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With its typical route and the shaped fit, the Hervé Léger Association dress has achieved an unexpected return to fashion ramp light in recent months. The obsession of Gen Z with the look has sent the online search inquiries to the upswing, but with the resurrection of the trend, the question arises: Signal This new wave of body-concer dressing is a return to restrictive ideals or is the style an explanation of autonomy and inclusive?
The search for “Hervé Léger Dress” has risen by 1303 percent in the past three months, while the search for “Bandage Dress” rose by 1280 percent on the platform during the same period. Last year, the e-commerce company recorded an increase in interest by 58 percent to “Body-Con” silhouettes. At Google, the search for “Bandage Dress” also reached a new highlight in the first week of June.
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The shape dress created by designer Hervé Léger was considered the uniform of the 90s models. The silhouette, which first came from dozens of clicks in the elastic association style, debut ready-to-wear collection at Légers autumn 1992 and became an immediate feeling, reported the WWD. In the early 2000s, the dress had become an integral part of the celebrities’ wardrobes, which could be seen on Kim Kardashian in Rihanna.
The controversy came with its popularity. Due to its body-hugging attractiveness, the bandage dress was often only considered flattering on certain body types-typically slim, tinted figures, which reinforced narrow beauty standards. With the advent of body positive and inclusive trends in the 2010s, the style lost its trendy status.
In 2025, the bandage dress in addition to the rise of a new thin culture, which is widespread due to the popularity of Ozempics and similar GLP 1 weight loss drugs, as well as social media trends such as skinnytok and diet culture, which is widespread on Tikok.
For the fashion psychologist Jennifer Heinen, the revival of the association dress can be both a reinforcement of the traditional beauty standards and a subversion of them. It all depends on “Whoever wears it – and why,” she said.
“The dress still bears traces of a past that celebrated thin, tinted bodies as ideal. But there is a clear. “Gen ZS version of the bandage dress is not about aesthetic obedience. It is a visual paradox: compression that does not correspond, sexuality without apology. If it is designed with visible softness – fuller body, body hair, flat shoes – it becomes a fault, no reinforcement.”
Heiner, said Heiner, said something that was once controversial. Another reason that can explain the renaissance of the association clothing alongside genes ZS obsessiveness of Y2K trends could also be the need for containment.
“The dressing dress is a literal and symbolic form of containment: it holds, hugs, land. In a world that feels chaotic, this tactile pressure can be soothing,” she said. “In fashion psychology, we call the” sensory anchorage “how tactile pressure can emotionally earth, similar to a weighted ceiling.
Hervé Léger used Tiktok to connect with his newly discovered audience and to receive thousands of views with videos that show different styles for association dress. The brand reinterpreted the viral silhouette for its resort collections of 2025 and 2026.
Michelle Ochs, the creative director of Hervé Léger, has loud about the once controversial silhouette on social media. “Bandage dress is big again,” said Ochs to BepoketV on Instagram. “I’m so excited. I think there is a lot of nostalgia. I think there are new people who discover it. It’s timeless. And we are ready to put on and get out,” she said.
Just like in the 2000s, celebrities also include the silhouette, whereby Hailey Bieber, Kaia Gerber and Alix Earle lead the pack.
“The key is the conscious styling. The choice of taking part in the trend and not allowing the trend to determine its value. The dressing dress has been used to compress. Now it can enable, but only if the choice belongs to them,” said Heiner.
Hervé Légers Association Dress: Over the years on the runways & red carpets [PHOTOS]
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Start gallery: Hervé Légers Association Dress: Over the years on the landingways & red carpets [PHOTOS]
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