The Bandage Dress is Back, but this time it’s at a Price We Can Afford

The bandage dress, seen all over runway supermodels and red carpet starlets during the 90’s and 2000’s is BACK in 2022.  But this time, the design house that made it famous, Hervé Léger is making them accessible for everyone, by teaming up with Forever 21.

Although the bandage dress’s popularity waned over the past decade, Hervé Léger recently underwent a refresh via new creative director Christian Juul Nielsen. Shoppers can head to Net-a-Porter or Bloomingdale’s and pick one up for around $700 to $2,000, depending on length and material. If that price tag is out of your range (as it is for most humans), don’t worry. See, that was always the problem: bandage dresses never came cheap, making them something of a status item.

But now, that’s all going to change, because the Léger brand is making them more accessible than ever — inflation be damned — by teaming up with another brand that thrived (and, frankly, produced many Hervé Léger knockoffs) in the 2000s: Forever 21. It’s an interesting move on the part of the fast-fashion retailer, which may be trying to distance itself from its copycat reputation.

Although, according to Fashionista, there’s another reason why it might have chosen the collaboration route in lieu of simply “taking inspiration” this time around: In 2020, after declaring bankruptcy, the mall chain was acquired by Authentic Brands Group, which has owned Hervé Léger since 2017. (Its previous parent company also went bankrupt.) That means this partnership was especially seamless — if not necessary. In fashion’s 2000s renaissance, inexpensive versions of the bandage dress were inevitably going to hit the market; at least through this arrangement, Forever 21 isn’t cannibalizing a business under its own corporate umbrella.

As Fashionista reports, the small, limited-edition capsule collection of formfitting dresses in classic colors drops just in time for weddings and proms, and get ready… these dresses will only set you back $39.99 to $129.99. (Though, it’s worth considering why those prices are what they are.)

In line with this theme of accessibility, the brands noted “extended sizing” in the launch’s press release; however, it turns out that extends only to XXL. (The designer-level dresses themselves go up to XL.) So it appears that, much like in the 2000s, Hervé Léger’s fans above a certain size may again have to buy another fast-fashion retailer’s version.

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Photo Credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com