Latest news with #Esh
The Guardian
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Back to the front: necklaces and other rear view surprises all the rage
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.'
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
Demolition work set to begin in £10m Eston Precinct revamp
Demolition work is to begin in the next phase of a £10m shopping and leisure precinct.A demolition notice has been issued to transform Eston Precinct, near Redcar, from 5 May, with work expected to be finished by spring and Cleveland Council said most of the shops earmarked to come down have been vacated, with the rest expected to be empty by the end of March. Eston ward councillor David Taylor said there was a "list" of interested retailers in the project, although none had formally been signed up yet by the local authority. The £9.9m scheme is being paid for with government levelling up funds and a contribution from the Tees Valley Combined planned precinct will have seven or eight new units, along with 100 car parking spaces, the Local Democracy Reporting News Service said. Taylor said there were a few businesses "waiting to find suitable alternative premises" before the demolition, which is being undertaken by the company Esh. 'Long time coming' A cabinet report in 2023 said the ambition was to "transform" Eston and prevent the "continued decline of a deprived and neglected area" by attracting new retailers, shoppers and leisure users. He has previously said the regeneration scheme had been a "long time coming".A previous £6m retail scheme for the square and precinct area was shelved in 2021 with some remaining retailers complaining they had been left in limbo. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
