Bandage dresses are making a return in 2025 and there is no stopping them

If there is one thing that united the fashion 'It' girls of the early 2000s—from Paris Hilton to Kim Kardashian, it was the age of the bodycon dress. Figure-grazing bodycon dresses that clung to their bodies like second skin; the moment that was the bandage dress. They were the quintessential clubbing dress of the 2000s and you were important if you wore one (we see you, Posh Spice). 

When it came to the Indian world of fashion, the bandage dress saw its appeal in form-fitting Indian attires such as Salwaar Kammez; think Karishma Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai in their 90s' movies in body-clinging kurtas that ended mid-thighs with chic dupattas to go along. These figure-hugging dresses are designed to sculpt the body and highlight your natural shape, which may lead them to be a little tough to get into due to their structure. But what's a little vanity without pain? 

Since the 2000s, these dresses have been lost to the fashion world but saw a resurgence recently when the queen of trends, Hailey Bieber, wore a floor-length burgundy bandage Saint Laurent dress while attending the Fashion Trust Awards. This dress worn by Bieber wasn't one from the archives; rather, it was designed by Saint Laurent's current creative director, Anthony Vaccarello himself, indicating a shift in fashion that brings the rise of bodycon dresses once again. 

Kaia Gerber matched her mom, Cindy Crawford, last year in September when she sported an ivory bandage dress, a recreation of her mother Cindy Crawford's iconic 1993 Oscars look by the legend who started it all, Herve Leger. 

What does it mean for the fashion industry 

Tight and skinny bandage dresses that were a hit in the 90s and early 2000s are making a return this year. While many are happy with their resurgence, there is a divide among some fashion critics behind the resurgence of this dress due to its association with a time when being skinny was the beauty standard. The dress is being associated with a rise in the skinny body type in mainstream media. 

Ever since fashion took a more diverse approach, dresses that were restricted to certain body types have seen a decrease in popularity. But since 2024, skinny body types have seen a significant surge in popularity, from celebrities hopping on the Ozempic train to fashion shows having more skinny models on the runway with less to no representation; it was only a matter of time before skinny dresses were once again a thing.

Another one of the popular opinions we are seeing thanks to the resurgence of these dresses is that there might be a season of recession, thats right, bandage dresses are also making the cut as one of the many indicators of recessions, along with the likes of small luxuries such as labubu and red lipstick and the surge of corporate core. 

The dress is also associated with the it-girlism of fashion, as all the It girls of the past wore it, and the present ones are also fearlessly embracing it. Bandage dresses are confident; they are bold; they are fiercely magnetic. In short, these dresses have the 'it' factor. It girls across the fashion industry are already embracing them; from Hailey Bieber to Priyanka Chopra, they all have a take on it. House of CB recently posted a  #BANDAGEISBACK campaign that has raised many voices across the internet to share their take on bandage dresses with the hashtag. 

Bandage dress resurgence is here, and they sure are unstoppable. 

Edited by Sabrina Mathews