Why nothing’s as subtly

From geishas to Flappers, a timeless allure

DRAMATIC, daring, disarmingly demure. The backless dress is a fashion chameleon. From Jean Harlow sizzling in white satin in the 1930s to Spider-Man star Zendaya’s sexy spine outfit, backless dresses have retained their glamour for nearly a century, turning their wearers from prim to jaw-droppingly sexy in a turn of the shoulder.

I’ve always loved a backless number; a black Miu Miu A-line with a deep cutout V; a delicate Ralph Lauren silk with almost invisible coral bead straps; or a fabulously swishy (and frankly

shameless) Ashish confection in turquoise sequins dipping almost scandalously low.

Backless feels sexy without being effortful; it doesn’t need elaborate jewellery or even heels, just a simple updo and your skin will do the talking.

Cleavage can be great if you feel like flaunting it, but backless is much less obviously attentionseeking. That is, until you turn round.

In the 17th century, Diego Velazquez risked the wrath of the Spanish Inquisition to paint the Rokeby Venus, a full-length nude seen only from behind, yet in Western culture, erotic attention has traditionally been centred on the breasts. In Japan, however, the nape of a woman’s neck and the upper back were long considered the most alluring part of the female body.

The sensual prints depicting the ‘floating world’ of geisha culture also celebrated the back, particularly the two hollows at the base of the spine. In ancient Kyoto, geishas were trained in the art of elegantly revealing their

backs beneath ornate kimonos, yet the back as an erogenous zone didn’t emerge in Europe until the 20th century.

When Coco Chanel launched her ‘little black dress’ on the cover of Vogue in 1926, she revolutionised the way women dressed; fussy, top-heavy Edwardian clothes were rejected in favour of a simple, streamlined silhouette which felt ineffably fresh and modern.

The flappers of the Twenties strove for a neat, androgynous line which often involved binding the breasts, leaving the back to shimmy into focus.

Coco herself casually knotted a rope of pearls over her bare skin, creating a reverse necklace, a look

imitated by Princess Diana in a sensational red velvet Catherine Walker gown in 1985.

The golden age of backless was Hollywood in its heyday, with

stars such as Veronica Lake and Grace Kelly gliding across the screen in stunning gowns,

which nonetheless conformed to the film studios’ strictures on bare flesh.

Next, of course, came Marilyn Monroe, sizzling in a backless number in Some Like It Hot.

Too much bosom or leg was considered vulgar, but the back knew no rules.

Hilary Swank’s exquisitely draped, perfectly unadorned navy dress at the 2005 Oscars was a masterly modern rendition of the classic look, emphasising just how

simple and arresting backless can be.