017 - How Sexy got back
A shift towards playfulness shows sex still sells - it just looks different this time
Yes, yes, sex will always be a part of human life. We don’t start and stop shagging depending on the zeitgeist. But how much we do it, how we talk about it, and how we feel about it does.
You’ll have seen the reports: we’re deep in a collective dry patch. But it feels like that’s about to change. Sex is fashionable again (Diesel cemented that fact last week with its condom-drenched ‘sex positive’ FW23 show) - except this time it's different. We’re post #MeToo, post Covid, and attitudes to sex and sexuality are changing as Gen Z come of age. So, what does ‘sexy’ look like today? And what does that really mean for us all?
As you well know, sex sells (think of some of the greatest commercial successes of recent history - Marylin Monroe, cigarettes, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Apparel, the Kardashians, Love Islanders-turned-PLT ambassadors, Isamaya Ffrench’s recently launched penis-shaped lippie…)
But our collective horniness ebbs and flows. Just like the lipstick effect (the theory that consumers are more willing to buy less costly luxury goods during economic crisis) and the hemline index (which predicts that stock prices rise when skirts are short, and fall when skirt lengths are longer) our appetite for sexy clothes and music and aesthetics changes with the wind (and the economy).
Thanks to Covid, it’s no surprise that we’re having less sex than ever. But a deadly virus and countrywide lockdown aren’t entirely to blame. After all the unfiltered debauchery of Cool Britannia and indie sleaze in the 90s and 00s, the ‘10s took a turn for the sterile. Cast your mind back to 2018: Beauty standards are filtered and filler-ed to within an inch of their lives. Athleisure is hitting the bigtime. Millennial pink and rose gold are everywhere. Every song in the charts could be either Ed Sheeran or Dua Lipa. It’s not giving sexy. Meanwhile society is taking a much-needed look at what needs to change: BLM, MeToo, trans rights, the climate crisis, body positivity. When collectively grappling with discrimination, abuse, trauma and Trump, it’s no wonder sex fell down our priority list.
A few years on and social injustice isn’t solved, but there’s less pushback against the fight for equality now that Gen Z are leading the conversation. Young people are holding eachother to higher moral standards. The queer community is growing. People connected IRL again. The result? A society where people are more comfortable talking about their identity and sexuality again, and pop-culture that reflects that, too (shout out to artists like Meghan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Doja Cat and Ariana Grande for bringing WAP and the like into public consciousness).
After the surrealness of the past decade, we’re entering our silly era: shifting away from earnestness and nihilism towards irony and levity (just look how pristine IG grids have been replaced with shitposts and photodumps). Aesthetic suffix’s have switched from ‘core’ to ‘sleaze’ - shifting the whole trend cycle away from regimented aesthetics towards messier ‘vibes’ with more room for personalisation. Pop music has had a much-needed shake-up too, with innovators like PinkPantheress reaching #1 and pop stars like Beyonce drawing on underground influences, while social media fuels the trend for chopped-up, sped-up, DIY sounds. The mood is 1-part doom, 2-parts playful (better laugh or you’ll cry).
This preference for realness and individualism goes for our attitudes to sex, too. Gen Z’s fluidity is well-documented, but that doesn’t just mean growing rates of LGBTQ+ people, it means a greater focus on education, exploration and acceptance across the board. The trend for celibacy among young people is down to more considered approaches to relationships, rather than a rejection of them. On TikTok, young people are exploring their sexuality by learning about it first, while more open discussion about kink and polyamory are broadening the conversation to everyone, with new gen apps like Hinge, Feeld and Pure paving the way for a more experimental and ethical next era of dating.
It’s not that we’re out of the sex drought just yet. More like: we’ve hit rock bottom, and the only way is up. The Face and Dazed have both reported on the sex-led fashion and makeup trends that are emerging from the sex-cession. The midi dresses and cottagecore of the Covid years have been replaced by Miu Miu mini-skirts and Coperni-style drapery and cut-outs; The super-girly brand of Y2K renaissance has been swapped for the darker palettes and grungier textures of Heavn and the like - all of these trends charged by the boom in nimble new-gen indie fashion brands, which are pioneering experimental designs and sustainable methods. It-brands Diesel and Mowalola have gone a step further, with a ‘sex-positive’ FW23 show for the former and a playful, fetishwear-inspired collection for the latter. Even the menswear pivot from streetwear to tailoring is ushering in feelings of romance and nostalgia in the place of comfort and performance, while designers continue to play with gender-bending designs.
Celebs are playing their part, too: See Sam Smith’s recent collab with Michaela Stark for The Perfect Magazine, an iconic retaliation to the hate they’ve received for their recent styling choices, which have included bondage and fetishwear. And Doja Cat, who has publicly rejected beauty ideals in favour of makeup-as-art (her all-red bejewelled look is a fav). It’s no coincidence that both Sam and Doja dressed as dominatrixes at this year’s Grammys.
Brands, we’re not suggesting you start peppering campaigns with BDSM references (see Balenciaga for how not to do it). Back to the lipstick theory and hemline index for a second: as we see sex and sexiness crop up more frequently in culture and fashion and music, this isn’t a real-time reflection of our sex-lives. Instead, treat it as an indicator of collective mood.
Consider this a PSA: Appetites for messiness, realness and fun will continue to grow. And that means fertile ground for playfulness and exploration - whether that’s via design, audio, tone of voice, or how you leverage digital spheres. Keep reading the room so that you can confidently push boundaries when the right moment appears. The only caveat? Make sure your ethics are up to scratch (as Diesel kindly reminded us - always use protection).
That’s all for now! Have you noticed a sillier mood, or a sexier one? Could we really be heading out of a sex-cession? As always, we’d love to hear your two pence, so drop us a DM or comment if you like. Otherwise, see you next time!
Words: Letty Cole