Undressed at V&A
OWN THOUGHTS / EXPERIMENTS
I went to the Undressed exhibition at V&A. I started being interested in the relationship between history and fashion. How much is fashion influential to the society and becoming part of history?
Revelation and Transformation
By the late twentieth century the radical, transgressive clothes worn by punks and in London's clubs were a key influences on event-garde fashion designers. Many used visible underwear to excite controversy and challenge conventional attitude to nudity, sexuality and gender. Corsetry in particular was favoured for its twentieth-century associated with fetish and pornography.
Historical costume has also been important resource for designers, presenting corsetry in a different context. The effect of corsets, crinolines and bustles on the proportions and movement of the body and their diverse materials and construction afford many opportunities for probing the relationship between body and clothing. They are also invested with a theatricality that makes them an arresting sign on the catwalk and particularly seductive for designers interested in performance and display.
(Via description from V&A)
From Vivienne Westwood's ironic and provocative use of a mirrored glass fig leaf to decorate flesh-coloured leggings . This is a good example to see how does it explore the physical and cultural aspects of the body and push the boundaries between private and public during conventional about nudity, sexuality and gender in 1989.
Also Acne studio sell "gender neutral pants". I think this gender-neutral practical pants suggest for the future of women's underwear. For me, underwear is second skin. We wear underwear everyday and it is part of our body. Man and Woman...We have different body and structure but who made a decision that depends on the gender we have to wear different underwear, even though today no matter which gender we are, we can wear, pant, skirt, whatever we want. Underwear one of the way of expressing ourself. If people who don't care about gender problem start wearing this kind of pant and becoming conventional, this pant can give them the chance to notice gender problem? I think promoting this pant means Acne studio suggest to realise gender problem to everyone.
Women on the street showing their nipples and drooping breasts under their clothes, beneath the headline: ‘Goodbye to the bra’
mail order catalogue for dean rogers atd london 1970
Invisible underwear
The youth culture that revolutionised fashion in the 1960s introduced a new ideal body shape: tall, skinny, naturally firm and long limited. Clothes were correspondingly revealing and required minimal, smooth-fitting underwear.
Rudi Gernreich's "No-bra" bra is made from sheer nylon net. The associated advertisements claim that the bra, "supports yet gives you the natural nude look of a firm, young, bra-less bosom".
(Via description from V&A)
'No-bra' bra Rudi Gernreich (1922-85) for Exquisite Form
Rudi Gernreich
On October 22, 1964, Rudi Gernreich launched the “No-Bra Bra.” Made of sheer nylon, it featured triangle cups with a single dart in each and thin elastic straps. It came in nude, white and black and wasn’t available in sizes larger than 34B. Rudi released the No-Bra Bra just four months after the monokini debuted, which caused quite the stir because of its bare-chest silhouette. Because of the monokini’s popularity, Exquisite Form, the lingerie company Rudi worked for, pushed him to create another barely-there bra. Its purpose was to provide smaller-chested women a bra that was supportive but also celebrated the breast’s natural shape sans underwires and molding. Sales prove that there was a large market for such a product – the No-Bra Bra became best seller and three more similar designs came out the following spring. If I were alive then and I didn’t know how to sew, I would have been a customer. All of the above reasons are why Nina Warner has become my favorite bra.
The No-Bra Bra wasn’t the first soft bra. Rudi’s design piggybacked off of several ideas from the early 20th century. One was that of Mary Phelps-Jacobs, who created the first “brassieres” in 1914. The term “brassiere” is important because it wasn’t the first bra invented. Made of two handkerchiefs sewn together at the center front and a string of ribbon as the straps and back band/closure, it was a bra in its most basic form. Mary even obtained a patent for her design – no. 1,115,674 – under the name Caresse Crosby. Some suggest that it was her French maid that came up with the idea and provided the sewing. She later sold the rights to Warners, a corset making company that is still open today, for $1500. With a little R&D, Mary’s initial idea was worth 15 million dollars in a few short years.
Another soft bra from the same time period was the Kestos, launched in the 1930s. Women didn’t just wear a bra – they wore a Kestos! It was the first commercially produced bra to have 2 separate and defined cups. In many ways, it was the first convertible bra as the wrapped bands allowed women to wear low back dresses and blouses that were popular during that time.
In these Gernreich creations, vertical and horizontal windows—like the zips in a Barnett Newman painting overlaid on a figure—delineate an axis of nudity on the body. These dresses appeared on the cover of "Time" (December 1, 1967) accompanying a story on Gernreich that described him as "the most way-out, far-ahead designer in the U.S." The ensembles exemplify Gernreich's famous declaration: "A woman today can be anything she wants to be—a Gainsborough or a Reynolds or a Reynolds Wrap." Apparently, she can also be a Saran Wrap. (Shown with 1988.74.1a-f in foreground, also by Gernreich.)
Rudy Gernreich on the cover of Time magazine, December 1, 1967.
After selling the No-Bra Bra became best seller. this shows lots of women wished to be freedom from gender. Also for women, Breasts don't get attention but we care because society are tied by gender rule. This is perfect example that fashion change society rule, and became part of history. (evidence from description of V&A)
Going without a bra became a political and countercultural statement. Feminists derided the bra as an instrument of male oppression. Other women went without it because doing so made them feel in touch with their bodies.
Going out without a bra has become a "thing" now than past 10 years. For example, such as Kate Moss who with influence have a wide range of people from all over the world wore Liza Bruce dress without bra and were taken by paparazzi. I think she wanted to tell to people who have small breast and care about it and also people who get attention of women's breast, breasts don't have to be huge to get attention and we all have beautiful, perfect body. It has no need of artifice but I can tell her wishing from this outfit.
bra-burning days in 1968
History of "No bra" movement
In the 1960s when the movement really took off, feminist groups started forgoing their brassieres as a sign of protest (the more extreme side was actually burning the bra). The no-bra movement was a political, protest move symbolizing freedom and rejection of traditional views of femininity.
In the 1970s disco came in and free love stayed around, so going bra-free was still en vogue, but less political and more for fashion. In the 80s it was the power bra–a weird, weird time in fashion. The grungy and waifish trends of the 90s (thank you, Kate Moss), were well-suited to life without a bra. Then the 2000s came and the sexy, supermodel looks à la Victoria Secret made push up bras queen.
in 2016, and it looks like the bra-free trend is back thanks to trailblazing celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston & Kendall Jenner. Whether for style, comfort, ease or because half the tops made today require no bra, the trend seems here to stay. It is a reminder that femininity comes in all forms. You don’t have to be overtly sexy. You don’t have to push your boobs up to the heavens at all times. You can be natural. For those not able to brave life without the bra, bralettes are your best friend. There has been a 56% increase in bralette sales this past year, and Victoria’s Secret has even released a more natural line of bras. Now here’s a look at our favorite bra-free icons.
This is interesting. Because depend on the period, interpretation of "No-Bra" is different. It was including political, freedom, gender natural meaning. mostly people who had attention of it wore No Bra Bra. However today, everyone are wearing as fashion without knowing it express about these meaning. This means No Bra is becoming common in general and part of society but also I can say fashion industry keep promoting about it and try to tell to everyone. There is no ultimate destination. Still now lots of women are worry about their small breast and don't have confidence of themselves. Because they don't know underwear can be one of the tool which express themselves.