Last Tuesday, I found myself backstage at Proenza Schouler’s Fall/Winter show, wedged between a rack of sample-size dresses and a harried makeup artist frantically applying last-minute touches to a model’s face. I was there to interview Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez about their collection, but something kept distracting me. The models, tall and lithe as always, had something unusual about them. It wasn’t their hair (slicked back in that perpetually wet look that only models and very rich people with excellent bone structure can pull off). It wasn’t their makeup (minimal, with just a hint of flush). No, it was… their shoulders. Exposed, accentuated, architectural shoulders. Everywhere I looked.
“The shoulder is having a moment,” Lazaro told me when I finally got him alone for three precious minutes before the show. “It’s strong without being aggressive, sexy without being obvious.” He gestured to a nearby model wearing what looked like a perfectly normal black dress until she turned—revealing a completely open back with straps that wrapped around and highlighted her shoulder blades in a way that made them look like delicate wings. “The shoulder blade is the new décolletage,” he said with absolute certainty, before being whisked away by his PR person.
I’ve been in fashion long enough to recognize a capital-T Trend when I see one. And trust me, shoulders—specifically shoulder blades, the constellation of bones that form the back of your shoulders—are definitely having a moment. After spotting them at Proenza, I started seeing them everywhere. Alexander McQueen’s latest collection featured harness-like structures that framed the shoulder blades. Prada sent models down the runway in backless halter tops that put all the focus on that particular anatomy. Cult Gaia, always quick to tap into the zeitgeist, released a dress with cut-outs specifically placed to highlight the scapula.
But why shoulders? Why now? Fashion’s obsession with various body parts tends to move in cycles. We’ve lived through the era of “thigh gap” (problematic), “sideboob” (impractical), “midriff” (eternal), and even had a brief, puzzling moment when earlobes were suddenly the height of sexiness (tiny diamond climbers, anyone?). The industry needs to continually find new erogenous zones to focus on—it keeps things interesting and, more cynically, keeps us buying new clothes designed to highlight whatever body part is currently deemed worthy of attention.
I have a theory about shoulders, though. After years of faces being the main event (thanks to Zoom culture and mask-wearing), we’re craving the exposure of other features. Shoulders—particularly shoulder blades—offer something both modest and subtly sensual. They’re unexpected. You don’t immediately think “sexy” when someone says “shoulder blade,” but when highlighted properly, they can be incredibly alluring.
There’s also something uniquely elegant about them. Think about it—when someone has beautiful posture, what do you notice? The way their shoulder blades sit, the graceful line they create across the upper back. It’s aristocratic, almost balletic. And after years of slouching over laptops, there’s something aspirational about fashion that celebrates and demands good posture.
Emma texted me after seeing Zendaya on a red carpet last month: “Is it just me or are shoulder blades the new hotness? Trying to decide if I should buy this backless top but I’ve been working from home for three years and my posture is like a question mark.”
I responded with perhaps too much enthusiasm: “YES GET THE TOP YOUR SHOULDER BLADES ARE BEAUTIFUL YOU JUST NEED TO STAND UP STRAIGHT FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE.” This was followed by several excessively detailed stretching exercises I’d gotten from my physical therapist after I developed what she diplomatically called “fashion writer neck” from hunching over my phone at runway shows.
The beauty of this particular trend is its democratic nature. Shoulder blades are one of the few body parts that remain relatively unchanged regardless of weight fluctuations or age. We all have them, and with the right garment, anyone can highlight them. It’s refreshingly inclusive compared to some of fashion’s more exclusionary fixations.
I decided to test drive the trend myself at a fashion week after-party. I dug out a black halter dress I’d bought years ago but rarely worn because it felt too exposed for everyday life. The dress dipped low in the back, creating a perfect frame for my shoulder blades. I spent an embarrassing amount of time practicing poses in my bathroom mirror, trying to figure out exactly how to stand to make my shoulder blades look their most prominent. The secret, I discovered, is a slight forward roll of the shoulders followed by a gentle pulling back and down—a move that my yoga instructor would probably appreciate and my physical therapist would definitely prescribe.
The reaction was immediate. Three separate people complimented me specifically on the back of my dress and how it looked on me. One fashion editor actually touched my shoulder blade (the fashion world has very blurry boundaries when it comes to personal space) and said, “This is exactly what Miuccia was talking about.” I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but I took it as high praise.
