Bella Hadid Pulls Off Her Riskiest Runway Trend Yet

Today, after walking the Burberry show in London, Bella Hadid stepped out in what appeared to be a standard off-duty look, wearing a crinkly tan jacket by Holzweiler with a tiny green marijuana leaf pin on the placket. There was also, of course, her signature shoulder bag, this time with a silk scarf tied around the handle, and a pair of light wash jeans. Finally, Hadid—who loves all things yesteryear—added a ’00s flair with a pointy-toe heel with an ankle strap. But under that jacket? Well, the model wore a shiny white sheer tank top that freed the nipple.

But don’t let your jaws drop just yet. While the bare-it-all move might at first feel shocking, it isn’t anything dramatically new. Instagram’s #FreeTheNipple movement has been trending for years, and it has already trickled down into celebrity culture and the runway. (Fun fact: A women’s nipples are still not allowed to be visible on Instagram.) Rihanna, Kendall Jenner, and, yes, Hadid have all freed the nipple—and before those heavy hitters, it was Kate Moss on the Vivienne Westwood Spring 1994 runway, Rose McGowan at the MTV VMAs in 1998, and Janet Jackson performing during the Superbowl halftime in 2004.

The trend had a major resurgence on the Spring 2020 New York runways, with many collections channeling the sheer and barely-there. Downtown-minded labels like Barragán and Eckhaus Latta showed loosely woven knits that revealed a whole lotta upper body, nipples included. Gypsy Sport simply painted a model in a shade of sparkling electric blue paint and gave them a crochet dress, which didn’t just reveal, but rather showed off a painted nipple. As if it was any day at the farmer’s market, Collina Strada sent out a model holding a handful of kale and in a simple semi-sheer white tank top that was not too different from Hadid’s. Baring the breast was on larger runways, too: At Pyer Moss, a free the nipple moment appeared at Kings Theater in Brooklyn via a fully see-through button-up, while Khaite made the look more demure and ethereal with a flowing top that seemed plucked out of some sultry Jane Austen fan fiction.

Although freeing the nipple is not for everyone—and I would discourage someone from trying to master it in a heavily air-conditioned office—it does seem here to stay. The world is hectic right now! There are far more important things to be worrying about than whose body is showing what, and maybe that’s why we’ve seen more designers feeling at ease with sending semi-bare chests down the runway. And perhaps Hadid has also caught on that there is something very freeing about, well, freeing the nipple.