Paris Fashion Week: Lingerie in Plain Sight

Lingerie never really left the runway, but this season at Paris Fashion Week it felt impossible to ignore. With Gen Z and Alpha dominating the front rows — pop stars, musicians and a generation far less interested in rigid dress codes — the boundary between underwear and outerwear suddenly feels irrelevant.

Across the runways, designers from Louis Vuitton to Alaïa revisited the language of underwear — bloomers, camisoles, slips, half-slips and stockings — each interpreted through their own lens.

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood at Paris Fashion Week sees creative director Andreas Kronthaler send men down the runway in stockings and suspenders. In true Westwood style — rebellious and punk at heart — the look blurs gender codes: if Scottish kilts exist, why not stockings?

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week sees Nicolas Ghesquière bring bloomers and ruffled hems back into view — a quiet nod to the pastoral wardrobe of Marie Antoinette, when garments resembling underlayers first slipped into fashionable dress. Styled with sharp tailoring and sweeping capes, the effect feels unexpectedly modern rather than nostalgic.

Miu Miu

At Miu Miu during Paris Fashion Week, Miuccia Prada revisits the traditional camisole — bow and all — letting it peek out from the waistband of tailored trousers. Sequined belts and sheer layers elevate the moment, transforming a humble piece of lingerie into something strikingly contemporary.

Chanel

At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy plays with the seductive simplicity of the slip dress. Lace-edged hems and fluid silhouettes hint at vintage lingerie, subtly echoing the house’s 1920s heritage. No wonder American audiences are embracing it — the look feeds directly into that Gatsby-era vision of liberated glamour that Chanel once made modern.

Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello turns lingerie outward: lace body dresses, half-slip skirts and silicone-coated fabrics lend the look a sharp 21st-century edge. The language of underwear is no longer hidden — it defines the silhouette.

Alaïa

For Alaïa, Pieter Mulier — his last show before leaving the house for Versace — returns to the purity of the body. Second-skin jersey dresses recall the minimalist lingerie silhouettes of the late ’90s — the kind perfected by Wolford — where comfort, cut and sensuality become one.

Perhaps the message this Paris season is simple: the line between underwear and outerwear has finally stopped pretending to exist.

 

Lupe Castro

Fashion curator & stylist

Host of The Space of Lupe Castro

Instagram: @mslupecastro