The style has been dubbed ‘midriff floss’ and could quite possibly end up the defining look of the season. It’s definitely on the racier end of the spectrum, with plenty of stomach on show and ties looping around the belly.
The look has been championed by designers like Australian Christopher Esber and French fashion house Musier Paris, and has since taken over Instagram.
The concept is simple: strings are attached to a crop top, skirt or trousers, and wrapped around the waist as many times as you like. Some influencers have been going for the minimal approach – with one string – and others have embraced the ‘more is more’ look with plenty wrapped around.
It’s not a particularly rigid look – sometimes strings will attach to both the top and the bottom part of the outfit, or maybe just one side.
Even if it’s on the sexier side of things, it’s still being called the more wearable version of a trend that was big last year: the visible thong.
Models including Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin were seen wearing outfits which purposefully exposed the straps of a G-string; midriff floss is another way to embrace strings and straps in a more low-key way.
Midriff floss has also made the easy leap into swimwear. Plenty of bikini styles are already made of string, so it makes sense to extend these ties and wrap them around the waist.
Brands like Emily Ratajkowski’s swimwear label Inamorata have been making midriff floss bikinis – although you’d definitely have to be wary of dodgy tan lines on the beach in these swimsuits.
While it’s a new and fresh trend on Instagram, like almost all things in fashion, it involves inspiration from the past. Whether it’s mom jeans or tiny handbags, it’s clear our obsession with the Nineties is still going strong, and back in the early 1990s, similar styles were seen on the Prada catwalk and modelled on the red carpet by big names like Lucy Liu.
It begs the question: what Nineties fashion trend will take over Instagram next?
