It has, by all accounts, been the year of the naked dress, and on Wednesday evening Sydney Sweeney delivered one of its most striking iterations yet.
Appearing at Variety’s Power of Women gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the actress arrived in a liquid-silver Christian Cowan and Elias Matso gown that turned the carpet into a meditation on visibility, sparking the inevitable digital discourse.
The gown, aptly titled the ‘Twisted Crystal Mesh Tee’, was a feat of construction disguised as fragility.
Its sculptural scoop neckline and mid-length sleeves framed Sweeney’s shoulders before twisting into a cinched waist. The crystal mesh fell fluidly to the floor, interrupted only by subtle pleating at the waist, while an exposed lace-up back traced a gleaming line down her spine.
Forgoing a bra beneath the sheer fabric, she paired the dress with nude underwear and diamond drop earrings alongside her newly cropped blonde bob.
There was something deliberately subversive about the choice. The naked dress, once shorthand for spectacle, has evolved into something more nuanced: a reclamation of self-presentation rather than exposure.
Sweeney, who has long occupied the space between desire and discomfort, articulated this sentiment in a recent interview with Variety.
“When people think, ‘She’s a sex symbol,’ or, ‘She’s leaning into that,’ I’m like, ‘No, I just feel good and I’m doing it for myself and I feel strong,’” she said.
“I hope I can inspire other women to be confident and just flaunt what they’ve got, because you shouldn’t have to apologise, hide, or cover up in any room.”
Still, the look divided public opinion. Online commentators deemed it tone-deaf at an event that addressed violence against women. Others saw it as a pointed reminder that the policing of women’s bodies is the very issue at hand. Why should a woman’s natural body remain a site of discomfort when the problem lies not in exposure but in perception?
Sweeney, who will soon portray boxer Christy Martin in the upcoming film Christy, was honoured at the gala alongside Kate Hudson, Wanda Sykes, Nicole Scherzinger and Jamie Lee Curtis. Martin herself attended the event, seated beside Sweeney.
Accepting her award, Sweeney reflected on resilience and reinvention.
“I’m not a fighter in the ring, but I recognise something of myself in Christy [Martin],” she said.
“I know what it feels like to be underestimated, to have people define you before you’ve had a chance to define yourself. But every one of us has our own fight, and Christy reminds us that strength doesn’t always look loud. Sometimes it’s just about getting back up again and again, no matter who’s watching.”
For Sweeney, it wasn’t about shock value but self-possession. To wear something so transparent and remain utterly unfazed is the real statement.
