At Coveteur, we are wholehearted encouragers of freeing the under-boob, the side-boob, the top-boob, the midriff, and literally whatever you want—this is precisely why the tiny bra top trend taking over runways has caught our eye.
Prada's Spring/Summer 2026 show in Milan gave us tiny bra tops galore and we couldn't be more appreciative. Amongst the unexpected color combinations and new handbag shapes, tiny bras (both with straps and without) were paired with high-waisted skirts and bloomer shorts, some underneath button down shirts or light jackets and some on their own, providing us copious amounts of new styling inspiration.
Prada Spring/Summer 2026
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Prada Spring/Summer 2026
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This trend isn't a completely new thing, though. We saw a different iteration of it this summer, when bikini tops became the new going-out tops. Celebrities like Florence Pugh have also been favoring them on red carpets for years.
So, what is it about the state of the world and the state of fashion that has allowed this trend to persist? And why, not that I'm complaining at all, are bra tops getting tinier and tinier? And have we finally reached a point in which revealing the natural human body isn't offending anyone? Well, first we need to take a little trip back to the 1980s and 1990s.
March 2023
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April 2025
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When Carrie Fisher wore a bra as Princess Leia in 1983's "Star War: Return Of The Jedi", people were appalled. It was an outrage. How could a woman dress so revealing? It's not like the body is natural and we all have one or everything. To this day, this remains in the hall of fame of movie bras.
Chanel Fall/Winter 1997-98
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Anna Sui Spring/Summer 1996
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Bra tops became popular off the runway throughout the '90s, too. I would argue that, both then and now, it comes down to this: the more you tell women not to do something that's literally not harming anyone, the more we'll want to do it. The more it feels like we're losing agency over our bodies, the more we feel desperate to reclaim it. And, in my personal experience, the more I try to feel confident in my own body, the more I want to expose it.
So, Carrie Fischer put the bra top trend on the silver screen in 1983, Kate Moss (with the help of iconic designers) affirmed the trend, and Prada's Spring/Summer 2026 show proved that the trend, despite its controversial and complicated history, is here to stay. This is my conclusion: depending on what corner of the internet you stumble into, you will probably find people complaining about it. But I, for the record, personally hope bra tops keep getting tinier and tinier.
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