Oscars Afterparty Trend Sparks Fury

A daring fashion trend that dominated the red carpet at one of the Oscars’ most glamorous afterparties has sparked outrage among social media users.

Following Sunday’s 96th Academy Awards, a host of stars made the trek from Hollywood to the Beverly Hills’ Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, where they attended the hot ticket Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

The soirée has long attracted a veritable who’s who of Hollywood, with Oscar winners often mingling with their statuette in hand as they party alongside a host of well-heeled guests.

However, while the gathering is well known as one of the most glamorous on the Hollywood social calendar, a number of the guests’ sheer and barely-there sartorial selections have left observers online less than impressed.

Several stars arrived at the event showing they had embraced “nearly-naked dressing, in gowns that barely counted as clothes,” Marie Claire noted. In essence, many of these gowns were either slight or see-through.

An exhaustive bevy of stars stepped out sporting the look on Sunday, including Margot Robbie, Anitta, Chrissy Teigen, Florence Pugh, Quinta Brunson, Halle Bailey, Ice Spice, Paris Hilton, Kendall Jenner, Vanessa Hudgens, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lawrence, Sabrina Carpenter, Ashley Graham, and Ellie Goulding.

Their eye-catching looks have since sparked a flood of social media posts, including one shared on the Instagram account of Elite Daily on Monday.

“The nearly naked trend is here to stay and I’m LIVING for it,” read a caption posted on the image-sharing platform. The outlet posted a carousel of photos of celebrities in their gowns at Vanity Fair‘s event.

While the caption expressed an enthusiasm for the look, a host of Instagram users expressed their distaste, with one writing: “How is this okay/fashionable yet breastfeeding in public is still [frowned] upon in some places? Give me a break.”

‘”Nearly naked’ trend needs to go,” said another. “Last thing we want is young girls see these people and think that the only way to be beautiful is to expose yourself.”

“ZERO class. Zero,” a third user weighed in. “This is appalling. This is what the ‘prestigious Academy Awards’ has been reduced to? Really? Hope this ‘nearly naked trend’ ends and Hollywood classic styles return.”

“I’m not living for it,” stated another detractor. “Where is the elegance and beauty of dresses? Everything has passed sexy and become vulgar instead. What is this?!?”

“What happened to leaving a little something to the imagination??” asked one frustrated user.

However, several other Instagram users pushed back on the criticism, as they suggested there was an overriding theme of misogyny in the backlash.

“Has ANYONE that is complaining about this EVER been angry about seeing a topless MAN in a movie?” one supporter of the look wrote. “Or a GUY with a sheer shirt on a red carpet? No. Because apparently only female nipples are a problem.”

“I hate [that] half of those [comments] are women shaming [others] just because [they’re] showing off nipples,” one user stated. “It’s quite sad, it’s not even a big deal. It doesn’t hurt anybody.”

“These women all have great unique bodies,” said another, who added that “part of me appreciates any positive impact on women’s body image issues this trend could have. Our breasts are our own to do with as we please.”

“Being more comfortable with our bodies and removing stigma or taboo around looking at and touch our own breasts reduces deaths from breast cancer with early detection,” the user continued. “Nobody looks at men on the beach and [finds] their mammary glands offensive. Time to move past these oppressive double standards and let women own their bodies without judgement one way or the other.”

“It’s insane how offended and shocked we are by the exposed female nipple,” said one Instagram user, while another comment read: “It’s 2024 and we all have nipples. Calm down, perhaps?”

“In Europe we are not so ashamed of our bodies,” said one commenter. “Children grow up feeling it’s natural to feel at ease with your body, there’s not so much shaming. What’s wrong with wearing what you want? It’s not like we weren’t all walking around half naked as cave men!”

Even during the Oscars telecast, clothing and nudity became a theme, though as part of a scripted bit. John Cena presented the Best Costume Design award naked, save for an envelope shielding his manhood.

Although Cena appeared nude, backstage photos showed the star wearing a strategically placed flesh-colored covering.