Each era has its own restrictions... and freedoms. In 1889, a revolution began under women's dresses. The bra was introduced, invented by Parisian, Herminie Cadolle. It quickly earned the nickname "Well-being", as busts were at last released from the constraints of corsets. Yet, over the decades this accessory, synonymous with body freedom, gradually became a potentially new form of domination, imposed by beauty edicts, on a quest to achieve an almost hyper-sexualised perfection.
In 2012, popularised by Lina Esco's eponymous film, the "Free the Nipple" movement was one of the first to denounce these social and cultural demands by encouraging women to walk around bra-less in public. This new mantra rapidly echoed around the world: "Free the nipple". From Soko, Cara Delevingne, to Lena Dunham, the creator of the generational series Girls, the hashtag has gone viral, enjoying wide coverage on Instagram, where we continue to campaign for the freedom to have noticeable nipples without getting noticed.
Recently, lockdown has brought the "No Bra" trend to the forefront even more. According to an IFOP study carried out in April 2020, 8% of women stopped wearing a bra during lockdown, liberated at last from the outside world's gaze. This movement seems to be particularly significant among young adults, as another study shows that, since lockdown, one in five women aged 18 to 24 no longer wears a bra. It would appear that "No Bra" fashion is appealing to more people.
In 2020, the trend doesn't seem to be fixated on the words "no" or "free ", but rather on the freedom of choice. Deciding whether or not to wear lingerie, can be expressed freely today, by each individual.