Is that a backless skirt in Phoebe Philo’s new collection?
Phoebe Philo has released the lookbook for her latest collection — and something seems to be missing. In one image, a model with her back turned to the camera wears an oversized blazer and a maxi skirt with the entire back panel cut out. She’s looking defiantly over her shoulder, hand on her hip, just a tiny flash of cheek showing beneath the hem of the jacket.
Philo has officially entered the backless fashion chat.
On the catwalks this season, there were more than a few examples of trousers and skirts slung so low on the waist that they revealed a hint of backside. Diesel, DSquared2, and Hodakova showed versions of bumster trousers that recalled the original designed by Lee Alexander McQueen in 1993. Some showed a little crack, some a tad more, but all made a big, defiant statement around what it means to reveal ourselves through clothing. In a more comedic showing of the behind, designer Duran Lantink sent models down his runway in assless chaps, some with their bodies painted in animal prints. He did this on top of showing two looks punctuated by prosthetics — one a man’s chiseled torso worn by a woman, the other a pair of buoyant, jiggly boobs worn by a man.
Elsewhere, completely sheer looks and bodysuits worn without trousers gave way to additional backside views. At Valentino, Alessandro Michele showed see-through lace gowns and layered, pin-up-ish undergarments. Givenchy’s Sarah Burton showed a series of body-hugging fishnet dresses, and Chloé’s Chemena Kamali presented sheer, ethereal skirts with varying degrees of backside visibility, with underwear and bodysuits shielding the nether regions. What all of these looks had in common was the notion that, in fashion, body consciousness doesn’t have to be so binary. Maybe a woman can be sexy outside of tight clothes and cinched waists, and perky boobs. Maybe there’s power in showing off a part of the body that is typically seen as belonging in the bedroom, on the beach, or (sorry!) on the toilet.
If only this industry embraced the body wholly by hiring more curve models — this season’s lack of representation of bodies on the runways was profoundly disappointing. If designers are experimenting with nakedness, then the least they can do is put someone who isn’t a size 0 in a bumster or a micro-mini skirt. (Collina Strada did in New York, as did Di Petsa in London.) Showing off one’s bum is a risky, rebellious act, but it would be even more impactful if that bum wasn’t perfectly sculpted, without a lick of cellulite.
Aside from these garments being conversation starters, the real proposition in the low-slung, cut-out, see-through-to-my-cheeks looks is that clearly, we’re ready for some risk. In reality, the average Philophile probably won’t wear a skirt with the back cut out and nothing underneath. It’s more likely she’ll style it with a cool slip or pair of trousers. The point is for her to make it her own.
Philo has always been a woman designing for other women, conscious of their wants and needs. She also has a sense of humour and understands the delicate nuances of design that evoke attitude. There’s something a little devious in this new skirt, something provocative but also challenging. We need more of it in fashion — moons over monotony.
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