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The 2024 Met Gala brought forth many trends, florals chief among them. But one popular look that emerged from the first Monday in May wasn’t quite as expected: the bullet bra.
Conical breasts were all over the Met carpet and the after-parties. Kylie Jenner wore a form-fitting Oscar de la Renta column dress affixed with a floor-sweeping train. But the most eye-catching piece of her look was undoubtedly her cone-shaped bust. And Jenner wasn’t the only one to give the look a go at the Met. Charli XCX, in Marni, donned a punky dress made out of deconstructed T-shirts. She also adopted the bullet bra, which she kept on through the after parties, where she wore a hand-painted dress, also by Marni. (Charli seems particularly keen on reviving the look—an exaggerated bullet bra can be seen in the back of her 360 music video, which she released on today.)
Cardi B, who hosted a FWRD x Revolve post-Met party, wore a red-hot Revolve number complete with the Maidenform-esque bra top. And, in the pointiest cones of the night, Paloma Elsesser rocked a pale pink satin Vaquera minidress with a fashion-forward bubble skirt, and netted veil.
The conical bra immediately draws to mind Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Jean Paul Gaultier. But its origins are far less glamourous. The bullet bra was created during World War II to offer the greatest level of protection to the women working in factories. The look didn’t make its way into mainstream fashion until the 1950s, when Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield adopted the “Sweater Girl” style—wearing body-hugging sweaters that accentuated the breasts. The statement look returned to the zeitgeist in 1990, when Madonna embarked on her Blond Ambition Tour, wearing the Jean Paul Gaultier cone bra corset, which has now become synonymous with the singer.
Can we expect even more bullet bras following the 2024 Met Gala? Only time will tell! But in the meanwhile, take a look below at the recent surge in conical busts, and the looks that inspired the trend.
