2023 was another year of the near-naked dress. With one key difference.

When Rihanna wore the infamous “naked dress” back in 2014, the world split into two. One half couldn’t get enough, labelling it as an iconic fashion moment that will go down in history. The other thought it was a vulgar display, criticising the singer for showing off her boobs on the red carpet.

Whatever camp you sat in, one thing is for certain: The people who predicted the look would sit pretty in the fashion hall of fame were correct. In fact, the dress was ahead of its time, because close to a decade later, every celebrity in existence has worn some form of a sheer dress.

Rihanna caused quite a stir when she stepped out in a near-naked dress. Image: Getty,

By no means did Rihanna invent the sheer dress trend (we cannot forget Cher), but it’s interesting to compare just how scandalous the moment was compared to now, a time when it’s become so normalised for women to either show their lingerie or their nipples in public.

Cher was the queen of sheer dresses. Image: Getty.

Stars such as Dua Lipa, Olivia Wilde, Lupita Nyong’o and Florence Pugh are all massive fans of the trend, and the sheer dress has been spotted on more than one runway during Paris and New York Fashion Week.

Emily Ratajkowski at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Image: Getty.

A third of the looks at Saint Laurent’s spring 2023 show consisted of sheer dresses with a pair of briefs underneath, and who can forget the moment Emma Corrin walked down the runway for Miu Miu’s fall 2023 collection in a pair of bedazzled hot pants.

Dua Lipa wore a sheer chainmail dress by Bottega Veneta for the Barbie premiere. Image: Getty.

What was once considered a fashion faux pas — especially during the ‘80s and ‘90s when Madonna and Kate Moss would wear underwear as outerwear — is now seen as fashion forward. It’s also been a long time coming and has taken years of desensitising the public for it to now be so widely accepted. The near-naked dress is still a way to garner attention on a crowded red carpet in 2023, though the one key difference is it's not as shocking as it used to be.

Megan Thee Stallion turned heads at the MTV VMAs in this semi-sheer dress. Image: Getty.

It’s quite reminiscent of Y2K too, when pop icon Britney Spears wore a pink g-string over a pair of metallic green flares for her I’m a Slave 4 U music video. It’s said what goes around comes around, and that rings true for the sheer dress/showing off your lingerie trend.

Florence Pugh has worn a sheer dress on more than one occasion. Image: Getty.

Cher did it in the ‘70s, Britney donned it in the early noughts and Rihanna bared all in the 2010s.

The popularity of the near-naked dress also ties in with the rise of social media. The hunger for celebrity news and content has never been more acute, but with digital media constantly flooding our feeds and overloading us with information, it can be hard for famous people to crack the algorithm.

Lupita Nyong'o recently wore this maroon number by Gucci. Image: Getty.

That is … until they put on a racy dress. But while they might make a headline or two, sheer dresses just don’t have the same impact they used to. When Rihanna wore her now infamous naked dress in 2014, it was all anyone could talk about. Now, it’s just another day in Hollywood.

Given the many PR advantages of the transparent dress, it’s likely that red carpet looks will get increasingly nude from here on out.

Megan Fox was on the front page of every media outlet after wearing this dress at the MTV VMAs. Image: Getty.

And despite sheer dresses being spotted on every A-lister in the business, don’t expect to see it out on the streets soon, because, amongst normal folk, it hasn’t taken off. We assume the impracticality has something to do with it.

Feature Image: Getty.

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