Every day, every one of us makes a conscious decision of what to wear. Whether we insert ourselves into the Fashion industry or not, we exist there, as infamously expressed by The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly. Not only do we formulate identity through the clothes we wear, but we also intentionally or subconsciously judge other’s clothing. Award shows and red carpets today have become a hot spot for stylistic judgment, arguably public reactions to the garments worn by celebrities overshadow the awards. When Bianca Censori dropped her coat on the Grammys red carpet last Sunday, controversy surrounding the revealing nature of her outfit immediately began circulating. The architect and model wore a sheer, nude dress which explicitly displayed her nudity underneath. Immediately people questioned the dynamic of Censori’s relationship with her husband, Kanye West, whose brand Yeezy designed the gown. Viewers analysed footage of the couple building up to Bianca’s reveal on the carpet, claiming that she appears hesitant, perhaps even shaking her head before West speaks to her quietly and assuredly, and she removes her fur coat.
As someone who once avidly watched Keeping Up With The Kardashians out of fierce curiosity, I understand that West, as a fashion designer, tends to assume the role of his partners’ stylist. Throughout the entirety of her relationship with West, Censori has worn looks distinctly designed or inspired by Yeezy. She has been photographed in an almost-naked look before the Grammy’s and her husband has frequently posted explicit images of her on his social media. It is unsurprising that people have looked to West and questioned the couple’s power dynamic in the process of criticising the Grammy’s outfit, some going as far as to suggest domestic violence through sexual exploitation.
Truthfully, we cannot know Censori’s role in the decision, nor her willingness to expose her nudity. As Raven Smith expressed in his article for Vogue; “A woman can make a zillion choices we wouldn’t personally make ourselves and still not have that mean she’s being coerced, that she’s a victim of an overbearing force, that something predatory has happened.” The question remains as to whether Censori’s choice of outfit is a form of liberation, or detrimental to feminism. Ultimately, the dress offers no personal, creative or sensual narrative, it simply displays nakedness. In the context of Censori’s relative silence about her decisions to expose her nudity, and her general silence in the media against the jarring vocality of Kanye West, this nakedness does not exude any narrative of female empowerment. West posted that his wife became the “most googled woman in the world” following the award show. Censori’s body performed as a spectacle, separated from her persona as a woman, which we know nothing of, and attracting more attention than matters of substance like the female voices and artistry to be heralded at the Grammys instead!
Photo by Velizar Ivanov on Unsplash