Summer Fashion: Is it time to Free the Nipple?

NY Post – In recent years, celebs such as Kendall Jenner and Hunter Schafer have opted for minimal looks that show maximum skin, while designers such as LaQuan Smith and labels such as Blumarine sent models sashaying down the runways in little more than their skivvies last fall.

Now, the naked fashions have made it to the street.

“There is a certain sexuality about the trend that I find very interesting, because there is this power about it, like, ‘You can look but can’t touch,’” Audrey Steen, the 24-year-old designer and CEO of Upcycling Diaries, a fashion company that sells several revealing looks, told The Post.

Phelix Schneider, a designer from Portland, Oregon, also creates a lot of naked fashion looks.

On a recent Friday night on the Lower East Side, she and her girlfriends were out and about in her designs — little corset dresses, colorful sheer two-piece sets, bikini tops, and a skirt with high slits and thong strap cutouts. 

“For me, naked fashion is about owning the desire to turn heads,” the 19-year-old told The Post.

And, the trend isn’t just for those in their tweens and twenties.

“I’m 32 and I’m more confident than when I was 20,” said Jennifer Martinez, a stylist from Inwood.

On a recent night out, she wore a Zara blazer and a strappy cutout dress she found at a small boutique.

“I’m very proud of my body,” she said. “I feel amazing and comfortable in my own skin and I think this outfit represents who I am and how I feel.”