Anne Hathaway, Alexandra Leclerc and Barbara Palvin: motherhood has never been so fashionable

Are there still rules for dressing during pregnancy? Just a few days ago, Anne Hathaway arrived on the red carpet at the premiere of her new movie, The End of Oak Street, with a look that quickly ignited social media: a sky-blue halter top by Atelier Prabal Gurung, cropped in front and with a dramatic back drape, paired with very low-rise jeans that left her belly completely exposed.

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The styling divided opinions. While some celebrated the proposal, others called it unflattering and even comments appeared questioning the shape of her belly and accusing the actress of using a fake bump. Hathaway responded to the speculation with humor from her own social media: “Fake hair, real bump.”

But beyond the anecdote, the controversy opens a much more interesting conversation: why do we still have such a specific idea of how a pregnant woman’s body should look and dress?

For decades, maternity fashion was built around the idea of adapting, covering, and often disguising the belly. Today, it’s almost the opposite. There is no single silhouette, no list of allowed garments, and much less the obligation to hide a body that is going through one of its greatest transformations.

Rihanna was one of the main drivers of this change. During her first pregnancy in 2022, she made her belly the absolute star of her looks: crop tops, sheer fabrics, low-rise pants, body chains, and open coats. More than creating a new maternity uniform, she did something much more interesting: she showed that there didn’t have to be one.

And that is the true evolution of fashion during pregnancy. Celebrating women also means celebrating their real bodies and what they are capable of, including the extraordinary ability to give life. Showing the belly should not be provocative or strange. It can be sensual, elegant, experimental, classic, or simply comfortable.

And it can also be very fashionable.

Anne Hathaway: the belly as the star

The interesting thing is that the talked-about look from The End of Oak Street has not been an isolated episode. Since announcing her third pregnancy, Anne Hathaway has turned her press tour into a small masterclass in contemporary maternity fashion.

Hathaway had already shown during the promotion and premieres of The Odyssey that there is no single way to do it. In London, she appeared in a spectacular blue Dior dress, while in other appearances on the tour she experimented with different silhouettes, proportions, and brands.

Motherhood did not replace Anne Hathaway’s style. It simply became a new variable within it.

Alexandra Leclerc: adapting style without losing identity

In a much more everyday register appears Alexandra Leclerc, who during her pregnancy has kept practically intact the codes that already defined her wardrobe: feminine dresses, relaxed silhouettes, luxury accessories, and that Riviera aesthetic that characterizes many of her appearances around the Formula 1 circuit.

Her case demonstrates another possibility within maternity style: it is not necessary to build a new aesthetic identity during pregnancy. The body changes, proportions change, and some garments will also have to do so, but personal style can remain.

Long, flowing dresses, prints, statement accessories, and pieces that naturally accompany the new silhouette are part of a much less disruptive proposal than Hathaway’s, but equally interesting.

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Barbara Palvin: glamour and pregnancy in Cannes

At the most sophisticated extreme, we find Barbara Palvin, who turned her recent appearances in Cannes into an authentic lesson in elegance during pregnancy.

The model chose the festival precisely to publicly reveal that she was expecting her first child with Dylan Sprouse and did so on the red carpet with a delicate sky-blue Miu Miu dress that complemented her new silhouette.

Palvin has explored a much more classic vision of glamour during pregnancy: long dresses, feminine silhouettes, and designs that embrace the body without trying to hide it.

When motherhood arrives in street style

And this conversation no longer belongs only to celebrities.

During the recent Copenhagen Fashion Week, among the street style looks, various pregnant women also caught attention by naturally incorporating their bellies into their outfits.

It is probably one of the clearest signs that this transformation has already transcended the red carpet. Tight dresses, oversized garments, tops, sheer fabrics, layers, or simply the clothes each woman already wore before pregnancy: there is no universal formula for dressing motherhood because there is no single way to live it.

Perhaps that is the big difference compared to maternity fashion of other decades. It is no longer about designing garments to hide a changing body, or losing personal style during that stage, but about allowing each woman to decide how she wants to show it.

Anne Hathaway can wear a halter top with low-rise jeans. Barbara Palvin can choose the absolute glamour of Cannes. Alexandra Leclerc can keep her relaxed and feminine aesthetic intact. And another woman can feel much more comfortable fully covering her belly.

All are valid.

Because fashion has never been alien to social changes and, in this case, it is accompanying a much bigger conversation about our relationship with the female body.

Motherhood does not mean putting style on pause. And the belly does not need to be hidden to be elegant.

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