Baring the bump: how celebrities are leading a shift in maternity fashion

Celebrities everywhere from the Italian lakes to the steps of the Metropolitan museum in New York are showing that the pregnancy bump is enjoying its own moment in the spotlight.

When Margot Robbie was photographed on Lake Como earlier this week, a cropped top left uncovered what was widely reported as being evidence of the Barbie actor’s pregnancy. The White Lotus actor Alexandra Daddario appeared in Vogue on Thursday wearing a Phoebe Philo shirt undone from the sternum down, baring a bump.

The model and activist Adwoa Aboah and the actor Sienna Miller have left their pregnant tummies bare for red carpets, photoshoots and trips to the corner shop in recent months.

 

“The shift in how pregnant bodies are perceived and celebrated in fashion is indeed a significant cultural evolution,” said Naomi Raybould, the founder and creative director of Beyond Nine, which offers “clothing for modern mamahood”. She added: “The rise of celebrities like Margot Robbie and Rihanna proudly showcasing their pregnant bellies has certainly influenced mainstream fashion, making it more acceptable and even on trend to highlight, rather than hide, pregnancy.”

Grace Kapin, who has been working in the maternity space for a decade – she co-owns the brand Storq – said: “I’ve been paying close attention for that long, and there has been such an obvious radical transformation in how pregnant bodies are viewed, not just by onlookers but by pregnant people themselves.