Corsets Then and Now
21st century designers have taken the formlery controversial corset, a constrictive under-garment, and reinvented it to be something of a liberating layering piece. The shape of the corset has been in constant motion, alternating between longer varieties that covered the hips and shorter versions that centred on the waistline. During this time of constant change, the only thing that was maintained was its purpose of slimming the waist. From the 16th to the early 20th century, the corsets purpose went unquestioned, until it became popularly abandoned for other waist slimming methods like diets and exercise. With this modern shift towards a healthier lifestyle, the corset as underwear was abandoned and the corset as outerwear was widely embraced on the catwalk.