Fashion
Flaunting your tummy- is now a trend
Making a showcase of this part of the body is not so much a trend as a given for young consumers – so much so, in fact, that this year marks 10 years since the midriff became an established fashion statement.
In 2013, cropped garments began to appear on the catwalk by brands including Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and Roksanda Ilin?i?. Celebrities including Miley Cyrus and January Jones started to display their stomachs more. The bare midriff as fashion statement was given a major credibility boost when Beyoncé appeared on the cover of British Vogue for the first time, wearing a high-waisted skirt and cropped T-shirt by designer Jonathan Saunders.
Yet despite its longevity, the look appears to have reached its peak this summer, thanks to various midriff-baring items all being fashionable at the same time.
From crop tops to low-rise jeans, hip-slung skirts to shrunken baby tees, stomachs are on display like never before.
Fashion resale app Depop reports that searches for baby tees, crop tops and low-rise jeans have soared during August. Tagwalk, the search engine that collates trends at fashion shows, say that since 2019 about 15% of all clothing on the catwalk for spring/summer shows has shown midriffs.
This month, Fashion Museum Bath announced that its Dress of the Year for 2022, chosen by Elle UK’s editor-in-chief Kenya Hunt, wasn’t a dress at all – it was a micro-miniskirt and cropped sweater.
Designed by Miuccia Prada for Miu Miu, it swiftly went viral thanks to celebrities including Emma Corrin and Hunter Schafer, and DIY tutorials on TikTok.
The post-pandemic world is part of why we are seeing more midriff, say some trend watchers. “Post Covid, the womenswear wardrobe was very oversized and had a tendency to hide the body,” says Alexandra Van Houtte, founder of Tagwalk. “Since then, there has been a boost in women’s attitude, with powerful bodycon dresses, crop tops and bold colours.”
Gen Z is also crucial. While Nicole Kidman has worn the Miu Miu skirt and Gwyneth Paltrow trialled the so-called “midlife midriff” on the red carpet, most of the people showing this part of the body are young. “The ‘baggy pants-tiny top’ method is something Gen Z does often,” says Aiyana Ishmael, associate editor of Teen Vogue. “It’s the perfect formula when getting dressed for the day.”
Before this decade, the last time that we saw a lot of midriff was the early 00s when stars like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Destiny’s Child regularly showed acres of toned stomach. This era – often known as Y2K – is in focus for twentysomethings.
The baby tee is a wholesale revival from this era. Vanna Youngstein launched her baby tee brand in 2016, inspired by the Y2K era. Her designs have been worn by celebrities including Emily Ratajkowski and in hit TV show Euphoria, and they frequently sell out. Youngstein says the style is successful because it covers several bases: “you can wear them with anything and the silhouette will look fresh and modern as well as nostalgic-looking.”
The corset is another popular item that sees its wearer expose their midriff. Alexia Elkaim’s brand, Miaou, is a favourite.
She says this part of the body is key: “I typically like to design corsets that are shorter on the sides to accentuate midriff.”
Elkaim herself wears this style – baggy trousers and a short corset is her go-to outfit. Fashion curator Shonagh Marshall says the midriff can be seen in western fashion throughout the 20th century. She references Chicago’s World Fair in 1893 as important, with belly dancing from the Middle East performed. “I think people thought it was something a bit daring. It was probably an area that no one apart from you had ever really seen.”