What is it about bodysuits? Technically, they are nothing more than a fancy leotard with strategic snap buttons. But they have managed to maintain a rock-solid grip on our collective consciousness. Like Swiftonomics, a phrase coined to refer to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift creating her own economic microcosm—one could argue that rising interest in the bodysuit speaks of a confident cultural economy. That Swift performs in a series of shimmering bodysuits on the Era’s tour tells us about its contemporary ambivalence too. 

Then there’s the Renaissance tour that’s bringing Beyoncé-est bodysuits to the stage; think swag-shoulders, cutouts, crystals and body chains. While a leotard (named after French gymnast Jules Léotard) is a particular cocktail of theatricality and function that belongs in the spotlight, calling it a bodysuit connects it to fashion at ground level. The bodysuit works on stage over a pair of fishnets, but it is happening IRL too, under a pair of jeans, paper-bag shorts and tailored trousers. If you’re feeling fairly festive, you might even wear it with a lehenga or a saree.