Reclaiming The Corset
The corset has been splashed across a number of looks both on and off the runway this past year. With a rising number of Spring/Summer 2020 shows featuring the highly debated garment, what space does the corset occupy in the Indian closet?
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The corset has always occupied a controversial space in sartorial history. A garment at the edge of a long debate, it has always skirted the line between a symbol for women’s suppression and freedom of choice. From being an uncomfortable garment used to enforce the idea of an unrealistic waist to evolving to a more flexible device being used by women to express their sexuality, the corset has seen a resurgence in popularity over the last decade. The last year, in particular, saw a major ascent in the popularity of the corset globally.
Fashion’s global trendsetters, the reality TV stars of the Kardashian-Jenner clan are hugely responsible for the burgeoning popularity of the corset. From the constant barrage of extreme corseted waist-trainers on their Instagram feeds, to their decidedly iconic looks at red carpets and events featuring the piece; they have been crusaders for the corset. Apart from the reality stars, supermodels like Bella Hadid also have a fair smattering of corseted looks in their repertoire.
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The revival of the corset isn’t restricted to the traditional binding silhouette and includes modifications to the piece. It has become a favoured silhouette at international award shows. American singer and flautist Lizzo walked the Grammys carpet in a stunning white Versace corset gown while Demi Lovato’s Grammys performance look included a studded corset belt over her Christian Siriano dress. The Golden Globes red carpet saw Cynthia Erivo in a corseted tuxedo gown by Thom Browne and Rachel Bilson in Brock Collection outfit with a corseted bodice. The corset has also found favour in Bollywood with Alia Bhatt opting for a Ralph and Russo corset gown at the 2019 Filmfare Awards and then again picking a corseted bodice Georges Chakra gown for the IIFA 2019 carpet.
Picture credit: Insider.com
Picture credit: Insider.com
Picture credit: Pinterest
Lizzo in Versace at the 2020 Grammys, Kim Kardashian in Thierry Mugler at the MET Gala 2019, Alia Bhatt in Ralph & Russo at the 2019 Filmfare Awards
Pankaj and Nidhi played with the corset silhouette at India Couture Week 2019, featuring it in a gown. The designer duo wanted to celebrate the corset’s modern avatar by combining the silhouette with an evening gown. Talking about the enduring appeal of the corset they said, “It’s a universal desire to want to look our glamorous best when we step out of the house for a special occasion. Couture, with all its history, was intended to do just that- make you stand out, in your one made to measure ensemble. The corset, whose history as old as couture itself is being styled with sarees and drapes in the form of corset blouses etc. What’s interesting is that something that was historically worn as an inner garment, is for a while being used now, overtly as a fashion expression. It speaks metaphorically of how far we’ve come in the evolution of out outlook and beliefs not just in beautification but also in deeper beliefs.”
Designer Gaurav Gupta has experimented with the corset as well with gowns and saree gowns. Film actor Aditi Rao Hydari recently chose a corseted violet feather gown by the designer. Gupta’s corsets are crafted within the garment itself with embroidered tulle panels often being used to create a sexy, peek-a-boo appeal. While the designer feels that the corset is a bit of a hard-sell in India, there is the rise of the consumer wanting to make a statement. Gupta attributes the corset’s continued charm to its vintage allure, “The corset kind of has a vintage appeal to it. It has a reminiscence of sorts, because corsetry has been there, prevalent in French costume, English costume and during the Victorian times. So it kind of combines a very old-world charm and if you do it now, in a modern way, it juxtaposes really well. And it kind of cinches the waist in and gives almost like a graphic angular shape to the body and enhances the bust.”
Picture credit: Gaurav Gupta Facebook
Picture credit: Telegraph India
Aditi Rao Hydari in Gaurav Gupta, Masaba Gupta in Masaba x Rhea
This revival of the corset is aesthetically pleasing in more ways than one, however, it sparks the ever important question. In the current scenario of women breaking free of the stereotypes that hold them back, how does the corset shift the narrative? Mostly synonymous with the Victorian era, the corset used to be a rigid structured inner garment with an unyielding boning that was laced tight in order to cinch the waist, often at the cost of a wearer’s comfort, and in some extreme cases, health. Despite facing a decline in popularity with the ushering of the flapper age or the more freeing fashion of the 70s and 80s, the corset has continued to return periodically. The health issues, restrictive movements, and a past of associated suppression hasn’t hampered it’s revival time and again.
A case can be made against corsets for the reinforced unrealistic beauty ideals that the garment continues to perpetrate. It is entirely possible to say that the corset brings forth the wearer’s internalised misogyny by conforming to archaic and patriarchal norms of an impossibly slim waist. However, despite being entrenched in the constant debate, the corset in its current form is glaringly a symbol of empowerment as women continue to embrace their sexuality through the silhouette. The historically scandalous garment has been revamped to suit the choices of the current woman. In some ways it is a gloriously feminist move to redefine a garment that used to symbolise women’s oppression and make it an icon for women’s rights to choose. To pressures. The corset aids not only any woman wanting to embrace her curves, but also transgender women. The once torturous piece has been transformed to empower. And especially in a society like ours where the ideal woman is bound by the virgin-Madonna complex, the corset allows her to break free of this projected image.