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Even despite the intense presence of bows, woollen tights and dolly shoes over the past 12 months, it would seem the mainstream is only just beginning to experience the thrills of dressing like a toddler ballerina. That is because the term “coquette” enjoyed an all-time peak in Google searches last week, which has stirred within me a level of fatigue—and spiritual detachment—equal only to the phrase “Y2K revival.” I would wager that Selena Gomez feels the same.
It has therefore been a positive thing to witness the emergence of the anti-coquette on the fallr 2024 catwalks—among them Prada, Simone Rocha and Dilara Findikoglu—where models walked in organ-crunching corsets, bustles and Victoriana bloomers. There might have been bows and ribbons, but they stood brittle on Findikoglu’s hourglass gowns, while Prada had surfaced its shift dresses in uncontrollable swarms of the stuff. The whole thing managed to repackage the hyper-feminine clichés beloved by #coquettes as something dark and mysterious and even funereal. As something to be feared.
Selena Gomez is perhaps one of the first celebrities to have modeled herself on this brooding protagonist. This weekend, she made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a lace Givenchy leotard, a puffball Valentino skirt, thigh-high Stuart Weitzman boots and a constellation of Messika jewels. Her hair had been tied back with a black ribbon and an enormous rose appliqué burst forth from her leather Valentino jacket. Gomez was visiting Kimmel to promote her new single “Love On,” but she could have been fulfilling an equally noble public duty: laying the #coquettegirl to rest.
