Lace Is Back, But Did It Ever Leave?

If you're chronically online like me, you’ve probably noticed that lace dresses are having a moment. Not the kind reserved for brides, grandmothers’ curtains or overly prim tea parties, either. This is lace that’s sheer, slightly undone, often worn with barely-there layers and styled with chunky boots, oversized jackets or nothing much at all. In other words, the internet has officially decided that lace is cool again.

And the celebrity set seems to agree. Hailey Bieber made perhaps the clearest case for the trend earlier this year, arriving at the Sydney premiere of Wuthering Heights in a sheer black Chantilly lace Saint Laurent gown by Anthony Vaccarello, complete with fluted sleeves, a matching bodysuit and barely-there styling. The gothic-romantic mood was almost too perfect for the film.

But Hailey isn't alone. At the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner and Emily Ratajkowski all gravitated towards black lace, offering three different takes on the same idea: less overtly “naked dress”, more lingerie-meets-eveningwear. This year, lace has continued to show up on red carpets and runways, from Phoebe Bridgers’ floral-lace Alexander McQueen gown at Venice to Nicole Kidman’s black lace Versace at the Practical Magic 2 premiere.

And then there’s the ultimate proof that lace has escaped its “occasionwear” box: Dua Lipa recently wore a black lace-trimmed Chloé slip dress with chunky motorcycle boots. Romantic dress, aggressively unromantic shoes – exactly the kind of contrast that makes the look feel current.

But when did lace become cool?

The funny thing is, lace has never really gone anywhere. It has been fashionable for centuries. European lace-making developed during the 16th century, with needle and bobbin lace emerging as highly labour-intensive crafts. By the 17th century, lace was a serious luxury: expensive, painstakingly made and worn by both men and women as a visible marker of wealth.

The dress, however, got its modern bad-girl makeover much later. One could trace today's sheer-lace obsession through the lingerie dressing of the 1990s, when designers began treating traditionally private fabrics and silhouettes as outerwear. Kate Moss became the poster girl for this movement after being photographed in a completely sheer slip at a 1993 Elite Models party. She has since admitted that she didn't even realise the dress was see-through until the photographs appeared; the moment nevertheless became one of the defining images of ’90s fashion.

Madonna had already helped establish the provocative potential of lace almost a decade earlier. At the 1984 MTV VMAs, she performed ‘Like a Virgin’ in a deliberately risqué wedding-inspired look, complete with lace, lingerie and religious iconography. The performance became a defining fashion moment and helped cement lace as something that could be rebellious rather than merely decorative.

By the 1990s, the formula was firmly established. Underwear-inspired silhouettes, transparent fabrics and a deliberate refusal to look too polished. The likes of Moss and Naomi Campbell made the sheer slip synonymous with that undone, don't-care glamour.

So why does it feel new again?

Because today's lace dress isn't really about lace alone. It's about contrast. A delicate fabric with a leather jacket. A romantic maxi with sneakers. A sheer gown with a minimalist beauty look. A Victorian-looking dress worn like a going-out top.

That tension is precisely what makes the current iteration feel more cool girl than ladylike. And fashion is leaning into it – romantic lace is among the key dress trends for Fall 2026, alongside body-conscious silhouettes, sheer fabrics and lingerie-inspired dressing.

Designers are also pushing lace beyond the conventional feminine vocabulary. Simone Rocha, perhaps one of contemporary fashion's most devoted lace romantics, has been mixing lace with corsetry, tulle, metal hardware and sportswear. Her Fall 2026 collection even folds lace into an Adidas collaboration, pairing the delicate material with track jackets and sporty silhouettes. At Dolce & Gabbana, meanwhile, sheer lace dresses remain part of the house's famously sensual vocabulary, with the Fall 2026 collection doubling down on black lace and lingerie-inspired dressing.

Brands doing it right

For the full romantic-gothic fantasy, Simone Rocha and Dolce & Gabbana remain obvious places to look, while Saint Laurent is the answer if your idea of lace is sharper, sexier and decidedly less sweet. Chloé is doing the softer, bohemian version, as seen on Dua Lipa, while Self-Portrait has long made lace dresses feel considerably more approachable for real-life wardrobes.

Closer home, Indian labels are also giving the fabric a fresh spin. Lace & Beads, which has now expanded its London-born lace-and-beadwork vocabulary into India, is an obvious destination for occasion dresses that sit somewhere between romantic and glamorous. Indian designers such as Jade have also incorporated lace into their more couture-led vocabulary, particularly for evening and bridal dressing.

Because perhaps that's the secret to the lace dress's latest renaissance. It doesn't have to be prim, precious or even particularly feminine anymore. It can be gothic, grungy, sexy, sporty or completely undone. After centuries of being associated with refinement, lace has finally learned how to look a little rebellious, and we’re very much here for it.