Street style, always the most immediate barometer of what’s actually being worn, confirms the shoulder blade’s ascendance. Outside the shows in Paris, I counted no fewer than twelve outfits specifically designed to highlight this previously overlooked body part. Backless dresses, halter tops, and—most telling—new constructions that seem invented solely for shoulder display: straps that cross precisely over the scapula, cut-outs that frame just the blade itself, and harness-like accessories that draw the eye directly to this area.
The shoulder blade trend hasn’t just stayed on the runway either. It’s trickled down to more accessible brands with remarkable speed. Zara already has an entire collection of tops and dresses with shoulder blade cut-outs. Anthropologie has dubbed it “scapula season” in their newest catalog. Even Target has tank tops with strappy back details specifically positioned to highlight this area.
Social media, predictably, has accelerated the trend. The hashtag #shoulderblade has over 3 million posts on Instagram, many featuring fashion content. TikTok has spawned numerous tutorials for “shoulder blade contouring”—yes, we’re now contouring shoulder blades with makeup—and exercises specifically targeted at defining this area. There’s even a viral pose called the “shoulder blade reveal” that involves a specific way of standing to make your shoulder blades pop in photos.
Designers are approaching the shoulder blade obsession from multiple angles. Some, like Dion Lee, are creating architectural pieces with structural elements that mirror and enhance the natural lines of the shoulder blades. Others, like Jacquemus, prefer a minimalist approach—simple cuts that frame the area without additional embellishment. And some, like Area, are going full maximalist with crystal-encrusted harnesses and jeweled back chains designed to draw all attention to this part of the anatomy.
“It’s about creating new erogenous zones,” stylist and creative director Gabriella Karefa-Johnson told me when I ran into her at a showroom appointment. “The shoulder blade has this beautiful duality—it’s strong, literally part of our skeleton, but also incredibly delicate and sensual depending on how it’s framed. That contradiction makes it interesting from a design perspective.”
The historical context is interesting too. Fashion’s focus on shoulders isn’t entirely new—we’ve seen strong shoulders come and go since the 1940s, from Joan Crawford’s powerful silhouettes to the extreme padding of the 1980s. But those trends were about shoulders as seen from the front, symbols of power and assertiveness. Today’s fixation on shoulder blades—the back view—offers a different narrative. It’s about vulnerability, about literally showing your back to the world. There’s something trusting about that, especially in uncertain times.
Practicality, of course, is another matter entirely. I wore my shoulder-revealing halter dress to dinner last night and spent the entire evening freezing, occasionally having to ask my friend to check if my bra strap was showing (it was), and totally unable to eat the bread basket because any forward movement compressed my carefully arranged posture. Fashion has never been particularly concerned with comfort, but the shoulder blade trend requires a specific kind of commitment to looking good while feeling slightly uncomfortable.
For those wanting to try the trend without full commitment, there are options. Tops with small cut-outs or sheer panels over the shoulder blade area offer a subtler approach. A one-shoulder anything will draw attention to the general shoulder region without requiring the postural vigilance of a fully backless design. And accessories—particularly necklaces that drape down the back or body chains designed to highlight the shoulder blades—allow for experimentation without buying an entirely new wardrobe.
But what if you, like my friend Emma, have spent the last few years developing what could generously be called “tech neck” and your shoulder blades are more “hunched together in permanent laptop position” than “elegantly displayed like delicate wings”? I asked celebrity trainer Daniel Bohem for his advice.
“The shoulders are actually pretty quick to respond to targeted exercise,” he told me, demonstrating a series of movements that made his own shoulder blades look like they might actually take flight. “Even just becoming aware of them and practicing standing with good posture can make a huge difference in how they look in clothing.”
He recommended basic rows, lat pulldowns, and something called “scapular wall slides” that I attempted in my apartment later, accidentally knocking over a lamp in the process. My shoulder blades are definitely works in progress, but I’m committed to the cause.
The beauty of fashion’s cyclical nature is that no trend lasts forever. By next season, we might all be focused on earlobes again, or perhaps kneecaps will have their moment in the spotlight. But for now, the shoulder blade reigns supreme, asking us all to stand a little taller, pull our shoulders back a little further, and consider the beauty of a body part most of us rarely see without the help of a carefully angled mirror.
So go ahead, try a backless top. Experiment with a halter dress. Buy one of those strange harness contraptions if you’re feeling adventurous. Your shoulder blades have been waiting for their moment in the spotlight, and that moment is now.
Just maybe bring a sweater for when you inevitably get cold. Fashion may not always be practical, but at least I’ve learned to be prepared.