The history of the lace-up bodysuit and the expansive reach of social media and influencers.
“They used to be sexy and cool, but now they just feel tired.” - Charles Manning, 2016
The lace-up bodysuit in all its various forms dominated social media feeds, the glossy pages of magazines and festivals throughout the summer of 2015 and 2016, but their once daring extreme v-neckline paired with the sexy lace up detailing showing a sometimes less than tasteful amount of cleavage, now feels somewhat dated and cliche.
The make up of the lace-up bodysuit is an amalgamation of two major trends in itself, harking back from the 70’s, the era of disco and hippies. Bodysuits with there plunging necklines popular in the disco scene with both men and women, paired with the earthy, bohemian trend of loosely laced up leather waistcoats and lace up peasant blouses. The result of which prove to be a commercial success.
It was Alexander Wang’s variation of this style that held pride of place in the wardrobes of the beautiful and influential celebrities across the globe, from the whole Kardshian/Jenner family, the Hadids to Lily Aldridge. With multiple high street and mid-market variations available in a plethora of colours, styles and fits stocked at every high-street retailer on and offline. The lace-up bodysuit trend had taken ahold but its longevity was limited as the concentration of the high-
street and mid-market variants instantaneously made it less desirable and individual.
REFRENCES
Cochrane, L. (2015) ‘Big hair, glossed cheekbones, oiled bodies: Chris von Wangenheim, the cult 70s photographer’, The Guardian (September), .
ltd, M. (no date) Lace up front Bodysuit black. Available at: https://www.missguided.co.uk/lace-up-front-bodysuit-black (Accessed: 22 February 2017).
Manning, C. (2017) 10 fashion trends that need to die in 2017. Available at: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/news/a50597/trends-that-need-to-die/ (Accessed: 22 February 2017).
Net-A-Porter (2017) T by Alexander Wang - lace-up stretch-modal bodysuit. Available at: https://www.net-a-porter.com/us/en/product/677564/t_by_alexander_wang/lace-up-stretch-modal-bodysuit (Accessed: 22 February 2017).