Superman did it first. But he wore the underwear over his clothes. Now many, especially women, are happy with just wearing their innerwear.

Bra straps are visible everywhere from below stringy tops. But that’s de rigueur. Instagram is full of bloggers who are flaunting the brassiere as a shirt.
 

Sports bras are favoured quite a lot. They can look like crop-tops anyway. But the classic brassiere, the simple, non-fussy one or the one with the lace can also be made to look like a cool top if paired correctly with a jacket, or is part of a suit, or is worn under a sheer top.

In India, the petticoat is being shown off too. Many designers are creating petticoats that are made of satin, or silk, or are embroidered or embellished, to be worn with a sheer sari. Or they can just be worn as skirts (see pictures).

The trick is to make the ensemble look one whole. In that case the undergarment will not stand out or draw attention to itself while adding sexiness to the outfit. It will also lend a legitimacy to the bra. 
 

Which it deserves. For the brassiere always did good.

This new status of the bra, or the petticoat, also testifies to the long way they have come. 

Roman mosaics show women exercising in the possibly the world’s first bikinis, following which there is a long gap.  When the bra began to be manufactured mass-scale from the earlier part of the 20th century, it liberated women from the Victorian grip of the corset, which did a woman’s body no good. 

The Victorians would not name undergarments. A teenager would acquire an 18-inch waist from a whalebone corset, but would refer to her drawers as “unwhisperables”.
 

In India, undergarments for women as we know them, began to be worn under the influence of the West. In many households, undergarments for women were not ok. They were forbidden to wear them, let alone flaunt them. That, not even a century  ago. 

Now we have Kim Kardashian. She is a champion of wearing the bra as a top.

Of course, the real turning point was Madonna. She wore a cone bra corset in Chiba, Japan, in April 1990, and sculpted another fashion icon. The top was created by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier and looked suitably counter-culture, Madonna-style.
 

Now bras and bustiers as tops are a part of mainstream culture, but remain liberating enough.

It is important to know when not to flaunt them. Formal or professional gatherings are not the right places to show your bra strap. Always remember, the straps should complement what you are wearing and no make it look tacky, says Diksha Katyal, model and fashion creative.

Models: Mouli Halder, Priyanka Das, Sanghashree Roy
Make-up: Amit Karak l Stylist: Soumya Nandy 
Photographs: Arpit Rungta 
Concept and creative direction: Diksha Katyal