The revenge of the white tank top

We could call it a sort of social revenge: the white tank top has, for some years now, no longer been considered a simple undergarment but has become an iconic glamour garment. The revolution had already begun in the summer of 2022, only to consolidate later and be consecrated in the summer of this year by even appearing on the red carpets wearing the most acclaimed stars.

Originating exclusively as a piece of men’s underwear, the vest owes its name to rowing: it was worn by athletes because it allowed them to have free shoulders and arms without impeding their wider movements. Hollywood immediately sensed its testosteronic potential and sewed it onto icons such as Marlon Brando and Sylvester Stallone.

Freddie Mercury went so far as to make it a real official uniform on stage at Live Aid, while it was Cindy Crawford‘s turn to clear it from the women’s wardrobe thanks to an unforgettable commercial in which the statuesque model sipped a Pepsi Cola. In the Nineties, the first to bring it onto the catwalk were the stylists Dolce & Gabbana: inspired by the suggestions of Sicily, they transformed the tank top into a sexy, cheeky and even erotic garment, provided it was perfectly fitted to muscles and sensual forms.

After a period of oblivion, exorcised or strictly hidden away, the tank top was revived thanks to three brands in Galleria Cavour that relaunched and reinterpreted it in completely different keys. The first brand to turn the spotlight back on the white tank top is, in fact, Prada: Miuccia and Raf Simons have always had fun overturning fashion stereotypes and punctually give us counter-trend narratives capable of winning hearts and wardrobes.

Thus, a basic white tank top appears in the 2022 summer collection, rigorously branded, and interpreted with romanticism and audacity by a sensual Hunter Schafer who wears it over a refined longuette. It is the beginning of a fashion that conquers audiences and stars alike. Matthieu Blazy reproposes it on the catwalk for Bottega Veneta: his vision, however, is decidedly more essential. Combining it with a simple pair of jeans, the designer manages to make this garment elegant precisely because it is minimalist, eliminating, in fact, its turn-of-the-century malice.

Finally, it is Versace who dares the unthinkable: in 2024 the white tank top, again with its logo clearly visible, appears in the collection and on the red carpets, as demonstrated also by Luke Newton, star of Bridgerton who, at the presentation of the new season of the acclaimed Netflix series, shows up with a total look of the Italian maison embellished precisely by a white tank top in contrast, yet perfectly matched, to an elegant grey blazer, thus making the now former underwear item glamorous.

So it is that in recent summers the white tank top has regained its fashion credentials: from being a humble garment linked to fatigue or relegated to home underwear it has become a real must-have because it goes well with everything and never goes unnoticed.