It’s the body-shaping tool that was popular until the 1950s, then died out as women began to embrace less restrictive undergarments.
But the waist-cinching corset is making a comeback, thanks to celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Anya Taylor-Joy.
These two fashion enthusiasts have sparked a fresh conversation about body image by posting pictures within days of each other in which they model exaggerated corsets.
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First up was Dune II actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who posted a grainy black and white image of herself wearing a corset by Maison Margiela that gave her an exaggeratedly nipped-in waist.
“Merci @maisonmargiela + Denis Villeneuve for making dreams come true💋,” Taylor-Joy captioned the post, referring to the design house and Dune II director Denis Villeneuve.
She then posted images of the gown she wore to the Dune II premiere, with the corset underneath.
While some loved the picture, many others had a problem with it, with one follower claiming the actress was “promoting” anorexia.
“The things you do for beauty … that looks painful … are you OK after wearing that for a long period of time?” one fan wondered.
“I am really uncomfortable with the first picture … Why ? Why ???? Why??????” said another.
“Anya I love you but this looks so pro-ana (pro-anorexia) 😭,” wrote a third.
“Nothing to be proud of and sets a poor example for young girls.”
“These images with extreme figure clothing do SO MUCH damage to some people,” one follower said.
“Not only do young girls have peer pressure to conform and look a certain way, but celebrities allowing these images of them purportedly being glamorous and having this ‘lavish clothes’ lifestyle, creates an unreal image that is copied.
“I hope Anya feels wonderful and enjoys her clothes / photo shoots but the super skinny, distorting corset look is so passé — we left that behind with Edwardian ‘chic’ and learned a lot about women’s bodies *not* being that extreme shape.”
Another wrote bluntly: “Can we not normalise starvation?”
‘Check your hypocrisy’
But for every fan who had a problem with Taylor-Joy’s look, another came out to defend it.
“Everyone wants more freedom for women and for them to be more empowered, and when she dresses the way she wants all of a sudden all the women are against her,” one fan grumbled.
“Check your hypocrisy a little bit.”
“Sensing a LOT of pettiness and jealousy in these comments,” wrote another.
“She’s not promoting anything, dude, let a woman be free,” said a third.
“If she likes it good, if you don’t, it’s perfectly fine.
“You have the right not to wear it, just as she has the right to wear anything she likes.
“We don’t have to be all dramatic about it.”
Others felt Taylor-Joy was being “body shamed” in the comments.
“Y’all need to stop body shaming,” one person said.
“Naturally thin people exist and some of you swear it can only happen by eating disorders.
“Not true at all.”
“Y’all LOVE to talk about body positivity until it comes to a body that looks like this,” added another.
Kim Kardashian sparked a similar conversation when she posted two pictures of herself wearing a Mugler corset that gave her an extreme hourglass shape.
The fashion brand Mugler was founded in the 1970s by French designer Thierry Mugler, who died in 2022.
Mugler made headlines in the 1980s and 1990s by sending supermodels down the runway in exaggerated corsets and body-moulding outfits that gave them an almost futuristic look.
But many of Kardashian’s followers were not a fan of her corseted Mugler moment.
“Her organs are displaced. So cruel to the human anatomy,” one viewer wrote.
“Why?” wrote another.
“That looks torturous!”
“She needs help if she thinks this looks right,” said a third.
“Girl looks like she’s missing a couple of ribs,” added another.
“Yessss, let’s set more unrealistic standards and expectations for women 👏,” grumbled one follower.
But again, others loved the look and said Kardashian looked “stunning” and “hot”.
“Fresh,” singer Katy Perry wrote.
“I LOVE this,” gushed another fan.
“OBSESSED 🔥❤,” said a third.
Others were too busy gushing over Kardashian’s makeup-free look or noting how similar she looked to Kanye West’s new partner, Bianca Censori.
“Is it me or Kim is beginning to look like Bianca 🙊,” one person asked.
“You and Bianca look identical,” said another.
“You with no makeup 😍😍,” gushed a third.
‘Not a great image’
But the comments section kept circling around what “message” was being sent out by wearing exaggerated corsets.
“That’s how you look when you take 2 or more ribs out. Not a great image for you girls,” one follower wrote.
“Way to promote unhealthy proportions in women,” wrote another.
“Some of us don’t have the millions you have to maintain your physique.”
Another follower had a more blunt assessment.
“This is not cool,” they wrote.
“This is sick.”
Women will continue to wear shapewear, of course — think of the popularity of brands such as Spanx or Kardashian’s own line, SKIMS.
But tightly-laced corsets were supposed to be a thing of the past.
With celebrities getting back on board the tight-laced, tight-waist bandwagon, it remains to be seen if corseting will return to the mainstream any time soon.
