You know that girl on TikTok who challenges you to find one thing everybody can agree on? I have three for her: the corn song is a masterpiece, Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time, and Timothée Chalamet is hot.
I’ve never quite got it with the third one, but last night somehow did the trick for me. Here’s Timmy all over my Instagram feed, straight out of the Venice Film Festival red carpet, wearing a *backless* Haider Ackermann custom halter jumpsuit. In shimmering red. With a wraparound scarf! To quote the great Gigi Hadid,
“you look so major,
when I saw you on the carpet I was like,
oh slay,
I swear,
big slay”.
Two things popped into my head when I saw Timothée Chalamet officially enter his sl*t era: 1) why are these two pictures of him and Julia Roberts low-key giving off the same energy — could they actually be waving to each other in an alternative universe?, and 2) why are backs so hot?
Think back to Mireille Darx wearing a backless Guy Laroche dress in the 1972 film Le Grand Blond avec une Chaussure Noire, or the infamous dresses and swimsuits worn by Vikki Dougan (the model once known as “The Back”) in the 1950s and '60s. There’s something quite appealing about a seemingly modest, discreet look that sends chills up and down your (bare) spine once you see it from the back. It’s surprising, unexpected and nothing short of sexy. It’s also amazingly democratic when you think about it: it can suit the most daring fashion girlies that still dream of a Fall 1996 Tom Ford for Gucci white backless dress and get their current fix from Nensi Dojaka or Aya Muse, it can go all out in thong revealing fashion like Gillian Anderson in Eduardo Lucero at a 2001 Oscars after party or Hailey Bieber in that light-pink Alexander Wang (Alexa, play “We Don't Talk About Bruno”) gown at the 2019 Met Gala, or serve the more romantic types with something more delicate from SIR or Cecilie Bahnsen.
In a more practical sense, it’s also a fuss-free formula. When you put on a backless dress, you don’t need much more than your skin saying hello, yes I’m over here, look in the back. It doesn’t require you to bend over backwards trying to figure out how to look confident without giving away that you’re actually making a huge and conscious effort to get your hot girl shit together.
And whichever way you wear it, it makes for a grand opening and an even bigger exit.
Big exists forever 💕