Fat Anna Wintour’s Fashion Squeeze: Fashion’s Ancient, Feminine Nostalgia
Words: Anastasia Vartanian
After the recent London Fashion Week shows, I was struck by something: women… Specifically, woman designers making other women look like Greek and Roman goddesses.
There was Di Petsa, of course. The Greek designer (full name Dimitra Petsa) rose to prominence for her wet-look dresses with curve-hugging draping, which recalls classical sculptures. This season, she explored “the tension between carnality and divinity” – Ancient Greek gods and goddesses, as we know, were notoriously horny.
Elsewhere, Dilara Findikoglu flirted with a Venusian theme, presenting different versions of the Botticelli redhead in a show quite literally titled “Venus From Chaos.” Grete Henriette just made her runway debut, her models glowing with highlighter and dripping in ropes of jewels and chainmail. Their walks were slow and poses drawn out, as if they demanded to be worshipped.
All three shows oozed sensuality and sexual confidence, embodying goddesses of fertility, love, sex and pleasure. To call this a “trend” feels a little unfair, because that draws associations with disposable fashion. But, still, there is an undeniable mood right now. In its 2025 trend predictions, Pinterest claimed that searches for “goddess nails” were up 760%, while “goddess energy aesthetic” was up 170%. But, why? (Other than our incessant need for newness, of course!)
This embrace of the divine feminine, to me, feels like a momentary respite from the mess of our patriarchal society: strongman politics and greedy old men destroying the world. The macho makeovers of tech billionaires like Bezos and Zuck. The way masculinity shaped the culture wars through red-faced tough men like Joe Rogan. From incels to Andrew Tate, it’s popular to hate women – not that it was that unpopular before…
Maybe that’s partly why fantasy and myth have been in fashion in recent years: mermaidcore, fairycore… TikTok creator Luna Noun has dubbed herself the “mother of nymphcore” – nymphs being minor female deities associated with Greek mythology. Is goddess-worship the next step in our sartorial escapism? For a moment, maybe we can forget about the real world as we bask in an ancient, mythical feminine power – one that transcends modern societal conventions and is at once capable of love and violence.
It’s not only female designers that are feeling the divine feminine. Indian designer Rohit Mane wants the women wearing his clothes to feel like goddesses, purposefully using sheer fabrics and body-baring silhouettes to celebrate curves. Indeed, there is a body positivity element to goddess fashion. It makes perfect sense, since throughout history female deities were often depicted as full-figured. Wide hips denoted fertility; curves denoted abundance and nobility. Restriction is the antithesis to this style. When you picture Aphrodite, you don’t think of her squeezed into a corset. You think of her, if not naked, then draped in fabric which traces her every curve.
But aside from the appreciation of femininity, there is also a super-nostalgia element at play. We are looking back to an ancient past, romanticising a time before advances in technology, hyper-capitalism and AI. It’s not your typical nostalgia, like 80s padded shoulders or 90s slip dresses, but rather a yearning for a time before modern society. (Whether or not those times were actually so great, it’s the idea that matters.) This super-nostalgia has bubbled up elsewhere too, particularly via the recent trend for Medieval-inspired fashion.
“Is goddess-worship the next step in our sartorial escapism? For a moment, maybe we can forget about the real world as we bask in an ancient, mythical feminine power – one that transcends modern societal conventions and is at once capable of love and violence.”
There’s also another reason why ancient goddess style is in the zeitgeist. Classical beauty is the ultimate timeless reference. Against the backdrop of incessant TikTok micro trends, some designers are rejecting fads and embracing something more evergreen. London-based label Standing Ground is known for its column-like, statuesque dresses. It focusses not on trends or loud fashion statements, but impeccably made and technically impressive clothing, with column dresses that I’d imagine an ancient goddess would wear if she came down to Earth in 2025.
So, yes, I’m reluctant to dub this style a trend, since its philosophy stems from a rejection of relentless modern life and throwaway fashion. Sure, embrace your divinity, but be careful not to fuel the very things we want to get away from: hyper-capitalism and overconsumption. Buy things in this style from independent and small designers, like Haus Dahlia or Hadiyah Hussain. Rather than buying a readymade Athena cosplay, try to opt for pieces which evoke this mood without being too literal, like curve-hugging silhouettes or rich fabrics like silk. Styling is also a good way to engage with this aesthetic: layer jewellery or try out era-appropriate hairstyles! For instance, Luna Noun (@lunamyosotis) posts tutorials on how to achieve classical hairdos on TikTok.
What’s more, you may notice that this aesthetic includes a focus on skincare and facials. Goddesses are associated with glowing, flawless skin, after all. Taking care of yourself and feeling good is great: by all means, treat yourself. But we should be wary of the way trends push us to buy. You can never achieve self-love through a product, even if it’s marketed that way. Confidence and self-acceptance is the true mark of a goddess, and that’s one thing you can’t buy.