Julia Fox gained fame in 2021 after a brief relationship with Kanye West, and her sartorial unpredictability has become an almost constant source of internet chatter. She has taken to DIY-ing bandeau tops and matching bottoms out of single pairs of jeans using just a pair of scissors, and her now quintessential finger-painted black eyeliner look is becoming the enfant terrible of celebrity fashion.
On Friday, Fox was at it again, wearing a black string bikini top and a pair of leather pants with a plunging V-crotch. In a video posted to her Instagram stories later in the week, she added context: “There was one hook,” she said, “and I had to put them on and then shave, like, around it.”
The ensemble, designed by Liza Kearne of Central Saint Martins, is the latest in a new genre of extremist fashion. Recent fashion weeks have touted super short hem-lines (a la Miu Miu’s era-defining micro-mini skirt), risque prints (see: the revival of the trompe l’oeil), and cut-out silhouettes. And Fox seems right at home in this space, leaning into trends that certainly won’t be for everyone. From the Alexander Wang “joots” (jean boots) she wore to a well-documented trip to the grocery store, to her bleached brows — regularly replaced with penciled-on, flapper-esque lines — the actor and influencer appears to construct her looks with provocation in mind.
In response to criticism about a recent Instagram post in which she said she has “figured out that there’s more to life than chasing an impossible beauty standard projected onto me by insecure celebrities for the ultimate goal of pleasing men,” model Gigi Hadid sent out a classic sorry-not-sorry message on Tuesday: “I just wanna sincerely apologize,” she said to-camera, “for having figured out that there’s more to life than chasing an impossible beauty standard projected onto me by insecure celebrities for the ultimate goal of pleasing men.” And while she may want to position herself as someone who defies convention, Hadid has certainly enjoyed several moments of conventional fashion-world success, including landing herself a spot on the runway at both New York Fashion Week, where she modeled for LaQuan Smith, and at Patou’s off-schedule show at the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.
