L'HISTOIRE: Kate Moss' Copper-Coated Braless Dress in 1993
A slip dress is not necessarily revolutionary, but when Kate Moss wore her sheer Liza Bruce number on a night out, fashion forever changed.
L’HISTOIRE explores fashion history moments you should know, from what actors wore on a red carpet to celebrities who made cameos on the runway. Some are unsung, and some are better known. Each is part of the fabric of today’s fashion world, be it barrier breakers or culture makers.
Sheer dresses make any look risqué, exposing the body through the very mechanism meant to envelop it. In recent years, many designers and stars have increasingly embraced this look on the runway and red carpet, respectively. But three decades ago, the scene was much different. Pioneers then helped set the foundation for its popularity today, like Kate Moss.
A then 19-year-old Kate Moss stepped out in a sheer number for Elite Model Agency's "Look of the Year" party in London in 1993. It has since become one of her most famous looks of all time, which is major given that much of what Moss wore (especially in the '90s) continues to inspire today. At the party, paparazzi snapped a photo of the braless and bright-eyed model dressed in a sheer slip by designer Liza Bruce.
Beneath its copper-coated nylon material, there was only one thing: Moss' black thong. The model wore minimal makeup and no accessories, leaving her hair in a slouchy up-do. It was laid back, and she assembled the outfit herself, devoid of a stylist's help which is all too common today. In a British Vogue looking back on her most iconic outfits however, Moss admitted that her lack of styling team may have led to the naked dress moment.
"I did not know this dress was see-through until the pictures came out the next day in the newspaper. When I went out, I didn't think it was that see-through but, obviously, it was. Good dress, good night," she said.
What makes this look so iconic is its seeming lack of effort and intentionality, as a young Moss seemed to casually throw the dress on. This was symbolic of the '90s, as minimalism reigned. At the 2023 Fashion Awards in London, the model's daughter Lila Moss stepped out dressed in a metallic and sheer slip of her own that appeared to be inspired by her mother's '90s moment. The dress, designed by Nensi Dojaka, evoked a similar feeling of what her mother wore thirty years prior, evidence that channeling Kate Moss is practically a foolproof way to stay chic.
