Exposed bras are hot trend: ‘Intentional wardrobe malfunction’

Make no mistake — these A-listers know how to stick out.

Sydney Sweeney, 25, and Scarlett Johansson, 38, turned heads last month at the Cannes Film Festival by sporting dresses with visible bras underneath.

The provocative style is reminiscent of Y2K fashion, when it was in vogue to wear a bra as a top. This version is different because “it’s very carefully placed to look like a wardrobe malfunction,” culture journalist Christina Binkley told USA Today.

“When a person sees a photograph and has to spend an extra moment deciding whether they’re witnessing a malfunction or something that’s purposeful, that makes the photograph memorable. [Give a] Nobel Prize to the stylist who thought this one up.”

At Cannes, Sweeney bared her cleavage in a plunging white bustier slip dress, showing off an exposed blue satin Miu Miu bra. 

Her underwear as outerwear prompted some TikTokers to wonder if she was suffering a wardrobe malfunction.

“What’s going on with the dress malfunction in [sic] this beautiful girl,” a commenter questioned.

Johansson, meanwhile, wore a custom Prada strapless pink column gown with a beaded white spaghetti-strap piece underneath at Cannes.

“Especially after the pandemic, showing skin is all the rage, and everyone is looking for ways to get creative with fashion styles and trends that make them stand out and look sexy,” Gianluca Russo, a fashion reporter and the author of “The Power of Plus,” told USA Today.

While fashion experts expect to see more of the “intentional wardrobe malfunction” trend, they’re advising non-celebrities to play it safe.

“It takes a Ph.D. in fashion to get that look done well,” Binkley said. “Those are really expensive, carefully designed clothes to look exactly that way. Most people don’t have the wherewithal to dress like that … None of it’s sloppy. It’s very purposeful, as opposed to just your bra sticking out.”