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It’s the year of mother — both figuratively and literally. Whether it’s Gen Z’s most beloved It-girls Hailey Bieber and Sofia Richie (with the former announcing her pregnancy in custom Saint Laurent) proudly displaying their bumps online; the news of Margot Robbie’s pregnancy breaking last week (followed swiftly by press releases of her pregnancy looks, from brands like Bottega Veneta) or “that’s mother” or “mother is mothering” becoming the definitive social media compliment of 2024. A once-disparaged aspect of womanhood is being redefined through a new generation.
One of the main ways motherhood is being redefined is through fashion, where drab maternity wear has been replaced by chicer, more daring looks that showcase the wearer’s personal style and bump. It’s undeniably a trend spearheaded by singer and Fenty Beauty CEO Rihanna, who rewrote the pregnancy playbook with an assortment of experimental, high-fashion looks during her first pregnancy in 2022.
Pregnancy style has evolved ever since, under the influence of a host of expectant celebrity mothers, including DJ Sita Abellán and supermodels Gigi Hadid and Adwoa Aboah. And with three of the most influential online trendsetters — Margot Robbie, Sofia Richie and Hailey Bieber, who were responsible for pushing defining micro-trends such as Barbie-core, stealth wealth and clean-girl aesthetics in the last year alone — now pregnant and debuting fresh maternity wear looks, the buzzy category is fast evolving. Especially as millennial and Gen Z consumers mature into motherhood, representing a new digital native customer who is engaged by such micro-trends and creators. The brands able to tap in, are set to win big.
“The term ‘motherly’ has skyrocketed on our platform by 210 per cent in recent months; ‘young family’ has risen by 72 per cent,” says Shaun Singh, CEO and founder of trend analysis platform and stock imagery site Death To Stock (DTS), meaning brands and designers are increasingly searching for imagery that connotes motherhood to use in campaigns or on social. However he stresses that it’s not just the term that has proliferated, but the connotation behind it.
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“Gone are the days when motherhood was synonymous with sacrifice and the abandonment of personal ambitions. Instead, a new vision of family life is emerging, one that harmonises personal style, taste, and adventure with parenting.” He references social media sensation turned author Julia Fox (who is also a single mother to a three-year-old son) as an important figurehead in dialogue around themes related to modern motherhood. Model, author and podcast host Emily Ratajkowski also speaks openly about balancing motherhood with her career and social life. “A new vision of family life is emerging, one that harmonises personal style, taste and adventure with parenting. It’s no surprise that our favourite influencers are representing motherhood with a modern flair unique to their respective tastes.”
How the bump became the hottest accessory
At this year’s Met Gala, model Aboah wore a red H&M skirt set that revealed her growing baby bump. Similarly, at last September’s Vogue World in London, Sienna Miller also opted for a white two-piece set (this time from Schiaparelli) to accentuate her pregnant belly. Most recently, Margot Robbie unofficially announced she was expecting when a paparazzi picture of the actress in a white Bottega crop top revealed her blossoming bump.
As for implementing empowering messaging surrounding pregnancy clothing, it’s all about ensuring woman representation at the top. In London-based brand Di Petsa’s Autumn/Winter 2023 collection they explored the mother archetype with a show dedicated to celebrating the female physique through body-conscious creations, such as wet-look dresses and puffas. It’s a recurring theme for the woman-owned brand, which has made custom dresses for Gigi Hadid and Nicki Minaj’s pregnancy reveals. Many young brands, from Wiederhoeft to Collina Strada, have also featured pregnant women on the runway in recent seasons.
“Traditional maternity wear lends to a more conservative design philosophy about hiding the belly, whereas today we now see fashion for pregnancy taking on new expression as modern women embrace their changing bodies, to feel special and encouraged to show off their beautiful bumps,” says Cheryl Leung, founder of Sau-Lee on one of maternity wear’s defining new trends.
Poster Girl co-founder and creative director Francesca Capper appeared in the brand’s latest viral campaign, The Love Factory, heavily pregnant alongside social media stars Aliyah’s Interlude and the Clermont Twins, as well as artist Kim Petras. “I worked with [Interview editor-in-chief] Mel Ottenberg on styling something more outrageous than tame for my bump. Pregnancy is, of course, a very sacred and special moment, but it doesn’t mean the way you dress can’t still be fun and playful,” she says, adding that she personally has avoided pregnancy clothing in lieu of more adventurous, fun outfits. For the campaign they settled on the brand’s Becks boob tube and mini skirt set, showing that pregnant people can wear Poster Girl clothes that aren’t maternity wear. “It doesn’t have to be solely functional. I think one of the main factors is not feeling pressured to hide your belly all the time, it’s a beautiful moment in life and people are starting to celebrate this rather than conceal it.”
