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“Whenever you add a cut-out into a garment, the whole fabric behaves differently, especially when working with jersey,” the designer continues. “I see many people jumping into cut-out fashion as a trend and sometimes they do have the intention to work with bodies other than a size UK 6/8, but they simply have not taken the time to specialise in it and don’t realise that it requires different methods,” Karoline says. Karoline’s visually striking pieces “accentuate the curves and celebrate the folds”, offering a counterpoint to the image of cut-out fashion perpetuated in the mainstream while maintaining its sexy appeal with barely-there dresses, shoestring straps and peek-a-boo knitwear. Karoline Vitto, Sinéad O’Dwyer and Michaela Stark are among the designers celebrating the parts of the body that women are told to hide. A new wave of designers are using cut-outs to directly challenge body norms, drawing attention to curves rather than covering them. This trend is sometimes to the detriment of inclusivity and body positivity. When cut-outs are repeatedly worn by models of the same size, and particularly when they are placed in areas that reveal jutting hip and collarbones, they run the risk idolising a single body type that is not healthy or achievable for most. Thigh gap discourse has also returned to TikTok and while these discussions tend to be healthier than in the past, some images from the SS22 runway of skinny models in cut-out bodycons and tiny, low rise skirts would not look out of place on Tumblr-era thinspo blogs. Millennials on TikTok are discussing the impact that growing up in the 00s had on their mental health when toxic beauty standards were very much the norm. Indeed, there are some 00s aesthetics that should be left in the past. The return of low rise styles has caused a stir recently, after critics voiced fears that they signal a return to the fetishisation of size zero that was prevalent in the OG Y2K years. These revealing garments are nearly always shown on sample size models. While cut-out dresses have been hailed as the perfect post-lockdown party look, they’re also part of a wider trend of baring it all - think teeny tiny bralets and micro minis - which has grown alongside our all-pervasive Y2K nostalgia. However, these brands have drawn some criticism for lack of size representation.