The naked dress: fashion's current major trend

New York - If the recent Met Gala red carpet was any indication, the naked dress is here to stay. Let's first keep in mind that nudity and high fashion somehow finding themselves in co-existence is nothing new. Recently, the ever controversial Lady Gaga donned a fishnet dress with nothing but silver pasties and high-waisted black underwear leaving anything to the imagination.

The "naked dress" trend didn't start with Lady Gaga, or at the Met Gala, however. It could possibly be traced back to Rihanna's Adam Selman gown at last year's CFDA awards, however, that would just be pointing to how the trend was brought into this era. If we'd actually rewind even further back, to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, the trend actually began with address Rose McGowan showed up in a sheer black fishnet front gown exposing her bare bum in the back.

It was the dress that launched a thousand headlines that still goes unforgotten today. It also is considered the original dress that launched the trend. While it would be a while before a dress that left so little to the imagination was seen again the naked trend didn't disappear entirely. In February 2000, music superstar Jennifer Lopez would go down in red carpet history for wearing a green silk chiffon Versace dress that was practically see through.

The naked dress the "it" trend of the moment on the red carpet

Almost fifteen years later, and the dress is still remembered as "the dress" at the 2000 Grammy's and even has its own Wikipedia page. Throughout the years, "naked dresses" would be worn by the likes of Toni Braxton, who was clearly naked under the panels of her 2001 Grammy dress, and Coco Austin at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards with her fishnet gown that only had a g-string under it.

Despite these women and their fantastic celebrations of the female body, the woman who is responsible for bringing the trend into this decade though would still have to be Rihanna with her Adam Selman gown. It was only a year later that other celebrities began to follow suit. Back in the day, stars would opt for a dress that may draw attention to one of their assets, but, now, it's all about showing off all of their bodies.

It took the public a while, but rather than shaming the female figure, or seeing it as "too sexy", "too revealing", or "too over the top", the celebration of the female figure is more important than ever in fashion right now. Legendary fashion designer Carolina Herrera recently voiced her grievances to New York Magazine, saying, "[Some designers think] it's so modern to be naked or almost naked," Herrera told them. "They think it's going to attract younger people if they do those dresses. No! The almost naked! Oh God! They're just trying to get people to pay attention to them. In life, there should be a little mystery. [These women are] supposed to be fashion icons, and yet they’re not wearing anything."

Herrera wasn't the only one who finds the naked dress trend distasteful, Project Runway judge and advisor Tim Gunn also recently voiced his disdain for the naked dress to Us Weekly saying that he's "horrified by them." Perhaps the resentment of the trend by such prominent fashion figures could spark an end to the trend, but, for now, it seems like it is here to stay. The naked dress has been here for a while, it is highly doubtful it will disappear completely, but right now, it is certainly having its moment.