While some view it as a well-thought-out decision, others find it terrifying to think about showing up to a big event naked. Elle Fanning chose the latter when she showed up at the most recent Met Gala on May 6th.
The actress seemed stunning, radiant, and fragile, as if she might collapse at any second. According to Balmain, the organza material of the gown was painstakingly hand-coated with four layers of resin to give it a glass-like appearance. The resultant ensemble resembled the beautiful "crystalline flowers" that are the subject of this year's Met Gala, which is inspired by J.G. Ballard's 1962 short tale "The Garden of Time."
But Fanning wasn't the only famous person to adopt a daring, exposed look. Emily Ratajkowski, Phoebe Dyvenor, Kim Kardashian, Doja Cat, Greta Lee, and Eddie Redmayne were among the celebrities that walked the red carpet wearing translucent dresses. To keep their looks modest, these dresses frequently featured thoughtfully placed embroidery or crystal accents. Let us enter the age of the nude dress, or, as it applies to Redmayne, the nude suit.
The plethora of nude gowns on the red carpet in the early days of revealing, peek-a-boo clothing often made it look like a Spencer Tunick photo. Nevertheless, uproar was nevertheless managed by these audacious dress choices. Carroll Baker's attendance at the London Plaza theater for the 1964 debut of her film "The Carpetbaggers" is one such instance. Her bare Balmain gown made headlines and drew attention from all. Using the headline "Carroll goes to the show—almost topless," the British tabloid Daily Mirror emphasized how daring the ensemble was. As he put it, Balmain's "transparent" dresses were among the first high-fashion nude outfits to become well known (Yves Saint Laurent didn't release his first completely sheer design until 1966).
The sexual freedom movement and the accessibility of the contraceptive pill were two major influences on the dramatic changes that occurred in women's fashion during the 1960s in both America and Europe. Mary Quant is credited with popularizing the daring miniskirt, while Edie Sedgwick made a daring fashion statement by dressing only in tights and underwear instead of bottoms—a look that is still referenced today.
The Production Code Administration severely restricted the depiction of nudity in American movies throughout the 1940s. But cinemas acquired more independence and were freed from the grip of strong film firms after the 1948 Paramount Decrees, which required the separation of major studios from theaters. By the 1960s, the Production Code Administration's definition of nudity infractions was no longer as important as it had been twenty years earlier because movie theaters now had the last word in whether or not to show a movie.
Carroll Baker was the center of strong disputes about nudity in American films, according to the New York Times. She responded nonchalantly and with foresight, stating that she believed nudity would be accepted in movies within the next decade and that it would not harm the nation's character. While Baker's on-screen nudity captured attention and generated buzz, she took it a step further by giving people a glimpse of the real thing.
Although Dakota Fanning's attire was less controversial than Baker's, it demonstrated that even after sixty years, the concept of the naked dress remains relevant.