, suffered a decline in sales. And the best way to get publicity seems to have been to jump on the nudity bandwagon. It helped that Instagram ‘banned’ nipples so you could claim you were taking a stand. Top designers, such as Chloe and Valentino, have also created sheer garments that are eagerly worn by stars like Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa at major events.

Women with the body of a child or young teenager. No woman over forty would be seen dead in a topless gown; it is the ultimate sign of desperation, of craving attention at any cost. Both Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista showed up at the St. Laurent show in oversized gowns. That was a political statement.

Others were more willing to expose themselves in exchange for publicity.

Braless in the front row at St. Laurent, proudly dressed in her loose, sleek top, sat 32-year-old Georgia May Jagger, along with 39-year-old Olivia Wilde, onetime actress and director and former ex-girlfriend of Harry Styles , whose last film Don’t Worry Darling received terrible reviews. Olivia, in a sheer body stocking, aviator sunglasses and pencil skirt, looked fantastic. This woman has to spend hours improving a perfect body in the gym.

Some people might say that Kanye West’s wife, Bianca Censori, also has a beautiful body, a curvaceous and curvy physique, the kind of body that artists and painters dreamed of a century ago, but a body that the fashion industry often uses today ignores, despite claiming that fashion is more accessible and inclusive.

About a day before the St. Laurent show, a garment made of the same kind of thin fabric, worn by Bianca Censori, provoked only derisive comments, not to mention threats of a fine for violating French laws on the area of ​​good morals. The mute muse attracted a lot of attention when the couple went out for dinner in Paris, and Bianca appeared to have forgotten not only her bra, but also her pants.

This odd couple spent months traveling around Europe as Bianca paraded in a series of ugly garments, supposedly designed by her husband. They certainly made sure he never disappeared from the press, despite his controversial reputation. She seems happy to be paraded like a show pony, walking next to the big man (who is generally covered from head to toe in baggy clothing and wearing a mask). Bianca doesn’t seem particularly happy to me.

In the fastidious world of high fashion, fashion editors may claim that transparency is the latest thing, but that’s nothing new. Yves St Laurent created the first ‘transparent’ blouse in 1966, a truly revolutionary gesture for the time. He then posed completely naked for the advertising campaign for his first men’s fragrance, Pour Homme, photographed by the legendary Jeanloup Sieff.

Yves St Laurent said at the time ‘there is nothing more beautiful than a naked body’ and there is currently an exhibition entitled ‘Transparency’ in his museum in Paris.

He would be shocked by nipplegate.

As for Kim Kardashian’s teardrop bra with an embedded nipple, the Skims commercial claims a “fake nipple” will provide a “shock factor.”

Is this what feminists fought for more than half a century ago?