It is a fact: it marks the nipple
Models like Kendall Jenner or Gigi Hadid wear the trend every day and have put it back in fashion. There are even brands that market fake nipples to enhance the effect.
I really don't see where the problem of going braless is. I think it's cool and I really don't care. It is sexy, it is comfortable and I am happy with my chest ». With these statements, Kendall Jenner explained in her blog why it is so frequent to see her without a bra walking through the streets of half the world. The model is one of the main culprits of bringing back to fashion that trend that Jennifer Aniston defended chapter after chapter in Friends and that we have seen Kate Moss herself shine so many times. She, along with other ‘instamodels’ such as the Hadid sisters or singers such as Rihanna and Selena Gomez, is responsible for making nipple tag fashionable. The trend has reached such a point that even fake nipples are marketed to enhance the effect.
While going braless has, without a doubt, feminist and political overtones, the new batch of millennial celebrities who dispense with it probably do so for the sake of aesthetics. Kendall Jenner herself makes this clear when she says she is "cool and sexy" (How else would she show off the piercing on her left nipple?). With her constant street style looks letting her chest feel under all kinds of clothing (from a basic shirt to a knitted sweater), the little girl from the Kardashian clan makes it clear that taking off her bra in 2017 has little to do with wearing impossible necklines or garments that require getting rid of it. For her and her gang it is an option as ideal for everyday life as wearing jeans. And at the same time they get on the wagon to exalt the female body and strip it of the social conventions that advocate covering it up.
In the heat of this commitment to free the nipples from their prison, firms are born with the purpose of commercializing the effect. Remember when Samantha taught her friends the benefits of wearing fake nipples in the fourth season of Sex in New York? Well, that's what Just Nips does. The brand sells on its website two models of false nipples (one is called ‘cool’ and the other ‘freezing’ in reference to the erection that the cold produces in the nipples naturally). The mechanism is the same as that of the stickers that can be found in any underwear store to camouflage the nipples under a compromised dress. But the result is just the opposite: it is a sticker that can be attached directly to the chest or placed over the bra to visually create the effect of an erect nipple. For $ 9.99 (just over 9 euros) a unit, the invention aims to wear the popularly known as "high beams" 24 hours without the need to endure polar cold or be excited.
Molly Borman, their founder, considers them a complement as valid as a necklace or sunglasses. «The truth is that my favorite look to wear is with a long-sleeved knitted sweater, as an accessory. They change your styling instantly and add a different touch, "he says. Beyond the mere frivolity of putting on a pair of bumper stickers, her project also has a democratizing aspect. Its creator explains that she wants them to be of help to everyone, from members of the trans community to breast cancer survivors. It is not the first to come up with the idea. Searching on the internet it is easy to come across other proposals - that is, with a less careful brand image - that commercialize lying nipples. Even Wonderbra released a bra with built-in nipples a few years ago.
Leaving aside the debate about whether or not it is good for health to go without a bra, showing the nipple in the fashion world is nothing new. Catwalks have defended the braless movement for a long time (it is impossible not to remember the designs of Alexander McQueen) and the most unlikely bras have shaped the female anatomy in favor of its eroticization (the pointed cone of Madonna is part of the annals of the history of the fashion). Now, with the death of the 'push up' and the proliferation of triangular models of soft fabrics that go beyond the filling, you don't even need to leave it at home to dial. That they tell Gigi Hadid that even wearing underwear (see photo above) lets you intuit the erect area of the chest.
Despite the fact that Instagram continues to defend an unhealthy obsession to censor this part of the body, hide the female breast and even feel ashamed when a nipple makes an appearance because of the cold, it is still a social convention. What continues to generate debate and scandal today was naturally accepted centuries ago. In 1800, Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, was known for her vaporous dresses that exposed the chest. Without having to go back so many decades ago, Jane Birkin anticipated her time going to a movie premiere in the late 70s in a black dress that left little to the imagination. In the 90s, the character of Rachel in Friends left us endless scenes of nipples on the air (that even the Internet has been in charge of compiling) and Kate Moss made it a recognizable sign of her style. Now it resurfaces beyond the controversial Miley Cyrus and the most influential celebrities on the current scene (and social networks) show them without complexes. The #Freethenipple movement, which started as a feminist vindication to protest against Facebook and Instagram censorship, has also been gobbled up by the fashion system to become a trend. If until recently feminine efforts focused on hiding the nipple when bra was dispensed with (nipple cover stickers included), now it's all about branding it. And the more the better.
