Back to the front: necklaces and other rear view surprises all the rage

The Guardian

07-03-2025

Fashion is often used as a tool to make an impactful entrance, but in 2025, it's a dramatic exit that's trending.
At the Oscars, both The Substance's Margaret Qualley and Wicked's Michelle Yeoh wore diamond 'backlaces' – necklaces that had been purposefully styled backwards so that they draped down the back of the spine rather than chest.
Opening the ceremony with a rendition of ver the Rainbow, Wicked's Ariana Grande leaned into her onscreen Glinda persona with a scarlet Schiaparelli dress. But it was the back of the dress that really captured the theme – as the cameras panned around Grande, a ruby slipper built into the back of the bodice became visible.
Elsewhere, at the Vanity Fair after-party, Zoë Kravitz wore what on first impression appeared to be a demure high-necked and full-sleeved black silk gown. However, when The Batman star did a 360 for the cameras, she revealed that the coy gown was more provocative – thanks to a sheer cut-out panel through which her bum could be glimpsed. Online, social media users quickly christened it the 'butt crack window dress'.
The backless effect is favoured by the emerging British designer Aaron Esh who describes it as 'sensual but not in an obvious way'. Esh recently released a collection of backless or semi-backless dresses. His 'Twist' dress offers a flash of the wearer's left shoulder blade while a halter dress consists of a V-shaped open back. Esh says he likes how the front of the dress lets you focus on the wearer's face while a glimpse of a spine or shoulder blade feels 'sexy in a non-traditional way'.
Paris fashion week is also celebrating the posterior. At Tuesday night's Alaïa show, some models wore polo-neck-style dresses with giant heart shapes cut out at the back while other dresses came with gold piping concealed into the front but uncovered at the back. This mirrored a wider 'conceal and reveal' theme.
So what's driving the trend? With many people developing 'tech neck' and rounded shoulders from hours slumped over a laptop or phone, could a backless dress that almost commands good posture be a new humblebrag? Louisa Drake, a personal trainer and pilates specialist describes correct posture as 'a functional necessity and a visual status marker in professional and social settings'. Drake says the backless trend is driving 'a notable uptick' in back-focused requests from clients. Key muscles include the latissimus dorsi (the 'wings' that create width and V-shape in the back) and the posterior deltoids (rear shoulder muscles). Drake says an upright posture can 'subtly communicate self discipline and body awareness' alongside 'confidence and presence'.
But perhaps, the trend runs deeper than just aesthetics. Backless dresses first appeared in fashion in the 1930s, an era of the Great Depression and rise of fascism. Georgina Ripley, principal curator of modern and contemporary design at the National Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh says fashion regularly seeks 'solace in nostalgia or anachronism during difficult times'. She describes the 1930s as bearing 'uncomfortable parallels with our current socio-political landscape. I don't think it's a coincidence that fashion is drawn to these same sartorial influences when the socio-political circumstances align.'