The Bow Renaissance: Fashion's Bold New Statement
Emerald Fennell's forthcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation prominently features bows, despite their scarcity in Brontë's novel. Cathy is seen in various colored bows, even one cut from her bodice with a knife – a "hot" plot device.
Bows, though historically worn by figures like Marie Antoinette and Victorians, carry new weight today. The recent online trolling of rugby player Georgia Evans for wearing pink hair bows, leading to a solidarity campaign, exemplifies their significance beyond mere fashion.
In 2025, bows are "big, garish and ostentatious," serving as a look's centerpiece. They demonstrate wide range, from demure (Amanda Seyfried) to dark/gothy (Cynthia Erivo). The trend is visible on celebrities (Lily Allen), high street stores (Next, M&S, Oliver Bonas), and in high fashion, with Jonathan Anderson opening his Dior show with large organza bows. The internet has dubbed it the "bow-pocalypse."
This revival isn't just about affordability; it reflects a shift towards a "strangely Arcadian idea of femininity" in womenswear, following pandemic-era cottagecore and tradwife trends. Elisa De Wyngaert, a fashion curator, notes women no longer feel compelled to dress like men for seriousness, embracing "girlishness" (like Mary Janes and white socks) as a strength, not a weakness.
Young designers like Sandy Liang, Chopova Lowena, and Simone Rocha use bows as an ironic, subversive trademark, a "code or an identity" (Valerie Steele). Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen incorporates bows into her voluminous dresses for adjustment, valuing their "feminine, but frivolous, but mostly not overtly sexual" quality. She sees them as "women dressing for women," a "joyful element in a dark time" that defies the "male gaze."
Historically, men first wore bows for status, inspired by Croatian soldiers in Louis XIV's court. Marie Antoinette, "history's peak bow," strategically placed them on her person and furnishings to showcase silks and "wink on typically feminine areas." Today, men like Andrew Garfield and Harry Styles wear bows, using them to "flout the gender binary" as an "alpha move."
Not all bows are equal in meaning. Sarah Paulson's character in All's Fair wears a large, suffocating bow, symbolizing her desire to fit in. On Celebrity Traitors, Kate Garraway's strategic use of bows (e.g., from Debenhams, H&M) softened her image, suggesting a hidden "softness" to forge alliances.
Ultimately, bows are also functional, serving as "adjustment system[s]" (Bahnsen). Yet, Valerie Steele points out their erotic subtext: they "say: untie me!," signifying both gender and eroticism by "tying yourself up as a gift for someone."
