Over the past year, “naked dresses” have been all the rage with celebrities—as in, dresses that are made of sheer tulles or meshes, exposing the body underneath. It’s been an unexpected trend, to see A-list stars willing to bare it all (well, almost!) on the red carpet in front of hundreds of paparazzi. We say: Go for it! But leave it to a fashion star like Katy Perry to take the “naked dressing” movement to a whole new level at couture week in Paris. Today at the Balenciaga show, the singer stepped out in a head-turning look that, well, wasn’t about the clothes at all.
Perry—who has been teasing her new music, including by wearing a dress splashed with her own song lyrics—is making her rounds in lots of eye-popping fashion this week, but her Balenciaga look was arguably her wildest one yet. The singer stepped out in the label’s plushy fur overcoat and black, ripped tight-boots, and forwent a shirt with it. The ample cleavage instantly made the otherwise-demure look feel racy—risqué, even! Now, we know what you must be thinking: That is not a wearable look. But this is couture!—a place for celebrities to play dress-up and deliver a fashion fantasy that is anything but ordinary. And it’s safe to say her flash of skin was certainly not basic.