Kristen Stewart’s brain chemistry must have been permanently altered the moment she put on her Chanel crepe micro shorts for the 2022 Oscars. Since then, any high-thigh-grazing bottom, be it ultra mini skirts or teensy tiny hot pants, has become a highly frequented silhouette in the actress and director’s sartorial arsenal.
On the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of her latest film, the A24-produced queer thriller Love Lies Bleeding, this mode took to new heights (literally) with the star leaning into the physicality of her gym manager character in a pelvis-exposing bodysuit that commanded attention. Now, the Academy Award nominee has taken her teensy tiny hot pants on (press) tour, arriving in New York on the back-to-back promotional trailer in nothing but her underwear.
Indeed, stepping out in Manhattan, the Twilight alumni cemented her rebellious style streak with her most brazen look yet. The ensemble’s pièce de résistance was obviously the argyle knitted ivory briefs. These sat high-waisted and featured a contrast burgundy stitching which paired perfectly with her plum loafers.
The rest of the silhouette felt more modest and demure in comparison to the lower half of the statement-making look, with a Victoria’s Secret nude bra, cropped sand button-up shirt, hexagonal Olivier People glasses and a Chanel quilted vanity case, which she toted in her hand, rounding up the look.
Later that same day, Stewart transferred into monochromatic variations of the same look. The first was a couture take on athleisure with a Chanel wetsuit style shirt with neoprene interlocking double ‘C’s’, retro workout shorts and black Chanel leg warmers that were styled over her stilettos and crept up her calf to below her knee.
For her appearance on Stephen Colbert, Stewart eschewed her newfound uniform for a black halter neck top and a floor-length satin skirt from Mônot’s pre-fall 2024 collection. She changed, once again, into a kitschy graphic t-shirt that read ‘Camp Stewart’ and white sneakers to depart the studio.
Perhaps it’s just the 80s midwest setting of Love Lies Bleeding that is helping Stewart lean into this veiled part of her personality. But irrespective of what’s prompted this shift towards body-conscious, sportswear-inspired silhouettes, it’s apparent the effects will continue to ripple long after the film leaves theatres.
Love Lies Bleeding will be released in cinemas on 14 March 2024. Watch the trailer for the gory, bodybuilding drama below:
