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By Avery Finch, Lifestyle & Etiquette Columnist
January 17, 2026

If 2024 was the year of “Quiet Luxury” and 2025 was the year of “Naked Dressing,” then 2026 has officially inaugurated the era of the Anatomical Reveal. We have moved past the sheer exhaustion of see-through fabrics and arrived at something far more intentional: the “Nipple Window.” From the Spring 2026 runways in Paris to the high-stakes red carpets of the Golden Globes, women’s fashion has pivoted toward architectural cutouts that treat the female form not as something to be hidden, but as a structural focal point.

The factual data from New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 confirms that this isn’t a fringe movement. Veteran designers like Anna Sui and Tory Burch, alongside contemporary icons like Luar and Dauphinette, have normalized the “nip-forward” look through sophisticated, boudoir-inspired lace and gossamer-fine silks. But the real trendsetter of the moment is the precisely placed cutout—the “window”—that allows for a deliberate flash of skin. At the 2026 Golden Globes, stars like Justine Lupe in peach Armani Privé and Jennifer Lawrence in slashed Givenchy tulle proved that “freeing the nipple” has moved from a protest to a polished, high-society staple.

The satirical irony of this 2026 trend is our obsession with “intentional visibility.” While we are factually deploying Real-Life Blur technology to protect our digital privacy, we are simultaneously paying thousands for garments that offer no physical privacy at all. It is a world where Bella Hadid can dominate the New York premiere of The Beauty in a sheer red Schiaparelli gown that highlights her nipple rings, transforming a piece of metal into the season’s most coveted accessory. In 2026, the “Nipple Window” signals a profound shift: we are no longer dressing for the male gaze; we are dressing to reclaim the narrative of our own biology.