Katie Holmes’ cashmere bra set pulses racing, but underwear as outerwear is nothing new
Worn with a cashmere cardigan, the set by Khaite cost more than US$2,000 – and sold out rather quickly
Last month, American actress Katie Holmes was photographed on a New York street in broad daylight wearing only a bra and an open cardigan over jeans while hailing a taxi with her daughter, Suri.
The internet was ablaze with admiration, and the bra sold out within an hour of the brand posting it on social media. Why, I’ve been wondering, was it so laudable for Holmes to leave home without a shirt?
Meanwhile, I have endured the gamut of undergarment solutions, from strapless bras to chicken fillets, criss-crossed straps for low-backed dresses to uninspiring beiges meant to match my skin tone. If I did a school run in just a bra, people would assume I was insane.
Understanding mums might attribute it to sleep deprivation. No one would crown me a new influencer, as they did Holmes. It wouldn’t matter that the “twin set” was by hot New York label Khaite, or that its barley beige Eda bralette and Scarlet cardigan were made from cashmere and cost US$520 and US$1,540, respectively. Who buys such things?
I was under the illusion that underwear was supposed to go unseen in public, with the exception of costumes for performers such as Madonna. Her iconic cone bra by Jean Paul Gaultier immediately comes to mind. She first took to the stage wearing it and little else in Chiba, Japan, in April 1990, for her Blonde Ambition tour. (Gaultier debuted the look in a 1987 runway show.)
Of course, there have been copycats. Lady Gaga, for example, has paid homage to the look several times, taking it to the next level by shooting flames out of her bra at the MuchMusic Video Awards in 2009. Katy Perry shot cream out of her bra for the 2010 California Gurls video. They won’t be the last.