“Seeing these fashion icons not succumb to ‘oh, now I need to just wear maternity wear and look like a mom (whatever that means)’, but literally just use it as a new opportunity to play with their fashion, is really inspiring,” says Rose Colcord, founder of lingerie brand Cou Cou Intimates, one of the many brands tapping into the new era of maternity wear. Last year, the underwear label launched an ongoing podcast series called “Cou Cou Talks”, where guests such as Coco Baudelle explore motherhood as a “liberating experience through the words of Toni Morrison”, as well as having internal conversations about incorporating more pregnant and postpartum body representation in campaigns.
“We’re still in the process of shifting the perspective of motherhood as empowering, [questioning] and of what it means to become a mother — what it means in terms of our identity, what (if anything) we have to give up and, what it means in terms of how we should dress or feel about our bodies,” says Colcord on our changing attitudes towards pregnancy dressing.
Colcord is also planning to launch a version of Cou Cou’s best-selling bralettes (The Balconette and The Triangle) with strap clips that can turn it into a nursing bra. “I think we also don’t feel we need to necessarily buy or be limited to ‘maternity clothes’, it’s just a matter of finding clothes that are comfortable, fit and that you feel confident in,” she adds.
“Maternity wear has evolved significantly, becoming more and more stylish. Modern women no longer feel the need to compromise on their personal style and trends just because they’re expecting,” agrees Paige Adams-Geller, founder of Paige denim. “At Paige, we have been focused on increasing our maternity offerings each season, based on our best-selling styles so our customers can maintain the same fit and style they’ve come to love.”
So what makes maternity wear truly empowering in 2024? And where does the line between empowerment and unrealistic expectations blur?
Are gender roles being broken down only to be rebuilt?
Motherhood is not the only stage of a woman’s life that has been reinvented lately. “Gen Z isn’t doing away with tradition — they’re redefining it, agrees Singh. “We saw this happen in the last year as wedding attire modernised into Bridalcore,” he adds, referencing the rise of “cool girl wedding dresses” that are reconceiving the centuries-old tradition. “It’s no wonder that maternity wear is next to be graced with Gen Z’s signature, tradition-breaking touch, rife with references to modern technology (see: Schiaparelli’s electro-baby).”
At DTS they’ve even termed a larger zeitgeist trend as “Womancore” as a reference to the explosion of cores and niche microtrends specifically tailored to different aspects of being a woman. However, not everyone is thrilled by this development. “I think many current popular aesthetics, whether it be clean-girl or mob wife, have operated in compartmentalising, and sometimes diminishing, feminine agency,” says fashion commentator Alexandra Hildreth.
“With the current [pregnancy] aesthetic movement, the whole goal is to look as put together as possible at all times — even when nine months pregnant,” she continues, pointing to the “tradwife” movement, spearheaded by creator Nara Smith, who just had her third baby at 22 years old. Smith posts viral TikToks cooking for her husband and children, often dressed in fresh off-the-runway Chanel or Miu Miu. During her pregnancy, she posted almost daily TikTok content, garnering millions of views. “While she is an incredibly popular and viral model and creator that it makes sense [for brands] to dress and gift, the timeline at which she’s taken off is representative of people turning towards these kinds of traditional and conservative aesthetics,” Hildreth says.
Increased exposure to diverse versions of motherhood online can be beneficial. However, this exposure also amplifies the existing social media issue of setting unrealistic expectations, adds data analyst and founder of Style Analytics Molly Rooyakkers on the demands of motherhood going viral on social media, not just in the trad wife movement. “Influencers often portray pregnancy and motherhood as effortlessly glamorous. Yet the time, effort, and money invested in curating these lifestyles (and outfits) is arguably unachievable for most people,” she adds.
Knitwear label Cinta is fighting against this potentially damaging narrative by introducing a “one-size-fits-all” line catered to be more inclusive of expectant mothers, as well as including real pregnant women in their most recent campaigns. They don’t want to create a separation between maternity wear and their core product line, instead prioritising inclusive, comfortable and stylish clothing for all at an affordable price.
It’s a sweet spot that Agolde creative director Karen Phelps has also found after both Hailey Bieber and Rihanna were seen wearing a pair of Agolde jeans throughout their pregnancies. “While they were not originally designed with maternity in mind, we’ve found that their versatile fit makes them a great choice for pregnancy as seen on celebrities, our customers and our own team. Our jeans can be sized up or down, offering a sustainable and versatile wardrobe staple that adapts to pre, during, and post-maternity, which allow our jeans to remain wearable for years, transcending just one season of life,” she says on the jeans’ newfound popularity among mothers.
For Colcord, though, the most important thing is that women feel they can remain authentic to who they are — and not have the label of “mother” overshadow all other aspects of their personality, as it might once have, including their fashion choices. “We don’t need to compromise our sense of fashion during pregnancy (and therefore identity, since our personal style is such a form of self-expression), it’s a time to actually celebrate and play with our sense of style,” she says.
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