A brief history of the 'naked dress': From Marilyn Monroe to Margot Robbie

From tasteful to daring or even scandalous, the naked dress has been called it all.

In recent years, barely-there gowns have become the talk of awards show red carpets and fashion events, but it's hardly a new phenomenon.

In fact, everyone from Clara Bow to Kate Moss – who didn't even know her dress was see-through until she saw photos the next day – have turned heads in 'naked' dresses through the decades.

Whether it be a nude or sheer fabric, or a chainmail-style look with underwear beneath, the naked dress comes in all fashions and styles.

In 1975, Cher scandalised the world with a feathered nude gown worn front and centre on her cover for Time magazine.

The controversial cover look ended up causing the magazine to be banned in some states, with the designer Bob Mackie telling Variety "people were horrified or thrilled."

In the '70s, Mackie explained the naked look was "considered dirty."

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Since Cher stunned millions by flashing her chest on Time, the naked dress has prevailed as a popular style choice for red carpets and runways today.

But where did this head-turning trend even start?

Here's all you need to know about the history of the naked style gown, including the famous faces through history who made it the statement it is today.

Mary Antoinette and the 16th century 'nude dress'

The nude dress appears to have some royal origins.

Queen Marie Antoinette of France apparently caused quite the outcry for this daring gown that resembled an undergarment.

In the portrait from 1783, Antoinette wore a cotton robe de gaulle as opposed to the French silk expected of royalty.

The dress appears very understated, with the fabric creating a flowing silhouette.

The look is miles from the lavish structured skirts and jewels the queen was known for wearing.

However, according to historian Mary D Sheriff, per Racked, the gown was considered 'alarmingly scandalous' by the French public as the style was not fit for a queen.

"It closely resembled a chemise – the simple dress that served as a base garment for women at the time. In other words, the queen appeared to be posing in her underwear."

A daring take on the flapper dress

In a decade filled with female fashion consisting of dropped waistlines and tubular silhouettes, Clara Bow took the '20s fashion to new and daring heights.

In 1925, Bow starred in the film My Lady of Whims which featured her in a skin-tight, sheer gown baring her chest and back.

The look was worlds apart from the knee-length flapper dresses worn at the time when the film premiered in 1925.

1930s glamour

The term 'naked dress' first arose in the 1930s, but it had a startlingly different meaning to today's definition, according to historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell.

Speaking to BBC Culture, the historian explained: "In the 1930s, the term was used to describe a strapless dress, because they looked so bare to people then."

When it came to 'nude' looks, American actress Jean Harlow's look in the 1933 film Bombshell saw the star look 'naked' in a creamy toned silk gown that clung to her curves.

With its halter neckline, the dress is both glamorous and daring for the time.

Marilyn Monroe's Mr President dress

The dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing happy birthday to President John F. Kennedy changed the naked dress game.

Monroe performed in the gown at Madison Square Garden stage in 1962 for the President's 45th birthday.

The sheer Jean Louis hung closely to Monroe's body, with the actress reportedly having to be sewn into sparkling, skin-tone garment.

The looks earned the late actress the title of the "original naked dress model" by Harper's Bazaar.

The dress has become such an iconic look, it was reprised by Kim Kardashian at the 2022 Met Gala.

However, the reality star faced controversy over the decision to wear the original.

Jane Birkin's swinging '60s sheer mini

Jane Birkin's 1989 look at the Slogan film premiere was a big moment for the naked trend revolution.

The late model, singer and actress looked glamorous in a long-sleeved sheer dress paired with classic round heels.

The one thing she wasn't wearing with the fit was a bra.

"When I see the pictures... I didn't realise it was so transparent," Birkin told Vogue.

"This is the flash effect of the photographers' camera. If I had known, I would not put knickers on!"

The model was responsible for several other iconic 'naked dress' moments throughout the '60s including a plunging crochet mini dress she wore to the Artists Union's Gala in Paris, also in 1969.

