Fashion & Beauty

Gen Z is going out in their underwear: ‘Free the nipple!’

By
Adriana Diaz
Published May 22, 2023
Updated June 14, 2023, 12:08 p.m. ET
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Amber Gonzalez, 25, from Washington Heights, constantly has wardrobe malfunctions when she goes out — but she doesn’t mind the occasional nip slip.

She’s practically naked anyway.

Gonzalez, who is starting Columbia Medical School in August, favors barely-there looks to show off her tattoos and accentuate her tall, slender frame.

On a recent night out at the Georgia Room, a buzzy lounge in the Flatiron District, she wore black jean shorts and a sheer bralette with black polka dots from Urban Outfitters.

“My friends often tell me, ‘Your tit is out’ and I’m like, ‘Oops,'” she told The Post. “Free the nipple.”

In recent years, celebs such as Kendall Jenner and Hunter Schafer have opted for minimal looks that show maximum skin, while designers such as LaQuan Smith and labels such as Blumarine sent models sashaying down the runways in little more than their skivvies last fall.

Now, the naked fashions have made it to the street.

“There is a certain sexuality about the trend that I find very interesting, because there is this power about it, like, ‘You can look but can’t touch,'” Audrey Steen, the 24-year-old designer and CEO of Upcycling Diaries, a fashion company that sells several revealing looks, told The Post.

Ava Zahler, 19, Phelix Schneider, 19, Vivienne McFarland, 19, Alana Tornese, 19, and Alyssa Arbogast, 21.
Ava Zahler, 19, Phelix Schneider, 19, Vivienne McFarland, 19, Alana Tornese, 19, and Alyssa Arbogast, 21. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
Amber Gonzalez wears a nude sheer bralette spotted with black polka dots that she bought from Urban Outfitters.
Amber Gonzalez, 25, from Washington Heights, wears a nude sheer bralette spotted with black polka dots that she bought from Urban Outfitters. Rachel White/papillon-visuals.com
Fashion Institute of Technology student Vivienne McFarland, 19, wears her friend Phelix Schneider's Siren Set design.
Fashion Institute of Technology student Vivienne McFarland, 19, wears her friend Phelix Schneider’s Siren Set design. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

Phelix Schneider, a designer from Portland, Oregon, also creates a lot of naked fashion looks.

On a recent Friday night on the Lower East Side, she and her girlfriends were out and about in her designs — little corset dresses, colorful sheer two-piece sets, bikini tops and a skirt with high slits and thong strap cutouts. 

“For me, naked fashion is about owning the desire to turn heads,” the 19-year-old told The Post.

Kaitlyn Cassady, 26, from the Upper East Side was dressed in all Tank Air as she stepped into the Georgia Room on Saturday night.
Kaitlyn Cassady, 26, from the Upper East Side was dressed in all Tank Air as she stepped into the Georgia Room on a recent Saturday night. Rachel White/papillon-visuals.com
Rachel White, 25, came up to the Georgia Room from the Lower East Side in a black Victoria's Secret lingerie set peaking out from under a sheer black dress from Zara.
Rachel White, 25, came up to the Georgia Room from the Lower East Side in a black Victoria’s Secret lingerie set peaking out from under a sheer black dress from Zara. Rachel White/papillon-visuals.com
Jennifer Martinez, 32, a stylist from Inwood walks down Allen Street in a blazer she bought from Zara and a strappy cut-out dress she found at a small boutique.
Jennifer Martinez, 32, a stylist from Inwood, walks down Allen Street in a blazer she bought from Zara and a strappy cut-out dress she found at a small boutique. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

The attention isn’t always positive, but Mikayla Dinapoli, a 23-year-old from Cross River, NY, brushes off comments about her body.

She just wants to be comfortable.

“It’s been a long journey to get to where I am confidence-wise, but people don’t need to think that I’m attractive as long as I have people in my life that encourage me to feel beautiful inside and out,” the assistant cosmetologist told The Post, wearing a sheer mesh bra, with black hearts covering her nipples, that she bought from Shein.  

Twenty-two-year-old Nicole Cerezo from West New York, New Jersey went to a concert at Webster Hall in a two-piece bathing suit and white netted dress she bought at a sex shop.
Twenty-two-year-old Nicole Cerezo from West New York, New Jersey went to a concert at Webster Hall in a two-piece bathing suit and white netted dress she bought at a sex shop. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
Sophie Michelle wearing an open-cut top from I Am Gia.
Sophie Michelle, 23, went out to celebrate a friend’s birthday wearing an open-cut top from I Am Gia. “We live in an era where there is so much positive reinforcement around people being comfortable in their own skin! I think that is reflected in fashion,” she said. Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
Friends Sarah Swinwood, 41, from Brooklyn, and Lesya Nak, 34, Williamsburg, wore their Nora B handprinted shirts as they hung out at Village Works in the East Village.
Friends Sarah Swinwood, 41, from Brooklyn, and Lesya Nak, 34, Williamsburg, wore their Nora B handprinted shirts as they hung out at Village Works in the East Village. “If you feel confident now, seize the moment and wear something that you feel hot in,” Lesya Nak, 34, an artist who recently moved to Williamsburg told The Post. “Like  f – – k it, why not.” Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post

And, the trend isn’t just for those in their tweens and twenties.

“I’m 32 and I’m more confident than when I was 20,” said Jennifer Martinez, a stylist from Inwood.

On a recent night out, she wore a Zara blazer and a strappy cutout dress she found at a small boutique.

“I’m very proud of my body,” she said. “I feel amazing and comfortable in my own skin and I think this outfit represents who I am and how I feel.”