Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Consider the Backless Dress for a New Year’s Eve at Home

Consider the Backless Dress for a New Year’s Eve at Home

Old mentalities would say that backless dresses, revealing from shoulder blade to hip bone, were the exclusive purview of nights on the town.

Historical evidence surely suggests it: Hailey Bieber in Alexander Wang at the 2019 Met gala, Hilary Swank in Guy Laroche at the 2005 Oscars, even Donyale Luna’s apple green Rudi Gernreich in 1968’s Skidoo, while worn indoors, is for a woman flaunting it. Going backless requires a partner-someone to observe the surprising gesture of a total spine reveal.



Maximilian spring 2021 Photo: Courtesy of Fashion East



Givenchy spring 2021 Photo: Courtesy of Givenchy

It surely comes as a surprise, then, that amid a year of staying home, staying alone, and staying in sweats, some of fashion’s most influential and buzzed-about designers slashed away the backs of their spring 2021 garments. For whom, exactly, we wondered?



Alexander McQueen spring 2020



It might not look it, but this Alexander McQueen spring 2021 menswear suit features a triangular cutout across the back. Photo: Courtesy of Alexander McQueen

But the more we’ve stayed at home and watched fashion rules melt away, the more spine-showing dresses started to feel like exactly the type of business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hybrid garment that sums up 2020. A little provocative. A bit nonsensical. Funny and extravagant at once. In stretchy jersey à la Givenchy or in knits as at Christopher John Rogers, a backless dress offers a clever twist on comfort clothing, modest enough for a Zoom call but also daring enough to add a small thrill to these mundane days.



A scoop-back top at Nina Ricci spring 2021 is Zoom-ready from the front, party-ready from the back. Photo: Courtesy of Nina Ricci



Simon Miller offers a knit option for spring 2021 lounging Photo: Courtesy of Simon Miller



Miu Miu spring 2021’s icy dress is almost entirely backless-the ultimate party frock. Photo: Courtesy of Miu Miu



Victoria Beckham’s spring 2021 tie-back dress adds volume to the look Photo: Andew Vowles / Courtesy of Victoria Beckham

Beyond Zoom dressing, there are also plenty of elegant options that will make you yearn to be seen in 360 degrees. Both Miu Miu and Alexander McQueen menswear-yes, backless suits for men!-offered more traditional evening options that showed off a little spine. That taking it in from all angles idea-dressing beyond the selfie-is something we sort of took for granted in The Before and would be right to appreciate again in 2021 when, hopefully, we can meet up and revel in the round.



Donyale Luna modeling a backless dress in 1967 Photo: Getty Images

Until then, if there’s one crucial takeaway from a year indoors, it’s that we have all been forced to become a little more comfortable in our own skin. A backless dress celebrates that fully, evolving from the body-conscious mesh bodysuits and curve-hugging workoutwear that have defined 2020 into something that steps into the future while also glancing back. As Vogue wrote of the trend in 2006, “Where does the dress end and the person begin?”



An Yves Saint Laurent dress from 1979Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, April 1979



Saint Laurent spring 2018’s version of the 1979 original Photo: Kim WestonArnold



Gigi Hadid’s hair flip on Jacquemus’s spring 2020 runway is the result of her wanting to show off the dress’s backless cut. Peter White



Stella Tennant in Rick OwensPhotographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, January 2004



Bottega Veneta spring 2021 Victor VIRGILE



Michael Kors fall 2012 Frazer Harrison



Naomi Campbell walks Roberto Cavalli’s fall 2012 show in a backless dress with hip cutouts. Vittorio Zunino Celotto



Backless slip dresses by Donna Karan Photographed by Arthur Elgort, Vogue, May 1993



Backless and bias at Christian Dior spring 1997 by John GallianoPhotographed by Guy Marineau



Constance Bennett in a white gown in 1933Photographed by Edward Steichen, Vogue, January 1, 1933



The December 15, 1920, cover of VogueIllustrated by Helen Dryden, Vogue, December 15, 1920

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×