Sheer Mesh and Chiffon

Transparency is one of the big fabric stories of the 1990s. Sheer fabrics had been used in fashion for centuries, but mostly as overlays, trims, or linings. In the 1990s, see-through fabrics became the main event - in dresses, tops, and layered looks - and they said a lot about the decade's ideas of the body.

The sheer fabrics of the decade came in two main families. The first was light, floating wovens: chiffon, georgette, and organza, made from silk or synthetics, which drape softly and let the light through. The second was stretch mesh and very fine knits: a net-like, stretchy fabric that clung to the body and could be layered easily. Both were used in similar ways, but they gave very different effects: chiffon was romantic and delicate, while mesh was modern, sporty, and a little edgy.

On the runway and the red carpet, sheer fabrics were linked to the minimalist and waif looks. Designers made simple, almost invisible dresses and slips that showed the body underneath, and the idea of the "naked dress" became a fashion talking point. The most famous example is the silvery, semi-sheer Liza Bruce slip dress Kate Moss wore to a party in London in 1993, photographed so that it looked almost completely transparent.

In everyday fashion, sheer fabrics were usually layered. A chiffon or mesh top over a camisole or a slip dress over a T-shirt, a sheer shirt over a vest, or a mesh long-sleeved top under a slip dress were typical looks. In clubs and at raves, stretch mesh tops in black, neon, or metallic colours were a staple, and they carried straight into the Y2K look at the end of the decade.

I think sheer fabrics captured a real tension in 1990s fashion. They could look fragile and minimal, or bold and sexy, and they played with the line between underwear and outerwear, covered and uncovered. As a dressmaker, I also have a lot of respect for anyone who sewed them - slippery chiffon and stretchy mesh are two of the trickiest fabrics to handle.