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Flashing some flesh: why is everyone naked?

Kim Kardashian nude once again in Love magazine.

Kim Kardashian nude once again in Love magazine.

Want your wardrobe to be on-trend this season? Burn it to the ground.

The fashion world has spoken and it’s clear that skin is in – and the more of it, the better.

• Every single gown on the Met Gala 2015 red carpet
Why Kim Kardashian’s bum is a threat to us all

The flame was ignited back in June 2014, when the ever-daring Rihanna took to the red carpet at the CFDA Awards in New York wearing a completely sheer dress.

People deemed her brave, but insane.

Then the trend spread to men’s clothing, with American designer Rick Owens sending male models down the catwalk in clothes with cut-out holes for their junk.

Looks from risqué Rick Owens men's Autumn/Winter 2015 show.

Looks from risqué Rick Owens men’s autumn/winter 2015 show.

Practical for the urinal, perhaps, but not exactly appropriate for a public outing.

There was also the star-studded social media campaign to “free the nipple”, a retaliation against Instagram’s censorship of female breasts.

The campaign saw Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevigne and Rihanna get topless in an effort to promote the female body.

Of course, Kim Kardashian did her bit for the bare body too – stripping off for her now-infamous Paper magazine “break the internet” cover.

Then she did it again for Love magazine.

Even Kim’s husband, Kanye West, got involved, flashing both man cleavage and some knee at a 2014 Paris fashion show with his equally-exposed wife.

Lanvin: Front Row - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend a fashion show in various states of undress.

All of a sudden, however, the flesh trend has gone mainstream, evidenced by the gowns at the 2015 Logies.

At Sunday night’s ceremony it was hard not to stare at the cleavage of several of our local television stars, with plunging necklines leaving little to the imagination.

Asher Keddie, Samantha Jade, Jennifer Hawkins and Carrie Bickmore all took the plunge.

Asher Keddie, Samantha Jade, Jennifer Hawkins and Carrie Bickmore all took the plunge.

The final nail in the proverbial coffin of conservative clothing came on Tuesday, as arguably three of the world’s most famous female celebrities hit the red carpet wearing sequins and not much else.

Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian and then Beyonce arrived at the New York event in similarly revealing gowns to the resounding sound of women everywhere throwing their turtlenecks into the fire.

Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian all wore very similar sheer gowns.

Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce and Kim Kardashian all wore very similar sheer gowns.

What next? Exposed crotches in supermarkets? Pants-off Friday every day? A belt and nothing else to a business meeting?

Film and television have also done their bit to help the trend along – Game of Thrones uses full frontal nudity so often it’s become pedestrian, Lena Dunham often gets her kit off in Girls and Fifty Shades of Grey sees its stars spend most of the film in their birthday suits.

The point is, in 2015, are we still really all that scared of a little skin?

Model Emily Ratajkowski – of ‘Blurred Lines’ fame – summed it up in an interview with Ocean Drive magazine last year.

“We’re at an interesting time where women have been told to take the pill is cool, to sleep with whom­ever you want, or wear what you want,” Ratajkowski said.

“But if you’re naked, it can be offensive or sexist in some way. That’s the last step our culture needs to deal with.”

There’s no doubt clothing is getting sheerer, shorter and smaller, but perhaps it’s a good thing.

A 2014 British study found couples who slept naked were happier in love than their clothed counterparts, and body confidence has proven links to overall happiness.

If you’re brave – or crazy – enough to try to the trend, do it sensibly. Buy affordable, wearable pieces rather than splashing thousands to buy a statement item.

Or simply do-it-yourself with a pair of scissors. Best of luck.

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