The naked dress trend has taken many forms over the years, with all roads leading back to Victoria Beckham’s 1997 see-through look at the Brit Awards. Margot Robbie and Jenna Ortega made a statement with their revealing outfits. JLo’s sheer Golden Globes number is one of my favorites, and we would be remiss to leave out Florence Pugh freeing the nipple. Of all these daring pieces, however, I’ve never seen anything like what Tyla just pulled off in France.
The pop singer closed out Paris Fashion Week on March 10 by reportedly heading to the Crazy Horse cabaret in a skin-tight, backless snakeskin top. However, on closer examination, as seen in the Instagram video below, that wasn’t really a top at all but rather a temporary body tattoo. Take a look for yourself:
Wow, wow, wow! The adhesive print was applied carefully by designer Simon Carle, the process of which was shown on another of the pop star’s posts, creating the illusion of an orange and black snakeskin turtleneck. The print ran all the way down Tyla’s arms and onto her hands, but stopped abruptly at her sides, leaving her back fully exposed.
The whole look was very Noughties-coded, as the body art left a hole for the “Water” singer’s belly button ring to show through (some would argue the belly ring never went out of style), and she paired the top with slim, low-cut jeans — a trend I wish would not come back but one that makes sense for this outfit, as to not have a waistband threatening the edge of the tattoo.
She finished the look with a gold Chanel chain necklace and Valentino Garavani Panthea Small Shoulder Bag (retailing for $3,600) featuring a python skin and black chevron pattern that complemented her temporary top.
Tyla has been one of today’s top celebrity fashion icons to watch for at red carpet events (for both her style and her talent, as she’s taken home two Grammys for Best African Music Performance). From dramatic cutouts to sheer looks, she’s never been afraid to flaunt some skin, and it’s always refreshing when somebody shows up doing something you’ve never seen before.
I’m talking wardrobe choices like Chappell Roan’s controversial Grammys dress, Lupita Nyong’o’s metal breastplate, Elle Fanning’s necklace top or Sydney Sweeney’s butt necklace. The floating shoulders look is a unique trend that left some fans confused, and two Dune co-stars even had different interpretations of it.
But even the naked dress had plenty of interpretations — from Kourtney Kardashian’s abstract take to Dakota Johnson in chainmail — before Tyla came along and put her own stick-on spin on it. With the artist’s second studio album A-Pop scheduled for release this summer, I would imagine there will be more opportunities for showstopping moments like this one to come, and I can’t wait.