While painting his vision of Venus, Botticelli also hinted at the oceanic origins of the goddess of love. The Italian artist showcased her feminine form in all its glory, surrounding her in the waves from which she was born.
It’s hard not to draw a parallel between the Renaissance masterpiece and Di Petsa’s spring / summer 2021 film, Self-birth. In it, the models dance with fluidity, apparently emerging from the sea. This is especially true for those wearing the “wet look” dresses of designer Dimitra Petsa, now as recognizable as “The Birth of Venus”.
Over the past year, these drenched white dresses have graced many famous female figures of all shapes and forms. Kylie Jenner wore one. Just like FKA Twigs. In a photograph by David LaChapelle brimming with religious overtones, Nicki Minaj revealed her baby bump in all its glory, wearing a Di Petsa dress. More recently, a pregnant Gigi Hadid was also captured wearing one for her own maternity shoot.
Of course, a soaked dress is nothing new. Alexander McQueen once dropped a “golden shower” on his models for his Spring / Summer 1998 show, leaving them soaked in their dresses.
Even before that, John Galliano had soaked his dresses in white chiffon for a show in 1985, making them translucent by clinging to their wearers. For the infamous Met Gala dress he designed for Kim Kardashian, Thierry Mugler was inspired by a vision of her emerging from the ocean, dripping.
Unlike the first two examples, however, Di Petsa’s wet-looking dresses are actually dry. Their drenched appearance is due to a textile technique Petsa hand-crafted two years ago while working on her graduate collection at Central Saint Martins. The Greek designer researched the relationship between women’s bodies and their fluids – namely, the patriarchal censorship of the latter. If women sweat, cry or breastfeed in public, the designer noted on Twitter, they need to hide it.
In an act of rebellion, Petsa gave birth to her signature dresses for her final collection, simply titled “Wetness.” She saw her coated dresses as a way for women to explore and embrace their “feminine moisture” – blood, milk, sweat, tears and all. In doing so, Petsa believes that women could get their bodies back and, by extension, their sexuality.
Nicki Minaj announced her pregnancy in a photo of David LaChappele, wearing a wet-looking Di Petsa dress. (Image: @ nickiminaj / Twitter)
Like Nicki, Gigi Hadid revealed her round belly in a Di Petsa dress, as captured by photographers Luigi & Iango. (Image: @ gigihadid / Instagram)
“We have to treat our bodily fluids the same way we treat water,” the designer said. “Both are quite natural and totally out of control. If you even think of the term wetness in the context of being a woman, it’s only during sex that it’s deemed acceptable.
In an act of rebellion, Petsa gave birth to her signature dresses for her final collection, simply titled “Wetness.” She saw her coated dresses as a way for women to explore and embrace their “feminine moisture” – blood, milk, sweat, tears and all. In doing so, Petsa believes that women could get their bodies back and, by extension, their sexuality.
She is not wrong. Of all the people, it’s Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion who have proven her point recently. Their new single, WAP, revolves around feminine humidity and pleasure. (Sadly, the two missed the opportunity to wear a Di Petsa dress in their music video.)
The song was meant as a hymn to empowering women, but some, especially straight men, saw it as a threat. Ben Shapiro, in particular, mockingly suggested that women’s humidity was a sign of “bacterial vaginosis, yeast infection or trichomoniasis.” This diagnosis was according to his wife, a doctor.
We understand why Di Petsa’s work is important today: it presents a poetic exploration of the female body, still very poorly understood by all genres. Most importantly, they do it with a feminine look. Unlike Botticelli, Petsa’s portrayal of women is natural and real – just look at the diverse cast of her collections.
Above all, Di Petsa encourages women to feel comfortable in their skin, wet or dry. As the designer said: “We are mostly made of water and we are constantly trying to fight against that.”
(Main and Featured Image: @BBCLater)
This story first appeared in Lifestyle Asia Singapore.
