Remember when Gillian Anderson wore this uncovered thong on Oscars evening?

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Written by Jacqui Palumbo, CNN

Delving into the archives of popular culture historical past, “Remember When?” is a CNN Style collection providing a nostalgic have a look at the movie star outfits that outlined their eras.
The scene: The yr was 2001 on the Academy Awards. Julia Roberts received Best Actress for her position as Erin Brockovich and celebrated with then-boyfriend Benjamin Bratt. “Gladiator,” “Traffic” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” picked up a number of awards all through the evening. Björk, infamously, wore a costume with a white swan looped round her neck.

The outlandish swan costume might have dominated red-carpet protection that yr, however there’s one other ensemble that has turn into emblematic of the period: Gillian Anderson, on the peak of “The X-Files” fame, stepped out for the Vanity Fair Oscars social gathering in a backless navy quantity with a cheeky shock. When she rotated, her thong was totally seen, rising up from the ultra-low Eduardo Lucero jersey costume.

Gillian Anderson’s vogue selections for the 2001 Vanity Fair Oscars social gathering have turn into an iconic early 2000s second. Credit: William Conran/PA Images/Getty Images

The “Sex Education” and “The Crown” actor wasn’t the primary to put on a visual thong throughout awards season — a peak-Y2K type that has resurfaced as of late — however stars together with Rose McGowan and Halle Berry had performed so on the MTV Video Music Awards and MTV Movie Awards in earlier years, the place horny and over-the-top reigned.

Anderson’s ensemble, which included effortlessly cool oval shades, stood in stark distinction to the Academy Award outfits of the evening, similar to Roberts’ black-and-white Valentino costume, and Jennifer Lopez’s voluminous taupe Chanel high fashion robe.

Since then, Anderson’s DGAF whale tail has turn into iconic, but in addition misunderstood. The thong has been mistaken for being a part of the costume, or being an intentional energy transfer. At a panel on the convention FanX in 2016, Anderson revealed the reality: It was a last-minute determination to keep away from a wardrobe malfunction.
Anderson told a panel in 2016 that the thong was a last-minute decision, not a planned style choice.

Anderson advised a panel in 2016 that the thong was a last-minute determination, not a deliberate type alternative. Credit: J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images

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“I don’t remember how that dress came into my life, and I’m not even sure that I’d tried it on the night before I was going to wear it. But when I put it on, my pubic hairs poked through the dress,” Anderson advised the moderator and the viewers to raucous laughter. “And there were two solutions… I chose solution number two, which was a thong.”

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The new millennium kicked off because the post-Sisqó period, when the R&B singer requested to see extra thongs in 1999 and vogue responded in flip with embellished underwear as equipment. Now, a generational shift has occurred as Paris Hilton’s low-slung pants and visual g-strings have given approach to Bella Hadid’s up to date variations on the identical, whereas Anderson’s styling has been revisited by the likes of Alexa Demie — who arrived to the 2019 “Euphoria” premiere in a backless snakeskin costume and thong embellished with Swarovski crystals — and Hailey Bieber.

Alexa Demie revisited the backless dress and thong pairing at the "Euphoria" premiere in 2019.

Alexa Demie revisited the backless costume and thong pairing on the “Euphoria” premiere in 2019. Credit: Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic/Getty Images

At the 2019 Met Gala, Bieber arrived in a shimmering pink Alexander Wang costume with a gem-encrusted g-string element; Anderson took to Twitter to compare the look along with her personal throwback second.

“Another example of necessity being the mother of invention,” she captioned the 2 photographs aspect by aspect.

As for the destiny of the Eduardo Lucero costume, Anderson donated it to a charity public sale (sans thong) to learn analysis into the genetic dysfunction Neurofibromatoses, based on her web site.

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In one other peak Y2K-era transfer, she spoke in regards to the costume and the public sale in two totally different Yahoo! chats with followers that yr, answering questions on herself and her charity work.

In one of many chats, simply days after the Oscars, person “angiescully” requested her about her type. “I love the dresses you’ve worn to the recent award shows, etc. Do you choose your own dresses? Because if you do, keep going with the bare-back ones!”

Anderson replied that she lately found Lucero, “who I love!” she wrote. “He just happens to make some really nice dresses without backs!”