The babydolls rebellion

The haunting Victorian porcelain dolls creatively stimulate the SS23 runways, introducing a new micro-trend within the latent cycle of fashion ephemera: the babydoll dress.

Fashion seems to start a new era for the rebellious babydolls that subvert all that conservatism associated with their aesthetics, to introduce new updated designs in a chic version of the piece in question.

Babydoll dresses are now reinterpreted, acquiring new meanings, in the summer collections of brands such as Rick Owens, Versace, Comme Des Garçons, Loewe or Ludovic de Saint Sernin.

Within the current renaissance season in which everything is trendy, and at the same time nothing is, this trapezoidal silhouette goes beyond the childish sphere to become part of the modern uniform, representing now a free and rebellious femininity that is projected in the core of fashion.

From Versace to Loewe, Coach or other firms perhaps more associated with that romantic aesthetic as Cecilie Bahnsen, now raise to the catwalk their representations of this piece originally associated with empires and aristocracy.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SILHOUETTE

Originally constructed with a high-waisted bodice and a wide skirt, this design is now reinterpreted in association with the lingerie of the 1930s and 1940s when Sylvia Pedlar, of Iris Lingerie, shortened the hemline even further. The concept was revived in the late 1950s when Cristóbal Balenciaga took the babydoll out of the confines of lingerie.

In the 1990s, riot grrrls like Courtney Love, brought the dress back into fashion through their anti-systemic essence and the “kinderwhore” aesthetic, which consisted of sheathing themselves in ripped, tight, low-cut babydoll dresses with Peter Pan collars, combined with black eyeliner eyes and Mary Jane shoes.

UPDATED VERSIONS

All these aesthetic influences were channeled through the spring 2023 runways, marking the comeback of the remastered silhouette in a variety of shades, textures and materials. Cecilie Bahnsen opted for a bouffant, sugary-sweet style in pastel shades, with puffed sleeves and asymmetrical shoulders, while Ludovic reinterpreted it by subverting gender norms.

Rick Owens took the babydoll dress into his gothic and somber universe, transforming it into a more conceptual silhouette with volumes and asymmetries. Finally, other cult brands like Loewe transformed it based on a sartorial evolution of the classic polo shirt, with a mini striped design that once again projected that subversive and hypnotic femininity of the babydolls.