It is a truism of fashion that what goes out must come in, and sheer black hosiery, a trend most associated in recent times with the 1980s, has been due for a revival.
Indeed, these days a glimpse of sheer black stockings – or, to be realistic here, sheer black pantyhose or nylons or holdups – is, after years in the fashion wilderness, no longer shocking.
They have been edging their way back in fashion for a while but have gained momentum over the past couple of years.
By this point they are again starting to look, as Robert Palmer sang back in 1988 while a lineup of women in (yes) sheer black tights wiggled behind him, “simply irresistible”.
At the Paris fashion shows this week, I spotted a number of editors wearing sheer black hose who in the past would have determinedly bared their legs even in the midst of a snowstorm.
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Part of the reason can be attributed to the influence of Anthony Vaccarello, until recently of Saint Laurent, who had been single-handedly dedicated to the (Helmut) Newtonian cocktail-hour allure of sheer hose and stilettos since arriving at the label in 2016.
Not to mention his bevy of highly visible muses such as Hailey Bieber and Zoe Kravitz, who put his ideas into red-carpet action.
Although Vaccarello was originally a pro-nylons voice in the wilderness, when freeing women from the tyranny of tights was seen as a big step forward (at least until their legs got cold), he has been joined by designers as disparate as Antonin Tron at Balmain, Demna at Gucci, Nadege Vanhee at Hermes and Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta of Eckhaus Latta.
At the same time, the return of the skirt and the skirt suit, both big trends this season, has helped reframe sheers.
That’s especially so because we are not talking long skirts but rather skirts that are knee-length or shorter. See, for example, Prada’s most recent show, which was a parade of only such skirts. Not a pair of pants in sight.
And where there are skirts, said Linda Fargo, the senior vice president of fashion and director of store presentation at Bergdorf Goodman, there are tights.
As she pointed out, when that much leg acreage is exposed, stockings offer a bit of helpful protection.
Not everyone has the time to devote to buffing, waxing and otherwise perfecting the skin of their lower limbs.
Also, sheer black nylons have a whiff of both 1940s film star and corporate dominatrix that is kind of fun to try on. Especially when paired with a bit of a heel.
“They just make your legs look good,” Sara Moonves, the editor of W, said when met at the Courreges show and asked about the sheer black tights she was wearing with her pencil skirt (she likes Wolford’s 40-denier versions).
She was, she volunteered, a recent convert.
“I was trying to think when I ever wore them before, and I can’t remember,” she said. “But it feels fun, and polished.”
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Olivia Singer, a British journalist who wears sheer black tights almost every day, agreed.
“It’s an easy way to look composed and a bit elegant,” she said.
Still, Moonves and Singer acknowledged a drawback to such hose. Despite various tips, like putting them in the freezer before wearing them or misting them with hair spray – and no matter how reinforced the toe and heel – they are fragile.
“They will run,” Moonves said. “It’s the reality. There’s nothing you can do.”
That’s why Singer buys her sheers in multiple packs twice a year. She favours a three-pack of 10-denier matte tights from Marks & Spencer. That way, she said, she will never… well, run out. – ©2026 The New York Times Company
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
