There is a phrase that nearly every bride utters in the weeks following their engagement. Amid the cooing over carats and endless retellings of the moment the question was popped, friends or bridal stylists usually ask some version of, “So, have you thought about a dress yet?” The bride-to-be usually counters with a laughing, slightly overwhelmed, “I have no idea,” followed by a quick caveat, “but not a mermaid.”
The reaction is so common it almost feels like bridal gospel, though it wasn’t always this way. French couturier Marcel Rochas first brought the mermaid dress into the spotlight in the 1930s. His elegant, subtly sultry creations—donned by movie stars and cover girls alike—are practically unrecognizable when compared to the bedazzled, overdramatized caricatures that have since become synonymous with the silhouette.
The style’s unfortunate association with mason jars and teal bridesmaid dresses has trapped it within an early-2010s time capsule, alongside skinny jeans, chevron prints, and the Sepia Instagram filter. Come 2020, brides had abandoned the figure-clinging shape for understated slips and anything with a basque or drop waist. But history—especially fashion history—repeats itself. And if the fanfare surrounding 2016 earlier this year is any indication, fashion may be due for a trip down memory lane.
Brides need look no further than the red carpet and recent ready-to-wear and couture shows for inspiration on a modern mermaid. Teyana Taylor has stayed true to the style throughout the 2026 awards season, sporting designs by Schiaparelli, Burberry, Tamara Ralph, Ashi Studio, and Tom Ford, each reinterpreting the classic mermaid silhouette in a new light. Her One Battle After Another co-star, Chase Infiniti, has also embraced various takes on the trumpet silhouette from Louis Vuitton, including a contoured, sculptural burgundy gown with a dramatic, undulating flare at the knee—and, in the ultimate callback to the 2010s, a mirrored peplum top paired with a mermaid skirt.
