Fashion is a medium for communicating non-verbal cues through clothing, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to also emblazon your ensemble with a message of your own.
Take Shakira, for instance, who attended Viktor & Rolf’s Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2023 collection presentation, “Embodiment”, to deliver a firm message: “NO.”
Not “absolutely not” or “don’t even think about it” like a graphic crop top worn by adherents of the Y2K aesthetic would wear, just “NO”. Plain and simple.
Haute Couture week offers those descending on Paris a unique opportunity to peacock and (not to overuse the bird motif) swan around the streets in runway-rivalling looks, so though Shakira’s look is albeit bold, it’s not an unexpected move for someone attending one of Viktor & Rolf’s satirically imaginative Haute Couture shows.
Shakira’s “NO” insignia accented a rather minimal wrap dress. The ivory-hued piece bore all the marking of a quintessential tailored staple sitting just below Shakira’s knees and lined with gilded metallic studs.
The “NO” itself protruded from the midsection of the dress, communicating loud and clear that Shakira doesn’t want a bar of the antics.
At face value, you may interpret Shakira’s statement-making silhouette to be a sartorially espousing of vitriol towards someone or something.
Some have suggested her ex-husband, Gerard Piqué, given his recent extramarital affair inspired the song “Monotonía” which catapulted Shakira back to the top of the charts with her single.
However, this outfit is just further proof that Shakira is a bona fide fashion fan at heart, with the dress inspired by Viktor & Rolf’s Fall/Winter prêt-à-porter collection from 2008.
“We love fashion, but it’s going so fast. We wanted to say ‘No’ this season,” described the Dutch design duo to the press about their collection in the mid-2000s.
Though Shakira’s look deviated from the greyscale colour scheme presented back in 2008, her ensemble was the perfect choice for an occasion that saw phrases like “dream on” and “I wish you well” protrude from swimwear and bodysuits.
After all, as Kim Cattrall has taught us there is no word in the English language more powerful than that. With this look, Shakira is taking a page out of Cattrall’s book by saying “I don’t want to be in a situation for even an hour where I’m not enjoying myself.”
