Rise of the veavage: how a look came to rule the red carpet

We have entered the era of the “veavage”, a deep V-shaped neckline that plunged to new depths at the SAG awards. Worn by Kristen Bell, Jenna Ortega, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Paulson, Odessa A’zion and Lauren Miller, the neck-to-navel style showed up on wafer-thin tops and second-skin dresses.

In a red carpet first, veavage somehow outweighed cleavage 2:1, following earlier examples from Zendaya, Emma Stone, Elle Fanning and Erin Doherty. What draws attention is less the clothes than what they reveal—or omit. The look removes the usual emphasis on breasts, and it works without them, or without a bra.

Nipple tape might help in cold weather, but the aesthetic can read as a way to use less fabric, or as an intentional absence. Cleavage has become a cultural lightning rod: criticise it and you seem prudish, show too much and you risk being judged politically wrong.

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