Why Are All the Pop Girls Wearing Bodysuits?

I have never liked bodysuits. Yes, they provide a seamless transition from top to bottom, but being constricted in a one-piece for hours isn’t my idea of a good time. Once, in high school, I wore a black Forever 21 (RIP) bodysuit that tormented my whole day. The fabric was itchy and kept cutting into my pelvis, and I dreaded going to the bathroom—even the snap button-closure was unsatisfying. My level of uncomfortability was so high, I swore off bodysuits for good. 

But not everyone shares my distaste for the form-fitting garment. Lately, they’ve become a fashion staple amongst today’s pop girls. 

From world tours to festival stages, we’ve seen the body-hugging style on Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and their pop counterparts as they strut their stuff and belt out their hits. Clad in sequins, crystals, cutouts, figure-defining stitching and other decorative details, the prerequisite to being a successful pop star is seemingly to avoid pants onstage.

Modeled after dancer leotards and shapewear, bodysuits quickly became a popular runway piece at high-fashion brands Donna Karan, Alaïa and Mugler in the 1990s. While the latter’s classic black turtleneck bodysuit was a practical wardrobe staple, the former brands experimented with chic cutouts and innovative materials that feel representative of current pop it-girl attire.

Into the mid-2000s, every major female pop star’s performance wardrobe included an array of leg-baring costumes. The revealing piece helped emerging (Lady Gaga, Rihanna) and already-famous (Jennifer Lopez, Madonna) musicians establish a stage presence. 

The hyper-feminine garment showcases her sense of self-assuredness and demands attention, forbidding you to look away until you’ve acknowledged that she has arrived. Not to mention, the tight-fitting piece allows for free-flowing movement. Often made of a cotton-spandex base, bodysuits provide maximum functionality and minimal (if any) wardrobe malfunctions as singers hit their marks. 

A decade later, superstar Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour wardrobe comprised almost exclusively of designer bodysuits. Supporting her Lemonade album, a record about infidelity and rebirth, Queen Bey and her dancers opened the show in black Victorian-style lace and crystallized bodysuits, courtesy of Canada’s DSQUARED2. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the designers said the look “visualized the powerful themes in her music.”

As our favourite pop stars have grown into their careers, the form-fitting garment has become a key signifier of popularity. Remember the Mugler bodysuit? Arguably inescapable during the late 2010s, everyone was wearing it—from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to Dua Lipa and Miley Cyrus. Designed by then-creative director Casey Cadwallader, the stylish piece combined mesh and lace with opaque nylon panels that hugged the body.

Drawing inspiration from Thierry Mugler’s iconic cyborg bodysuit and couture cutaway bodysuits, Cadwallader translated the brand’s DNA into something more minimal, but still representative of the past. “At Mugler, I am focused on delivering a new type of sexiness and boldness to women, one where they choose how they want to project themselves,” Cadwallader told British Vogue in 2020.  

In the present day, the love for custom bodysuits is far from over. During Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, she enlisted Versace and Zuhair Murad to capture her albums through bejewelled moments. Sabrina Carpenter’s crystal-adorned Victoria’s Secret pieces sealed her Short ‘N Sweet Tour with a kiss (literally). Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS festival run includes elevated red leather and silver sequin bodysuits from Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Isabel Marant, respectively. 

At this year’s Coachella, Lisa of BLACKPINK wore a selection of futuristic bodysuits from budding designer Asher Levine featuring elements of fish scales, spikes and lights. “I was able to explore this spectrum from sharp and scary to ethereal and dreamy,” he said in a Paper interview. For designers and performers alike, the world is their oyster when it comes to the storytelling powers of a bodysuit.

With an unmatched level of versatility, it’s clear our favourite pop stars will continue turning to the curve-hugging garment. While I won’t be adding a bodysuit to my wardrobe anytime soon, I’ll enjoy their beauty from a seat in the audience.