Hervé Léger's legendary bandage dress is an armor. It creates a powerful silhouette that in many ways—with its stretchy, hold-everything-in-place strips of fabric—helps to dissolve insecurities and create the confident, strong, and sexy persona the wearer is likely chasing.
For Resort, Lubov Azria took that idea a step further, drawing inspiration from natural stones like agate and quartz, which she said were often worn on the breastplates of warriors to boost their courage. She decorated the collars of her bandage dresses with studs or sequins in the colors of nature: beigy pink, forest green, sapphire blue. The fine embroidery and beadwork were spotlighted here, but there were updates to the silhouette, too. Azria moved away from the typical straight bandage style to offer even more A-line cocktail dresses, and took the weight out of the bottom of a white gown by using pleated chiffon from the knee down. (Floor-length bandage dresses are heavy.)
The real news, though, was in the swim department, where Azria showed exceedingly strappy monokinis—swimable, mind you—that were the ultimate in body con. While a classic bandage dress might magically erase wobbly bits, these skin-revealing styles best suit women who are extra confident—and who probably work out extra hard at the gym.
