Vogue is taking the term "fashion bible" far too literally. The British version of the magazine has featured an article in its December issue on the "debate" (was there one?) about the end of cleavage.
"Whatever happened to the cleavage?" they asked under the story by Kathleen Baird-Murray with the headline, "Desperately Seeking Cleavage". They also went to the public with a Twitter poll asking, "is cleavage over?"
Their research notes "the distinct lack of pertinently pushed-up breasts everywhere from runway to red carpet," sales for padded bras slipping, and singled out those wearing high-necks on the red carpet, like Alicia Vikander at in Louis Vuitton and Jennifer Lopez in Giambattista Valli at this year's Golden Globes.
The writer says: "The cleavage — those magnificent mounds pushed together to display sexual empowerment, to seduce, to inspire lust or even just to show off — is over, or at least, taking a well-earned break," adding, "The tits will not be out for the lads. Or for anyone else, for that matter."
But perhaps Vogue is forgetting that, unlike the fashion trends that they are so famed for reporting on, breasts - big, medium or small - are part of a woman's anatomy and so cannot be added or removed like a pair of boots or a handbag to suit the current mood.
The backlash on Twitter was swift:
So Vogue are basically saying that body shapes like mine are out of fashion. What about people who can't help having cleavage? pic.twitter.com/oK3mW7N7wR
— Sophie Hall (@SophLouiseHall) November 2, 2016
Vogue saying cleavage is outta style guess yall fashion hoes gotta start wearin turtle necks till vogue decides otherwise x
— Hayley (@hayleyglwnn) November 2, 2016
Well Vogue, I'm afraid I'm rather stuck with my cleavage. Tragically I won't be on point this season.https://t.co/1mrnuZlOPt
— Claire (@Novembervivi) November 2, 2016
so glad vogue said cleavage is no longer fashionable because i have been waiting to get rid of all my old boobs in the back of the closet.
— DIAMOND (@lovethediosa) November 2, 2016
Amidst the controversy, Baird-Murray responded to suggest her Vogue article headline, online blurb and Twitter poll were all misleading as her story is not about "breast size, large or small, being 'in' or 'out'."
"It's saying that fashion designers are creating more natural, comfortable clothes that focus on other erogenous zones than just the cleavage," she wrote on Twitter.
She told Bustle that she believes many of her critics have not read the full article and so are trivialising the important body issue. Baird-Murray added:
"[Y]es, as someone whose nightclub years were in the 90s, and whose go-to look was the Vivienne Westwood bustier, the Helen Storey/Patricia Field bra top, who saw Madonna sing live in her conical Jean Paul Gaultier Bra… I've always loved the cleavage — but now? I'm just not feeling it (no pun intended). That doesn't make me a body fascist. That just makes me someone who loves a pussy-bow blouse and doesn't like bras with padding in them. Who is happy to be raising a daughter in an age where she can choose to wear what she wants, and enjoy her freedom to express herself whichever way she chooses."
Backing up the argument is stylist Elizabeth Saltzman, who said celebrities have been put-off exposing cleavage because of the "creepy" reaction they receive on social media.
Commenting on one busty actress she works with, she said: "On those occasions where her cleavage is more visible, I see what happens on her Instagram feeds afterwards, and out of about 100,000 comments, 90,000 will be about her boobs.
"That's not healthy, that's creepy."
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