Fashion’s Hall of Fame: Kate Moss and the Dress That Changed Everything
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit/Getty Images
Some fashion moments don’t simply reflect their time. They permanently alter the future. And that is exactly what happened in 1993, when Kate Moss arrived at an Elite Model Agency party wearing a sheer slip dress designed by Liza Bruce. The dress itself was deceptively simple. In a delicate, barely-there slip that became fully transparent under flash photography, Moss introduced the fashion world to what would later be known as the naked dress. What would’ve once been followed by scandal and outrage was actually met with appreciation and intrigue.
During the early 90s, society was coming off a time when glamour was still heavily constructed. Just a few short years earlier, power-padded shoulders, bold blushy makeup, big hair, and overt styling were what one would see when flipping through pages of glosses, admiring a glamazon's catwalk down this runway, or when catching up on an episode of Dynasty. Moss’s look felt almost confrontational in its honesty. Though revealing, you can sense that there was no intent to cause spectacle or perform. No attempt to seduce either. The power of the dress came from Moss’s indifference to being perceived. As we glance over the now-vintage photos, one may observe that she didn’t pose for the moment, but existed within it.
Photo Credit/Getty Images
This appearance aligned seamlessly with the early ’90s shift toward minimalism and anti-glamour. Moss, already the face of a new modeling era, embodied a kind of raw femininity that rejected polish and perfection. The sheer slip symbolized the evolution that her presence would bring to the modeling industry and redefined how women could occupy space in fashion. Exposure was no longer just about shock value or sex appeal. A slice of it now also welcomed autonomy. The naked dress, as we know it today, carries that same DNA, whether seen on red carpets, runways, or editorial spreads decades later.
Designers have revisited the concept since 1993, but few iterations have captured the same cultural electricity. That’s because what made this moment historic wasn’t just the garment, but also the effortless and unexplained attitude. More than thirty years later, the image remains untouched by time. It continues to influence fashion’s relationship with transparency, femininity, and power. Not because it tried to be iconic, but because it never tried at all
Some looks fade while others become reference points. Kate Moss’s 1993 sheer dress became a reference point.