The "Cut-Out" Trend and the Struggle Against the "Perfect Body" Concept
From Gucci in the era of Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, to even young domestic brands, "Cut-Out" is a trend that remains popular. However, making "Cut-Out" a style that everyone dares to wear is still a difficult problem to solve.
The Spring/Summer 2022 and Pre-Fall 2022 fashion shows marked the return of the "Cut-Out" – a glamorous, penetrating, party-oriented trend. Think bare shoulders and back, with a cut that pops out at the waist, the collarbone, or even the lower belly.
Fueling a resurgence in party wear, we're starting to see personalities like Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Dua Lipa enthusiastically promote such "Cut-Out" dresses. If you are still hesitant about this trend, now is probably the right time to start experimenting.
Unlike bodysuits or even catsuits, "Cut-Out" lacks applicability on the wearer's body. While the problem of body awareness has been repeated countless times in general fashion, the “Cut-Out” detail was born to reveal certain parts of the body. As such, even slight deviations in scale and design will result in clippings appearing in unwanted areas.
Besides, the preservation of fabric is also something that many individuals are forced to consider. If the item is made from a knitted fabric, the cut will be prone to fabric bleed or stretch while other parts of the product will remain tight. As the design of “Cut-Out” items become more popular, more experimental, and also, bolder, it is up to designers to think about the body types they aim for when working with the “Cut-Out” detail.
Although "Cut-Out" appeared and dominated the 2022 catwalk, the lack of variety in dress sizes still caused the trend to receive some unwarranted criticism. One of the most obvious examples of this in the past is Victoria's Secret. Besides, you can also think back to when the beauty and makeup industry were repeatedly criticized for the lack of foundation shades for the black community. For a long time, the high-end "foundation" was mostly designed for fairer people until Rihanna entered the beauty market and started creating a wave of colour diversity with Fenty.
The return of "Cut-Out" also stems from a past trend, back in late 2019 with a spectacular comeback of crop-tops, loose jeans, flared jeans and low-rise pants that are quite essentially – Y2K. However, the return of Y2K makes many people worry that the obsession with size zero will also return as it was the standard of feminine beauty back then. And although Y2K is giving fashion an exciting wave of innovation now, some of the aesthetic views of this period should be left dormant in the past. The "Cut-Out" trend, although not intentional, has certainly hindered integration and positive attitude towards natural body shape.
Even so, "Cut-Out" continues to be a design that enters the "details board" of most modern fashion houses, and we see a lot of positive signs in style, width, hugs and types of fashion fabrics in use. Most of the plus-size models appearing on the runway will not present "Cut-Out" clothing, but the diversity is still evident, especially from representatives from the land of the rising sun: Sacai and Undercover.
Besides, the community of young designers are constantly on the lookout for new ways to make the difficult "Cut-Out" detail possible with a variety of different body types. Challenging common body standards, Karoline Vitto designs with a focus on showing natural body curves and curves rather than trying to conceal them. Sinéad O'Dwyer also had a similar design mindset in rejecting the common workflow: starting with a size zero shape and gradually increasing the size after completing the original set. While most designers choose to create according to standard model sizes, Sinéad O'Dwyer does the opposite and always starts with size UK 22 (size XL in Asian size).
Rather than thinking that every body and every shape is different, the "Cut-Out" trend in particular sometimes leads the majority to think that they should have a body that suits fashion in order to be able to wear what they like. By refusing to start with an average model's body size, young designers are gradually breaking down stereotypes in clothing and negative attitudes about a "standard" body.
After all, anyone can wear “Cut-Out” designs and we all deserve a great outfit for the holidays. As this trend continues to spread across the runway and on your iPhone screen even, designers should start using “Cut-Out” as an opportunity to highlight size diversity in the industry instead of going back to the old and equally conservative body standards.
