They say you can’t reinvent the wheel, but what about the bra? <\/p>\n
The modern iteration of this undergarment might have a relatively short history\u2014the first proper “backless brassiere” found life in the early 20th century\u2014but it has far surpassed its lingerie status to become a symbol of its time. Throughout the decades, the bra has evolved from a practical addition to women’s wardrobes during World War One to an item that has inspired major pop culture moments, from Madonna’s iconic Jean Paul Gaultier conical design in the 1980s to Skims’ most recent nipple bra.<\/p>\n
Whilst skirt hemlines and their associated index historically hog the spotlight in times of economic and political upheaval, consider the bra a new recession indicator. This season, a clear shift is emerging in favor of this undergarment\u2014and it’s purposely on display. <\/p>\n Ralph Lauren was one of the key players reviving the status of underwear this season. The American designer unveiled a new vision for the RL woman that felt markedly more relaxed than its usual Wasp-y codes; for his spring\/summer 26 collection, Lauren paired breezy tailoring with modern refinement. He also, perhaps unexpectedly, turned focus to the bra for a handful of looks, styling the underwear peeking out from underneath white cotton poplin shirts and fluid striped blouses in an intentional contrast.<\/p>\n On-show underwear might not sound particularly groundbreaking for fashion week, but for a brand that’s historically leaned into a more buttoned-up approach to dressing, it was markedly more poignant that the shirts came undone and the bras peered out.<\/p>\n In London, the peekaboo bra (aptly) took on a more punk attitude at Simone Rocha, ranging from a flirty suggestion of underwear proffered through an unfastened dress to an all-out, in-your-face sequin-encrusted iteration. Suggestiveness was out the window; this was bravado in every sense of the word.<\/p>\n Then, like catching fire, the peekaboo bra made its celebrity debut on two consecutive days the following week. Dua Lipa and Margot Robbie were both early champions of the undergarment’s new era, with Robbie first stepping out in New York to promote her upcoming film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey <\/em>in a grey Phoebe Philo Tucked tailored jacket<\/a> layered over a delicate black bra. The actress demonstrated a refined yet sultry take on workwear, styling the look with a pair of light grey straight-leg trousers, studded black leather mules and the paneled Drive bag, also from Philo’s namesake label.<\/p>\n No less than 24 hours later, Lipa stepped out in the very same city in a very Ralph Lauren-coded ensemble. The singer paired a lacy balconette bra with a striped poplin shirt unbuttoned all the way to her stomach, which she then tucked into an ankle-skimming grey column skirt by Jean Paul Gaultier. <\/p>\n By its nature, fashion doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and it’s often in the most turbulent of times that clothes become the medium through which to make a political statement. In a time when the agenda of conservatism is being pushed by the far right both across the pond and on home soil, one doesn’t have to look far to see the quiet rebellion that the peekaboo bra conveys. Whether or not you find yourself slipping into this style of underwear in your day-to-day life, you can’t escape the bra’s intrinsic connection with femininity and womanhood. To have your bra on display, whether brazenly a l\u00e0 Simone Rocha or subtly like Robbie, is a sartorial middle finger to the increasing policing of women’s bodies, both in politics and the mainstream media.<\/p>\n It also just looks incredibly\u2014and unexpectedly\u2014chic. There’s a Parisian laissez-faire approach to wearing your shirt unbuttoned with a peek of lacy underwear, while the bra-and-blazer combination rewrites the rules of power-dressing with a sexier undertone. The key, it seems, with all of these demonstrations of the peekaboo bra is simple: wear it in an elegant black style, and you can’t go wrong.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Pointelle](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/vader-prod.s3.amazonaws.com\/1758731790-cou-cou-bra-68d41df873272.png?crop=0.731xw:0.684xh;0.133xw,0.190xh&resize=980:*\" "\\"Pointelle")
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