2017 ‘Summer of Love’

By: Monica Sgouros

As summer approaches, are you brave enough to bare all, as seen on the runway this season? For Spring/Summer 2017, designers have adopted the beauty of transparent fashion in their collections. Gigi Hadid bared the likeness of a woodland fairy in a sheer, gauzy dress by Fendi and models for SaintLaurent and Lanvin wore various see through ensembles which exposed their breasts and femininity in a come-hither approach.

However, the question remains on everybody’s lips; can you wear transparent clothing without any undergarments IRL or are the top ‘free the nipple’ trends seen this season rather an opportunity for you to play around with undergarments and layering, achieving the look with subtlety and modesty?

In light of this trend, here at Charme 69, we thought we would explore the philosophy and history behind the fashion. 2012 saw the birth of the #freethenipple campaign and has ever since, gained momentum, resulting in a fashion and cultural phenomenon. Underpinned with notions of female sexual liberation, empowerment and gender equality, the #freethenipple movement has brought together a generation of young females, each unique in their own right but all with a similar purpose; to confront the social confines of a male-dominated society that continues to obtain power over women and their bodies.

Does this all sound familiar to you yet? Let's take a trip down memory lane and reminisce the flower power era; an era that holds a strong resemblance with today. The Woodstock Music Festival circa 1969 - commonly referred to as the 'Summer of Love' - has become an icon of the 60s hippie counterculture. A culture in which people embraced the freedom of the hippie lifestyle and personified this through their clothing. The post-war youth were redefining themselves through music, art, fashion and political ideologies. Bras were thrown out the window and nudity was embraced, exemplifying the changing ideas surrounding sexuality.

Now, fast-forward to the modern day. The affinity between the two eras is uncanny. Both rich in the ideology of a world where the female body is neither dictated by censorship laws nor hypersexualised by the male gaze, could 2017 bring about this generation's 'Summer of Love'?

By: Monica Sgouros

Brandes, B. (2015). Love and Other Drugs. i-D. [online] Available at: https://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/article/love-and-other-drugs [Accessed 12 Mar. 2017].