Exploring the Origins of Today's "Corset Trend"

🔥Hot Off The Press🔥

“It’s no secret that YouTube videos can take a long time to make. But this video…this one puts my normal production timeline to shame!

This began as a personal curiosity of mine last year: plucking out all the examples of historically-influenced corsetry I was finding within wildly different fashion subcultures. Or, as I would quickly find, historically influenced stays. (Why??) Cottagecore, goth and punk, red carpet and high street…even athleticwear. Seemingly unrelated genres of style have been finding fascination in recent years with the 18th century in particular.

Fashion media outlets have been writing about “the corset trend” for years now, proclaiming a sense of surprise at this new trend. But those of us in fashion history know all too well how the corset, in all its various forms, never really went away to begin with.

I finally had a few weeks during my publishing hiatus earlier this year to sit down and properly write out a script for this. Knowing that it would be fairly straightforward in the production department and needing only a day to film (tech gods willing), I carefully slotted it for release between a couple of multi-week shoots.

And then… the strikes hit.

What’s a discussion on the modern fascination with stays and corsetry without addressing perhaps one of its biggest motivators: Bridgerton? And so the release was shelved for what turned out to be six months.

Surprisingly this video discussion on a fashion trend is still very relevant a whole year later; not every fashion trend would be so lucky! But unsurprising at all when it has to do with corsets. Corsets are always relevant, it turns out. I only had to alter the tenses from present to past during the Vivienne Westwood section. Rest in peace to a true genius.”

The channel is made possible in part by the stalwart support of our Patreon members.