Free The Nipple Looks Were The Biggest Trend Of New York Fashion Week

While trends certainly mutate over time, there are a few aspects of fashion week that operate like clockwork, no matter the season. Every possible venue is fitted with a catwalk — churches, restaurants, and even court houses; Spring/Summer collections feature the most revealing outfits in the brightest of hues; And Fall/Winter collections skew much more covered, highlighting thick fabrics and layers upon layers.

Not this season, though. New York Fashion Week FW24 is underway and though collections focus on the cooler months, the biggest trend is also the most bare. Taking a page out of the Spring/Summer playbook, these styles are all about showing skin regardless of temperature.

The Nippliest Runway Moments

While free-the-nipple looks are nothing new, especially on designer runways, they continue to have a chokehold on the industry at large. This season, routine nip-freers like Christian Siriano and Prabal Gurung led the way with the most opulent looks.

As always, Siriano leaned into his affinity for drama and romance. The former Project Runway winner embraced see-through fabrics — like chiffon and lace — but built on them with decadent details (read: a ruffled accent made of paper-thin fabrics or fitted lacework with intricate patterns).

Gurung, meanwhile, also channeled opulence in delicately pleated dresses. The moody floral prints evoked a dark energy that contrasted nicely against the female form.

Ever one to incorporate lavish detailing, PatBO utilized intricate beading and flapper-era fringe to elevate their exposed dresses. Likewise, Kim Shui sent a model down the catwalk in a nearly-invisible dress. Its only form of coverage was a smattering of embroidered royal blue flowers.

Some labels also chose to take traditionally cold weather-friendly elements and turn them into nipple-freeing masterpieces. Eckhaus Latta, for example, played with ribbed knits in a contemporary way.

One model wore a loosely woven lattice top that didn’t even make an attempt at coverage. Meanwhile, the brand outfitted Paloma Elsesser (who has previously freed the nip for them) in a gauzy knit dress covered in colorblocks and stripes.

Meanwhile, designers at Lapointe got the “mob wife” memo, showing a range of fur coats that perfectly fit the trendy aesthetic. Underneath, however, were clothes made out of wafer-thin textiles.

There’s one key difference between past seasons and this week’s Fall 2024 collections, however. Previous seasons were much more straightforward about baring nip, mostly doing so via diaphanous materials — undressing was the radical sartorial act.

This season, however, designers are folding the look into their own idiosyncratic visions — not the other way around. Anna Sui, for example, incorporated the style into her collection’s vintage shopping theme, via Victorian-era lace and velvet. Meanwhile, Christian Cowan turned the 1950s Stepford Wife into a risqué dresser with a see-through button-up.

Say what you will about this trend, but it’s got range.