Cher at the 1974 Met Gala

In 1975, Cher wore a feathered nude gown by designer Bob Mackie on the cover of Time after first wearing the same gown to the Met Gala in 1974.

The gown, which flashed the Believe singer's chest to the world, caused quite the public stir and was even banned in some states.

"It created a lot of hubbub," Mackie reflected in an interview with Vogue.

"In those days, Time reserved its covers for world leaders or someone who invented something important, like a vaccine," he explained.

"Then there was Cher on the cover in that incredible piece of clothing, and newsstands sold out of it almost immediately. Some cities even banned it from being sold."

Speaking to Variety, Mackie said the Time cover was banned in some states "because people were horrified or thrilled."

"After all, it was considered dirty," he explained the uproar in the '70s.

The singer first donned the dress at the Met Gala the year before her controversial cover. Mackie told Town & Country that despite the event dress codes, Cher had been adamant about wearing the frock.

"She wanted to wear something fun. She was very comfortable in her own skin," he said.

A '90s revolution

When Kate Moss stepped out in a sheer gown at a party in London in 1993, the model took the nude dress to a whole new level.

The British model wore this see-through number to the Elite Model Agency's Look of the Year party in the early '90s.

Posing alongside supermodel Naomi Campbell, Moss' gown worn over black underwear sans bra helped bring barely-there gowns to the forefront of fashion today.

The dress was featured in a 2022 British Vogue rundown of Moss' 20 most memorable looks over the years.

In the video, Moss revealed she didn't actually know just how transparent the dress was.

"I did not know that this dress was see-through until the pictures came out the next day in the newspaper," she told British Vogue.

"It was the flash that made it look naked 'cause actually the fabric when I was wearing it, when I went out I didn't think it was that see-through. But, obviously, it was."

"I mean, had I known I'd be talking about it 30 years later… good dress, good night," she added.

As the '90s were coming to a close, actress Rose McGowan turned heads at the 1998 MTV VMAs in a barely-there number, taking Moss' 'naked dress' to a whole new level.

The Charmed star wore a thong under the garment, which had a chainmail-like front.

During the #MeToo movement, the actress alleged she had been assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.

McGowan later opened up about the gown, explaining it had been a "political statement" on actress Jamila Jameel's podcast.

"It was my first public appearance after being raped. And I thought, it was kind of like Russell Crowe and Gladiator when it comes out in the ring and he's like, 'Are you not entertained?'"

In her memoir Brave, she recalled the dress being a "a reclamation of my own body after my assault," later revealing she hadn't realised the front was so baring.

The look that launched Google Images

Jennifer Lopez wore this iconic sheer green Versace dress to the 42nd Grammy Awards in 2000.

The neckline took 'plunging' to a whole new level, dipping past the singer and actress' navel and barely covering her chest.

The silk chiffon dress was so memorable and talked about, Google later attributed it as the reason the company launched Google Images in 2001.

Rihanna's rhinestones

The 2010s saw some of the biggest names in Hollywood and music embracing the 'naked' dress trend, such as Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears.

Moments like Beyoncé at the 2015 Met Gala in a bejewelled Givenchy gown saw the nude dress taken to the international stage on red carpets.

One of the most iconic looks to come out of the decade is the Swarovski crystal gown Rihanna wore in 2014 to the CFDA Fashion Awards.

When the pop star sang about shining bright like a diamond, she was clearly talking about this glamorous yet daring look that saw her go bare chested beneath the gown.

The 'nude' trend even extended to bodysuits, with Taylor Swift wearing a sparkling skin-tight catsuit on her 1989 World Tour in 2015.

The legacy lives on

The naked dress has withstood the test of time, though the style may have changed over the years.

Stars are increasingly pushing the boundaries of nakedness, with Kylie Jenner, Dua Lipa, Dakota Johnson, Halle Berry and Margot Robbie among the big names to wear see-through gowns in recent years.

From bedazzled sheer material to open-weave knits, it seems there are no limits to how a naked look can be achieved.