A Wren Says

Bianca Cesori showed up to the 2025 Grammy Awards, arm in arm with Kanye West. As she stood for photos, I am sure photographers thought it was a retelling of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Cesori wore a dress so shear, she might as well have been wearing nothing at all. Perhaps she was able to bypass those who would have ushered her back into the car for her indecency because she originally covered herself with a black fur over top before the reveal.

The question that many people are having is whether or not she should face legal charges for public indecency. I am certainly not in the position to make such a judgement for the state of California, especially because this was a private event with its own rules. But it does bring up a question: Was she wearing clothes?

Ian Gilligan touches on the meaning of clothing in the article Dress or Cover? The Origin and Meaning of Clothing. Let’s use those meanings to analyze this situation.

On the one hand, clothing is a form of cover. It is our shield from the environmental elements and protection of modesty. You wear clothing to keep warm in the winter, protect yourself from the rain, and keep free of leering eyes.

On the other clothing is dress. That is to say that it is a form of adornment meant to modify the body for self-presentation. It helps us negotiate our personal identity while signaling a social identity. In centuries past, nobles added ruffles to indicate their wealth, and now people wear band tees and sport memorabilia to signal their membership in a group.

Technically, Cesori’s dress was so sheer that it could in no way keep her warm, protect her mosquitos, and certainly not provide a sense of modesty. It was not cover. However, in a garment so sheer as to be nothing at all, it sent a signal. Perhaps, it helped her align her sense of self through her self-presentation. And it certainly sent a message to the world.  So then, can we be sure it wasn’t clothing?

What are your thoughts?

If you would like to read that article from Gilligan, you can find the information below.

Gilligan, I. (2023). Dress or cover? The origin and meaning of clothing. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 8(1). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291123003352