What if we told you that one of the season’s favorite garments isn’t a knitted sweater or the perfect everyday coat? It seems that trends are eager to be more renewed than ever, and several brands have confirmed that in the wardrobe for this autumn and winter you will need one of the most iconic garments in the fashion world: the bustier.
And that piece that the very Jean Paul Gaultier made fashionable arrives with Zara’s new offerings to position itself as the base of looks that work both by day and by night. And the Inditex giant isn’t the only one. Several brands confirm that more than a sexy and flattering design, it is a new basic that evolves from underwear to a versatile and very wearable garment.
The lingerie moment goes back a long way. Although today it is more than integrated into our daily life and is no longer just something we wear so that “it won’t be seen,” its history and versatility go back to the 16th and 18th centuries, where corsets consolidated as structural garments that defined the waist, supported the bust and shaped the silhouette.
It was in the 19th century, when they were developed and popularized as part of women’s clothing, with structures increasingly specialized. And already in the first half of the 20th century, lingerie evolved toward lighter garments, such as bras and bustiers. However, if we talk about one of its stellar moments for the corset, in the 1940s and 1950s pointed-bust silhouettes became popular, which would inspire the brilliant Gaultier in the 1980s.
The French designer made history by turning an intimate garment, associated with controlling the female body, into a visible symbol of power, sensuality and freedom. Instead of hiding it under clothing, he turned it into the centerpiece of design. A way of revolutionizing the fashion world that he explored to the fullest in 1984, when the iconic cone silhouette was born in his Barbès collection, with its conical-bust corsets.
Madonna, her best ambassador
Madonna en julio de 1990.
The defining moment arrived with Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour, in 1990. Gaultier designed for her the famous peach-pink satin corset, with cone cups, which became one of the most recognizable images in fashion history.
The design wasn’t simply provocative: it was part of a stage image in which Madonna controlled her own sexuality and challenged expectations about how a woman should present herself. The bustier ceased to be merely lingerie and came to represent a defiant, confident and self-possessed femininity.
Rihanna con un bustier en 2009.
The fashion world has reinterpreted, drawn inspiration from, and even copied on numerous occasions the philosophy of Gaultier. Other renowned brands, street style and, of course, social networks, have based themselves on the iconic design of the Frenchman. And this autumn and winter, in a most special way.
In Zara, for less than 20 euros
As we said, Zara, Stradivarius and other brands have included in their new collections a simple bustier that is already selling wonderfully. What seems like a basic corset, is the common denominator of the new collections. Zara defines it as a bustier top made from a polyamide blend, featuring a round neckline and adjustable thin straps.
The Zara top (19.95 euros).
It is available in five autumnal colors, very easy to pair, and sells for only 19.95 euros, an affordable price that makes it even more attractive. It is a more basic, simple, wearable option and adaptable to every style. Do you dare?
