Look of the Week: Julia Fox takes the low-rise trend to new extremes

Leah Dolan, CNN

Since rising to fame in 2021 after a brief but indelible relationship with Kanye West, Julia Fox’s sartorial unpredictability has become an almost constant source of internet chatter. From DIY-ing a bandeau top and matching bottoms out of a single pair of jeans using just a pair of scissors, to her now quintessential finger-painted black eyeliner look, Fox seemingly knows no bounds and is fast becoming the enfant terrible of celebrity fashion.

Last Friday, she was at it again, clad in a black string bikini top and a pair of centaur-inspired leather trousers with a plunging V-crotch. Fox took to Instagram later in the week to offer additional context: “There was one hook,” she said in a video posted to her stories, “and I had to put them on and then shave, like, around it.”

The ensemble, designed by Central Saint Martins graduate Liza Kearne, is the latest in a new genre of extremist fashion. Recent fashion weeks have touted super short hem-lines (a la Miu Miu’s era-defining micro-mini skirt), risque prints (see: the revival of the trompe l’oeil), and cut-out silhouettes. And Fox seems right at home in this space, leaning into trends that certainly won’t be for everyone. From the Alexander Wang “joots” (jean boots) she wore to a well-documented trip to the grocery store, to her bleached brows — regularly replaced with penciled-on, flapper-esque lines — the actor and influencer appears to construct her looks with provocation in mind, often taking cues from the BDSM community.

In a second post on this week’s look — and perhaps in an attempt to ward off critics — Fox sent out a classic sorry-not-sorry message: “I just wanna sincerely apologize,” she said to-camera, “for having figured out that there’s more to life than chasing an impossible beauty standard projected onto me by insecure celebrities for the ultimate goal of pleasing men.”

And while she may want to position herself as someone who defies convention, Fox has certainly enjoyed several moments of conventional fashion-world success, including landing herself a spot on the runway at both New York Fashion Week, where she modeled for LaQuan Smith, and at Patou’s off-schedule show at the recent Paris Haute Couture Week.

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