Elle Fanning’s naked dress has a long history

To some, arriving at an important event naked is the stuff of nightmares. For others, it’s a meticulously planned reality.

To some, arriving at an important event naked is the stuff of nightmares. For others, it’s a meticulously planned reality. For Elle Fanning, who showed up to Monday night’s Met Gala in a completely transparent Balmain gown, it was the latter. Radiant, gleaming and gossamer, the actor looked like she was one false step away from shattering. According to Balmain, the frock’s organza fabric was hand-covered with four layers of resin to achieve a glass effect. The resulting garment conjured images of the precious “crystalline flowers” used to reverse the clock in JG Ballard’s 1962 short story, “The Garden of Time” (this year’s Met Gala theme). But Fanning wasn’t the only celebrity embracing a full-frontal look. Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Kardashian, Doja Cat, Phoebe Dyvenor, Greta Lee and even Eddie Redmayne all wore sheer outfits onto the red carpet, often with nothing but strategically placed embroidery or crystal embellishing to protect their modesty. Behold: The naked dress (or in Redmayne’s case, naked suit). Designs that hint, some more subtly than others, at the wearer’s nudity have become a mainstay on celebrity red carpets and runways. Doja Cat and Miley Cyrus both donned barely-there nude gowns at the Grammy Awards in February; while at the Oscars in March Jennifer Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner, Ice Spice, Charli XCX, Charlize Theron and Iris Law reminded us of the many varieties of a naked dress — from transparent lace to crystal netting. On the Spring-Summer 2024 catwalks, too, see-through skirts were spotted at almost every show, from Prada to Erdem, Acne Studios to Dior. But this preoccupation with sartorial teasing is not new. In 1962, Hollywood actor Carroll Baker was photographed in one of the first ever naked dresses — also designed by Balmain. Baker’s breasts were covered (for the most part) with two embellished pasties sewn onto a sheer torso panel, while embroidered beads and sequins trimmed the sleeves, the neckline and covered the entire skirt. It was a custom look, created specifically for Baker by Pierre Balmain at his atelier in Paris. “(Baker) particularly likes muslin dresses with sparkles placed at the critical points,” wrote ELLE magazine in 1964. “She already has seven. Balmain just designed the 8th one.”