London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Welcome to the Summer of Skin

Welcome to the Summer of Skin

How KNWLS, Supriya Lele, Rui, PosterGirl, and more emerging, female-led brands are redefining summertime sex appeal.

“I have been living in my thong trousers ever since we produced them,” says designer Supriya Lele. With a floss-style band at the hip, a cut-out that reveals a bit of pelvis, the turquoise stretch viscose trousers in question they definitely aren’t jeans. Although if you are in the market for denim, KNWLS’s new ultra-low rise style, paired in lookbook images with an exposed thong and nothing but pasties up top, would be right for summer 2021.

Those who would like a garment for their upper half will have to fight over KNWLS’s corseted bodices, a style recently worn by Beyoncé and Bella Hadid, and the sheer, strappy mesh tops of Hadid’s other favorite designer Nensi Dojaka. Not into separates? Well then Rui’s clinging and cut-away bodysuits suspended on strings of pearls will do the trick, just check out Dua Lipa on the cover of Rolling Stone for the proof.



Supriya Lele spring 2021

Together, this new guard of female designers are pushing a shapely silhouette of curve-hugging, stretch separates into fashion. Body-conscious and brazenly sensual, their pieces are loosely rooted in both the minimalism of the ’90s and the music videos of the aughts. The big difference, though, is that unlike the low slung pants and scarf tops of that era, this is clothing designed by women for women. “I want my clients to feel empowered and strong. If that involves feeling sexy, then that’s great,” Lele says. “I think it’s important to define sexy from a decidedly female point of view though.”

That feminine touch comes in these collections’ softer lines; almost every Supriya Lele, KNWLS, Nensi Dojaka, and Rui piece is made of curvilinear seams. “I want to break the hardness. My fabric is soft, all the seams are curved and so it shows the pattern on the body-and the pattern shows the power,” says Rui Zhou, the designer of Rui. “I think my work really shows the power of women.” Zhou’s pieces, often tethered together with fine pearl beads, also evoke ideas of fragility and intimacy, as do Dojaka’s architectural tops and trousers, which are almost magically suspended from a single thread.



Rui fall 2021

What’s behind the rise of ulta-sexy, sheer, and curve-revealing clothes for the selfie generation? The years following a time of strife tend to produce a radical new silhouette, from Christian Dior’s nipped and hipped post-War New Look back to the layered empire line that became fashionable after the French Revolution. Our post-pandemic 2021 look will have less to do than constructing an unnatural silhouette than revealing the contours of the body’s innate form. That might have to do with our means of communication. The flaneûse, gazed upon by others, has been replaced by the selfie-taker-and she has the power to dictate and manipulate the bounds of her own image.

“You’re able to get such an intimate view into someone’s world through social media,” Charlotte Knowles, of KNWLS, says, “and that idea of intimacy is breaking down barriers. You can just be who you want to be and appear how you want to appear.”

“I think that Instagram has created this safe space for people to really express themselves without having direct human contact, so they can be more in control of how they are seen,” her co-creative director Alexandre Arsenault picks up. “Now you see a lot more people that are comfortable wearing something super sheer or made from a really thin fabric.”



KNWL's new denim campaign

The impact that digital perception and control can have on IRL style cannot be underestimated-especially after a year indoors that has seen aesthetic tastes grow even more extreme. “During lockdown sales were going full throttle, especially with our online stores like Ssense,” Arsenault says.

Ssense, which picked up KNWLS for fall 2018, just launched an exclusive capsule with label and photographer Harley Weir because, says Brigitte Chartrand, the retailer’s vice president of womenswear buying, “we know it will resonate and perform well with the Ssense audience.” Chartrand points to the Y2K revival, an aesthetic movement popular on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter among Gen Z-ers too young to have experience MTV TRL the first time around, as one reason for the return of cling. “This version of sexy fits in with these references to the late ’90s and early 2000s. With a focus on tube tops, spaghetti straps, and flared trousers, these are the styles that brands like Charlotte Knowles and Nensi Dojaka are known and loved for.”



While KNWLS, Supriya Lele, Rui, and Nensi Dojaka are some of the buzziest names championing this new look, they are far from alone. In London, Dimitra Petsa makes wet look dresses, Michaela Stark designs strappy lingerie, and Mowalola crafts low-rise leather pants and backless tops. Milan has Adriana Hot Couture, which remakes aughts staples like velour tracksuits and camisole tanks, Paris has the sinewy and see-through knits of Lou de Betoly, Berlin is home to Ottolinger’s undulating mesh bodysuits and dresses, and Ho Chi Minh City is where Quach Dac Thang makes cut-away La Lune pieces to ship around the world. In Australia, Reneé Fox’ brand Daisy pushes an unabashedly hot look, and Louisa Ballou does the same from North Carolina. Yes, there are male designers who are in on the skin reveal-Mugler’s Casey Cadwallader being the most successful-but in 2021, showing off the body is a woman’s game.

It’s not just changing ideas about sexuality, Y2K trendiness, or a rebuttal to the austerity of 2010s Phoebe Philo-philia that these body-hugging and skin-showing garments represent. They also celebrate a more global point of view. “I’ve always referenced the sensual nature of Indian dress within my practice and it’s become a signature of mine to create work that touches upon this language,” says Lele. “Perhaps now after such a difficult year, people want to feel empowered and happy and want to embrace themselves”-and their cultures.



To designers Francesca Capper and Natasha Somerville of the London-based brand PosterGirl, stretchy, sexy clothing also comes with a message of body positivity. The pair spent most of the 2020’s lockdowns figuring out how to marry the “suctioning” of shapewear with the sex appeal of their popular fishnet bodysuits. “It was important for us to work towards a garment that elevates all sizes, enhancing and flattering your curves. The body-conscious trend is not always an exciting thought for women that are not confident to show off this much of their own silhouette, so having a shapewear element in the dress to sculpt your body really helps with solidifying inner confidence,” they wrote in an email. “The cut-outs are in places that release curves, whilst the suctioning opaque areas hold you in for support.”

Constructing such hardworking garments from materials as flimsy as mesh, fishnet, and viscose is no small feat. Knowles and Arsenault spend most of their time in fittings with their in-house model October, and then re-fitting the pieces until they arrive at a more universal shape. “The materials we use are very tough, almost technical, but the design is still very sensitive to the body,” says Knowles. “It takes a lot of work-a lot of toiles.” She is sitting on the floor after a long night of work in the studio. To show off the fruits of her labor, Knowles raises her leg into the frame of our video chat, the bell hem of her flared flame-print leggings revealed. “I just wear these every day, they are so comfortable,” she says, explaining that she dresses them up and down, and wears them with both heels and flats.

Lele had much the same to say of her thong trousers: “They are so comfy, and I can dress them up or down.”

The construction might be masterful, but the attraction of this new breed of sensual clothing is painfully obvious. A sexy stretchy pant works with everything. Even more important: Comfort equals confidence.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×