Think Ink!: A Brief History of Tattoos on the Catwalk Inline

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    Photo: Courtesy of Opening Ceremony
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    A sheer, faintly tribal shirt worn by Graça Fisher at Martin Margiela’s Spring 1989 debut—and reissued as part of the house’s H&M collaboration more than two decades later.

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    Photo: Condé Nast Archive
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    Stella Tennant and a skeleton stalk the runway at Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 1994.

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    Photo: Imaxtree
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    Gaultier returns to the theme again at his Spring 2008 couture outing with lush, mermaid-themed underlays that nodded to traditional Japanese tattooing styles.

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    Photo: Gianni Pucci / GoRunway.com
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    Where could a little ink come as a greater surprise than at Chanel? The storied house debuted delicate bracelet and garter styles at its Spring 2009 show (ultimately made commercially available and hotly snapped up).

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    Photo: Kessler Studio
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    Rodarte’s Spring 2008 Amazons, in all of their tattered glory, sported graphic, inky black designs down their arms.