Fashion Tits: Nipple’s Place in Fashion

This article is part of our Fall 2020 print issue. See the full, digital version of the issue here.

For centuries, fashion has often been centered on the female body and has highlighted the female breast as a symbol of beauty. Designers create pieces that flatter and accentuate the female figure, which often means drawing focus to the chest. In addition to beauty, women’s breasts also symbolize vitality. Despite their maternal and life-giving purposes, breasts are often subjected to hypersexualization and highly uncomfortable objectification.

Models Ciani Foy, Corinne Rose, and Tea Valette photographed by Mel Jones.

A bra is an undergarment that supports breasts while simultaneously tucking them away from the public eye. Modern fashion has facilitated the design of new garments to replace the traditional bra. These items, such as the corset and padded push-up bra, aim to reveal and modify the appearance of breasts. However, acceptance of the breast in its natural form is still progressing today, as traditional social norms lead women to cover their breasts.

Women began to reject traditional bras during the second wave of the women’s liberation movement in the early 1960s, given their discomfort and association with patriarchal restriction. In this context, we see a strong crossover between fashion and politics, “as a nipple glimpsed beneath clothing could be read as a fierce refusal of propriety,” writes a Refinery29 article.

Model Corinne Rose photographed by Mel Jones.

The slogan of this movement, “the personal is political,” further emphasized this crossover. During the movement, women’s social and political inequalities were found to be inextricably linked, encouraging women to understand how their personal lives reflected sexist power structures. Fashion at this time embraced women's liberation through braless styles. These styles welcomed views of the breast, such as side boob—the profile view—seen through loose silhouettes.

Nipples as a “trend” and the concept of the “nip slip” are no new terms to society. Rather, they date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, a time when showing your breasts was a fashion statement and nipples were thought of as accessories that intrigued rather than elicited immediately eroticized connotations. For example, low-cut bodices pushed breasts upward, occasionally encouraging a flash of the nipple, and were considered très chic during this time.

As tastemakers, celebrities and designers alike have a responsibility to consider the wider implications of what they choose to cast a spotlight on. Throughout history, they have helped dissociate breasts from a pornographic and erotic context and instead resituate them on the red carpet and within everyday street style.

In 2011, Tom Ford accredited Yves Saint Laurent as one of the first designers to present nipples on the runway. “He liberated women in a way or came along in a time when women were being liberated and threw that back onto the runway,” says Ford. Braless fashion continues to dismantle the idea that the female breast holds exclusively sexual connotations by accentuating the nipple in garments rather than covering it.

Model Ciani Foy photographed by Mel Jones.

Fashion in the 1990s further popularized bralessness as women continued to champion life. Antoinette Polito, associate professor of physician assistant studies at Elon University, says, “The early 90s is like the year of the woman. There were more women in politics, women were feeling stronger, we had a really good economy, women were making money and being independent.”

This newfound social standing empowered women to dress as they desired—more comfortably, freer, and with the occasional non-accidental nip slip. The 90s also welcomed the under boob, aka the viewing of the under side of the breast, which grew in popularity with the rise of undercut clothing and cropped shirts.

Model Tea Valette photographed by Mel Jones.

Despite this progress in braless fashion, the fashion industry has historically designed with “fashion tits” in mind, which are defined as small, perky, and relatively unobtrusive breasts. In recent years, the industry has been heavily criticized for over-representing this body type, which is unrelatable to many.

In 2012, the #FreeTheNipple movement aimed to combat censorship and reclaim the nipple for the empowerment of all breasts—no matter the size or shape. Today, designers embrace more design elements such as line work and patches that promote inclusivity for a larger range of breast sizes.

Many have since continued to declare themselves in favor of “freeing the nipple.” Kendall Jenner is notorious for integrating braless fashion into her everyday streetwear. In 2016, she wrote on her blog, "I really don't see what the big deal is with going braless! I think it's cool and I really just don't care! It's sexy, it's comfortable and I'm cool with my breasts. That's it!"

Fashion has proven to be a catalyst for promoting “free” nipples, which leads to further normalization and equal representation of women’s breasts. It is this mentality of acceptance that ricochets and has continued to support women’s liberation and the desexualization of the female body in other aspects of society.

References

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9816278/braless-fashion-visible-nipple