While the demand for modest wedding day fashion stays strong, the spring 2024 season of Recent York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week proved that after the weather begins heating up, skin is certainly still in — even on the altar. 

Amid a mixture of runway shows and showroom appointments, the shoulder proved this season’s erogenous zone du-jour. 

Right on trend is Sofia Richie, who wed fiancé Elliot Grange in Antibes Saturday at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in France. The influencer and Nudestix beauty director covered up with a custom high-neck dress embellished with beaded fringe by Chanel for her rehearsal dinner before flashing her collarbone in a scalloped halter-style on the outdoor ceremony. Richie later donned a low-cut two-piece, also by the French fashion house, featuring a boned corset and a Camellia flower to the after party.  

For his or her spring 2024 collections, designers, too, zeroed in on the bodice as a method to modernize traditional dress silhouettes. Cat-eye and single-shoulder necklines were especially distinguished with corset-style details adding extra va-va-voom. 

Here, WWD takes a better look. 

Cat-Eye Necklines

A not-so-sweet alternative to the lover, the cat-eye is defined by points at either side of the neckline resembling a feline’s signature flicked eye shape. At Wtoo by Watters, these were the only design element for a satin ballgown while the likes of Katherine Tash and Jenny Yoo used them to up the sex appeal on ruched A-line dresses with thigh-grazing slits. For her debut bridal collection, Cinq designer Macye Wysner, added a middle point to raised frame the form of the bust. “I’m at all times conscious of what will be essentially the most flattering on our brides,” she said, noting her customer prefers a cat-eye due to how, “scoops and hugs the bust and highlights the décolletage.”      

One-Shoulder

For brides wishing to point out off some décolletage without going completely strapless, a single-shoulder dress may be “an excellent glam statement,” said designer Mark Ingram, noting how the style “accentuates an extended lean line, yet keeps the the element of bareness.” Ingram described the one-shoulder floral embroidered tulle gown from his collection as elegant and sensual. Similar options were seen at Rita Vinieris and Mira Zwillinger, who used a fragile trail of floral lace so as to add support to a female a-line with a sweetheart bodice. Elsewhere, Safiyaa and Houghton toyed with stiffer fabrics for a more structured tackle asymmetry while Sachin & Babi and Vivienne Westwood’s draped styles recalled Greek neoclassicism.  

Corsetry

Because the innerwear-as-outerwear look continues to dominate on the runway and the red carpet, it should come as no surprise that it will infiltrate the bridal market too, as many bridal dresses incorporate boning into their construction. Designers from Viktor & Rolf and Justin Alexander to Danielle Frankel made their workmanship visible with sheer bodices that dramatized the hourglass shape of their dresses. Lihi Hod, meanwhile, contrasted masculine and female by pairing a corset top with tuxedo trousers and Jackson Wiederhoeft got cheeky with a trompe l’oeil embellished design on a bateau-neck mini.