Photo Credit: Mugler
If athleisure characterized 2020, in 2021 we’re all about bringing glamour back. Forget those times when looking good was all about being the most uncomfortable: this year, we’ve mastered the perfect balance between comfort and sophistication, and celebrities are the proof.
There are many in 2020 that made a fortune from sportswear, such as Kim Kardashian that recently became made a new entry on the Forbes billionaire list, thanks to its peak in sales with Skims, her shapewear brand. With the pandemic, our need to buy clothes has reduced as a result of not having events to go to, but not everyone feels this way. There are many that have been shopping more than ever, and this is because studies show that boredom leads to impulsivity, and therefore we might’ve been making more online purchases than before – for things we didn’t really need. Others, instead, have found the quietness of lockdown the perfect occasion to enforce a glow-up, both in terms of style and appearance. Casually, shapewear had been the most unexpected category to be trending last year, as a result of our shift in needs (but also because of the Kim K effect), and high fashion brands have soon jumped on the bandwagon.
It is not just Kim to have profited from this sudden change in our consumeristic behaviour, but also other historic pioneers in the industry such as the iconic brands Mugler and Alexander McQueen. This season has been characterized by a more explicit and prominent depiction of sensuality, born from the desire to escape to new realities. Lingerie has become outerwear, and brands have been redefining etiquettes within the industry together with consumers, more closely than ever. The definition of inclusivity has also been explored further in latest shows from SS21 and AW21. On the Mugler catwalk we’ve truly seen people from all sides of the spectrum, and this is reflected in the brand’s ingeniousness to be defined by body positivity and self-love, amongst its values.
It appears that sexy is back, from lingerie to corsets, and shapewear is no exception. From new streamlined silhouettes to the exploration of BDSM inspired materials and cuts in high fashion, this season it appears that sexiness is back, and shapewear is no exception, despite its long, discomforting and tumultuous history of the garment From Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa, to Madison Beer, Bella Hadid and even Billie Eilish in her latest British Vogue Cover (June 2021), the reintroduction of this provoking and deeply evocative style is ubiquitously popularised, and we’re all watching.
Words By Tommaso Donati
