Everything old is new again. So the saying goes, and it’s especially true for fashion. We live in an era of reassessing and reclaiming quote-unquote bad fashion moments, of bringing back things that used to be considered passé or uncool. Anything can be so bad it’s good if you have the right attitude. But does that feeling extend to nude tights? Few things remain as maligned and downright triggering as hosiery, which were once a nonnegotiable part of a woman’s wardrobe.
Now, I am not talking opaque tights, cold-weather essentials that have also been trending on the runways lately, but actual sheer nude pantyhose. The kind that come in egg-shaped containers, the kind whose penchant to rip can only be stopped by a quick application of clear nail polish. Apologies if that last sentence was triggering.
A look from the Maison Margiela fall 2006 collection. Photo: Marcio Madeira
Margiela used a pair of pantyhose as a makeshift belt on a trench coat for his spring 2000 collection. Photo: Courtesy of Condé Nast Archive
A few seasons ago, I noticed the models in The Row’s autumn/winter 2022 look book were all sporting nude tights. Their inclusion was likely a nod to Martin Margiela, who often used the material in his collections, most famously as full-body stockings or face masks that aimed to conceal the identity of the models. (The typewritten descriptions on each image in the style of Margiela’s look book from spring 2000, the collection that also featured a pair of tights as a makeshift belt on a trench coat – which the sibling designers also re-created as in their collection – is further proof they had the elusive Belgian in mind.) At that time I wondered if pantyhose could ever actually make a comeback. Then Miuccia Prada, the queen of subverting notions of femininity, delivered a blockbuster Miu Miu collection for AW23 where sheer hosiery was on full display, pulled high over the waistbands of low-slung skirts, sometimes with prim and proper cardigans tucked right in. Well, if someone could make them cool again, it would certainly be Miuccia.
Miuccia Prada’s AW23 collection made a convincing case for the return of pantyhose. Photo: Gorunway.com/Isidore Montag
The Row’s autumn/winter 2022 show paid homage to Martin Margiela, who often employed pantyhose in his shows. Photo: Courtesy of The Row
What’s funny is that, once upon a time, tights were a symbol of freedom. When hemlines began to rise in the 20th century, it was with the assurance that a pair of nylons worn underneath would maintain women’s modesty. Although in the 1920s flappers largely wore their frocks with bare legs or alluring fishnets, most women favoured standard stockings. Even the miniskirt that spurred a youthquake revolution was supported by its pairing with tights of various colours that (literally) underpinned the childlike aesthetic at its core. In the 1980s, when women were entering the workforce in larger numbers than ever, hose were almost like filters, allowing them to keep up the sheen of perfection and showing they did not need to give up their femininity in their new lifestyle. By the time the 1990s came around, nylons were a thing of the past – seen only on first ladies or ripped up on the legs of Courtney Love. Tellingly, Ally McBeal, likely the decade’s most famous TV lawyer, went bare-legged underneath her famously ultrashort skirt suits.
Not wearing pantyhose was one of the many ways Ally McBeal, played by Calista Flockhart, eschewed the norms at the time. Photo: ©20thCenturyFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
These days there are two groups of people who still wear stockings: older women who grew accustomed to them in their younger years and who still consider it quote-unquote ladylike to don a pair, and women who work in conservative institutions like banks, courtrooms (sorry, Ally), or government institutions. (The Princess of Wales’s bare legs are seldom exposed.)
And yet there they were on the spring 2024 runways, like a siren song. Luar’s Raul Lopez explained that one of his inspirations this season was a small outdoor church in the Dominican Republic, so it wasn’t surprising to see his models wearing the skin-toned tights favoured by many an elderly church lady, though they were worn with decidedly unchurchlike cutout gowns! At Givenchy, Matthew M. Williams added sheer nude knee-highs that matched the gowns.
Sheer grey hosiery was used to great effect at Sportmax, where it added to the collection’s futuristic aesthetic. At Chanel, Virginie Viard also considered the merits of grey, though her spring hosiery featured a series of alternating contrasting stripes from the knee down.
Saint Laurent. Photo: Gorunway.com/Alessandro Lucioni/Paolo Lanzi/Filippo Fior
Junya Watanabe. Photo: Gorunway.com/Filippo Fior
Sportmax. Photo: Gorunway.com/Filippo Fior
Chanel. Photo: Courtesy of Chanel/Giovanni Giannoni
Roksanda. Photo: Gorunway.com/Alessandro Lucioni
Christian Siriano. Photo: Gorunway.com/Paolo Lanzi
Burberry. Photo: Gorunway.com/Filippo Fior
Ferragamo. Photo: Gorunway.com/Isidore Montag
Balenciaga. Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga
Schiaparelli. Photo: Gorunway.com/Isidore Montag
Proenza Schouler. Photo: Courtesy of Proenza Schouler
At Acne Studios, monochromatic looks were completed with matching sheer tights in emerald green, sapphire blue, ruby red, and burgundy, while Saint Laurent’s Anthony Vaccarello doubled down on his sensual safari-inspired palette by putting models in sheer hose in shades of brown and black. Of course once we veer into sheer-coloured hose, the vibe changes considerably. Because the thing is, while nude or otherwise light-coloured hose recall a certain kind of outmoded inoffensive femininity, sheer black hose carry with them a sort of sexual allure. At Schiaparelli, Daniel Roseberry was surely aware of this when he sent out models in ultrashort dresses and tunics that showed the control tops of their sheer black hose. It was fun and tongue in cheek and entirely within the irreverent spirit of the maison.
While colourful tights truly have the power to change the vibe of an outfit, and Miu Miu’s over-the-waistband styling certainly made some good points, the jury is still out on whether nude hose can ever be considered cool. They may well be the one item fully resistant to a rebrand.
Originally published in Vogue.co.uk
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