Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, being confined to the house rendered the boundary between dressing for the bedroom versus the road obsolete.

Fashion has had an increasing fixation with treating underwear as outerwear ever since, and fall 2023 saw designers proceed to lean into lingerie with lace insets, exposed boning, ruffles, bows and lots of silk and sating, adding a fragile touch to their mannish suits with linebacker proportions.  

While the trend is synonymous with putting the body front and center, it toys with intimacy as well. Take Giorgio Armani, who prolonged the theme beyond just the intimates he presented on the runway, weaving it into the presentation itself. 

“From the pink-and-white marbled runway, with its little cushioned banquette, to the ultimate model who clicked open a Giorgio Armani compact to powder her face, it was clear the designer was serious about private spaces and peaceful moments behind the doors of the boudoir,” wrote WWD London bureau chief Samantha Conti in her review, adding that “fabrics were soft and shapes were languid, as in a pale satin pajama suit, styled with a tailored jacket (it’s Armani in spite of everything) and a lineup of liquid trousers and dresses, in dark green, melon or copper tones.”

At Fendi, Kim Jones kept things near home as well. As WWD international editor Miles Socha observed, the designer drew inspiration from the insouciant chic of Delfina Delettrez Fendi along with his spring 2023 high fashion collection, “including the body-skimming shapes, the lingerie elements and the fluttering capes, here tacked to the shoulders of black satin gowns with scooped necklines and draped fronts.” 

Meanwhile, the the looks at Tory Burch, Rodarte’s Mulleavy sisters and Alessandro Dell’Acqua at No. 21 skewed had a darker romanticism recalling screen sirens of the Nineteen Thirties and 1940. WWD West Coast executive editor Booth Moore said the latter “conjured a femme fatale for fall 2023, twisting the tropes of femininity to attain a disheveled elegance.“ Boudoir dresses with sheer effects were quite lovely, including a black tromp l’oeil style created from two slips fused together. Other dresses had the effect of bodices peeling down, suggesting a state of undress,” she added.

Anna Sui had a really specific moment of undress on her mind this season. “There’s plenty of lingerie touches — I’ve at all times loved Elizabeth Taylor and ‘Butterfield Eight’ when she had the slip and the mink coat,” the designer told WWD’s fashion market editor Emily Mercer during a preview. 

Similar conceal and reveal moments were also spotted at Prabal Gurung, Maison Margiela and Dries Van Noten.