The rise of the quiet cleavage: Women are ditching their Victoria’s Secret push-up bras in favour of comfy athleisure styles or (like Gaga on Vogue) NO bra at all
It's time to say goodbye to padded, plunging push-ups
ONCE upon a time, padded "chicken fillet" push-up bras were the ultimate underwear go-to - with extra points for different colours, jazzy patterns - or a flashy sheer overlay.
Now, naturally-positioned cleavage - in the form of subtle satin bralettes and sometimes, no bra at all - seem to have not only taken over the high-street but eclipsed what we view as fashionable, too.
It's a style that the fashion pack have been championing for some time, with the likes of Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratjkowski making barely-there underwear cool.
In fact, just a quick scroll through Emily's Instagram and the model influencer is often sans bra.
It seems once pushed-up breasts are no longer the look we're going for.
And with highly influential celebrities such as Gigi and Bella Hadid also swapping the bolstered-up style for their off-duty, no bra at all look - it's unsurprising that we're following suit.
And it's not just Emily and the Hadid sisters who are making comfortable, relaxed and functional, cool.
The likes of Olivia Palermo, Ashley Graham, Dakota Johnson, Iskra Lawrence and - closer to home - Mollie King and Lottie Moss are waving goodbye to a bolstered-up bra.
Take Lady Gaga, who appeared on the cover of this month's US Vogue in a low-cut Brandon Maxwell dress.
Braless, the "organic cleavage" look seemed to be encompassed by the strap-falling-off-the-shoulder trick - something Kendall Jenner is a fan of, too.
“I really don’t see what the big deal is with going braless. I think it’s cool and I really just don’t care! It’s sexy, it’s comfortable and I’m cool with my breasts. That’s it!” Kendall said earlier this year.
In fact, 23-year-old Kendall's lingerie collection seems to be a a stark difference from the colourful, padded styles she wore on the Victoria's Secret catwalk last week.
The brand - whose profits have been falling dramatically over the past year - hit the headlines this week after its CEO, Jan Singer, resigned.
Speaking to Vogue, Ed Razek - Chief Marketing Officer - said: "It’s like, why doesn’t your show do this?
"Shouldn’t you have transsexuals in the show? No. No, I don’t think we should.
"Well, why not? Because the show is a fantasy."
According to 's Jess Cartner-Morley, the "real trouble for Victoria’s Secret is that it is selling the wrong kind of cleavage".
"All breasts are beautiful but some are more fashionable than others. The scaffolded cleavage – hoiked and cantilevered by a push-up bra, twin globes held rigid – is still the style at Victoria’s Secret," she writes.
In contrast, more diverse brands - like Rihanna's Savage x Fenty - which offers a range of styles (and especially champions the barely-there look) seems to be reaping the rewards, with the entire collection selling in hours.
Which look do you prefer?
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