Dressing for two? These stars have proven that maternity style can still be chic

Karlie Kloss is all smiles at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Photo: AFP

Pregnancy does not mean sidelining style – you can carry your child and still embrace fashion that is bold, confident and effortlessly chic.

When Rihanna showed up at this year’s Met Gala with her baby bump on full display, the crowd went wild.

Of course much of the buzz centred on it being a grand reveal of her third pregnancy with rapper ASAP Rocky, but there is no denying she looked all sorts of fashionable.

The pop star has carried on as usual – just last month, she shared campaign images for her lingerie brand, revealing they were taken during her pregnancy (though her baby bump was hidden).

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Other celebrities have also walked the red carpet in the past while embracing their pregnancies.

The usual choice of dressing is loose and flowy dresses, but a few stars have stepped out in figure-hugging designs that celebrate their curves.

Some of them even appeared on the cover of magazines proudly (and fashionably) showing off their maternity curves in daring, high-fashion looks.

According to Transparency Market Research, the global maternity wear segment generated a revenue of approximately US$16.4mil (approximately RM69.8mil) in 2022 and is projected to reach US$24.6mil (RM104.7mil) by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.7% from 2023 to 2031.

The company states that one of the reasons driving this is brands expanding their size ranges and offering designs that cater to diverse body types – which encompasses inclusivity in maternity wear.

Everyday fashion brands like H&M, Asos, River Island and Gap have included designs for mothers-to-be in their collections.

Marni Senofonte, the stylist behind Beyonce’s iconic pregnancy announcement in 2017, told Cosmopolitan that women should never feel the need to hide their bellies.

“Show your stomach! I think more people are doing that, which is really great. Every woman I’ve ever worked with who was pregnant – everything just kind of carried over. We kept it moving. It’s no different than if they weren’t pregnant,” she said.

And Beyonce did just that. She broke the news by posting a now-famous photo on Instagram, kneeling before a bed of flowers and draped in a sheer green veil.

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Riccardo Tisci, then creative director of Givenchy, praised Kim Kardashian’s maternity look at the 2013 Met Gala.

Kardashian wore a tight floral gown with a high neck and long sleeves on the red carpet. It became a subject of ridicule on social media at that time.

Tisci defended the outfit passionately.

“I have dressed many pregnant women in the past,” he was quoted by Women’s Wear Daily in a later interview.

“People can say what they want. To me, pregnancy is the most beautiful thing in the world, and when you celebrate something, you give people flowers. I think she looked amazing. She was the most beautiful pregnant woman I dressed in my career.”