Siren Song

Slinky and sultry, mermaid dressing has us hooked all over again. Jeffrey Yan dives into the resurgence of the look.

- Jeffrey Yan

Last month, at the biggest after party on cinema's biggest night, Kendall Jenner made a splash when she pulled up on the blue carpet in an archival Jean Paul Gaultier look. Avid fashion followers immediately clocked that it was the same dress worn by Marion Cotillard in 2008 when she picked up an Oscar statuette for her role in La Vie en Rose, but in gold instead of ivory. Embroidered all over with glittering mermaid scales, the fishtail gown landed Jenner on many a best-dressed list the day after. She wasn't alone in channelling some mermaid magic that night; at that same Oscars after-party alone, she was joined by Megan Thee Stallion in a glistening black Bach Mai number, and Suki Waterhouse in silvery, sequinned Elie Saab.

For a while, it seemed like fishtail dresses have fallen out of fashion while stars sought to outdo one another on the red carpet with increasingly avant-garde creations. Now, they are back with a vengeance-championed even by girls who love a fashion risk like Hailey Bieber, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa and Julia Fox. That we are now entering a new age of mermaid-core has something to do perhaps with the impending release of The Little Mermaid. Those not living under a sea rock will by now know that the Disney classic is getting its own live-action adaptation-the trailer even made a primetime debut during the telecast of the most recent Academy Awards. In terms of pop cultural buzz, that film is rivalled perhaps only by Greta Gerwig's upcoming Barbie.