As humans, we rarely evolve in a steady linear fashion. Instead we swing from one extreme to another as the perpetual motion carries us towards the grander course of cultural evolution. Sometimes, this swing is towards a more modest, conservative direction as we grow more self-conscious of what our more liberal expressions have brought forth. In the other extreme, we break free of restrictions as we ponder, explore and test the limits of freedom we crave.

There are aspects that support one versus the other as we have grown in our last century. Growing tired of the physical limitations while capitalizing on the acceptance that entering a new century brings, we saw fashion in the 20s lift hemlines, embrace sheer and allow more bare flesh as women asserted their desires to be more equal while embracing a less-defined waist reflecting the maculinization that came with those freedoms that had long been property of men only. As economics changed and self-consciousness arrived, we shifted back during the 30s with lower hemlines while evening wear still revealed the female form, albeit more covered so that the power became via suggestion rather than through defiance.

Rationing supported short hemlines in 40s daywear while providing masculinized elements such as pants as women found more access to the working world during the war years and found ways to further equality aspirations. The 50s saw a return to traditional roles and a modesty in volume, layers and in the very restrictions women fled such as corsetry only to again rebel as the 60s saw huge shifts in mentalities fostered by a large Boomer population amidst a changing landscape where technological advancements and space travel upheld breaking convention to embrace the future. Women found their power, took ownership of their sexuality and owned it in even shorter hems and in more revealing cuts.

This empowerment carried forth in the 70s along with the rise of feminism only to be knocked back towards the end of the decade as more conservative views took hold over concerns of losing hold of tradition. Fashion covered up until the mid 80s when experimentation and creativity exploded in the hands of Gen Xer who embraced individualism and expression. Here, the stage was set for the 90s when the 70s were revisited hand in hand with Grrrl power, a second wave of feminism and empowerment. Again, sexuality became a tool of empowerment and we saw flesh revealed strategically.

The turn of our 21st century saw us again move back as we questioned taste values and self-worth versus blatant exposure, and we swung back into layers and covering up. The internationalism of our market also revealed the need to accommodate other populations where modesty is upheld as a continuous standard, and so the collections respond in kind.

Now, as the dialogue of equality has become more frequent and we expand on issues of diversity within those paradigms, we find ourselves reflecting on those times when empowerment meant one did not have to appease the opposite sex to hold one’s head high. Women owned their bodies along with their self-esteem and were in charge of how they wanted to present it. The revisiting of the empowered ownership of one’s sexuality has resulted in the willingness to embrace the option of how much one wants to reveal, and where.

The 2014 Fall Winter Couture collections showed a lot of skin, with bare shoulders at Atelier Versace, Armani Prive, Chanel, Christian Dior, Viktor & Rolf, Valentino, Vionnet and Zuhair Murad. The high slits of the 90s came back at Versace & Valentino while plunging necklines that were domain of the 70s were seen at Elie Saab, Alexandre Vaultier, Alexis Mabille and Valentino. Short hems that would have fit in during the 60s and 80s were found at Atelier Versace, Armani Prive, Alexandre Vaultier, Alexis Mabille, Viktor & Rolf, Ulyana Sergeenko, and Zuhair Murad.

These observations were not restricted to the couture collections, for the 2015 Resort collections reflected this shift in acceptance of aesthetics, nor are those offerings exclusive. One culture’s empowerment is another’s offence, and collections are made for more international audiences and sensibilities. Yet the rise of these expressions is letting us know that those who got it don’t just flaunt it, they control it, and these garments aid in the strategy while the attitudes let the other sex know who is in charge of one's bodies how one wants them presented.