What will come as no surprise to anyone is that following Zendaya’s appearance at this weekend’s Oscars ceremony wearing an utterly sensational canary yellow Valentino Couture gown, internet searches for copycat dupes sky-rocketed.

According to fashion platform Lyst, in the 24 hours following the ceremony, searches for yellow dresses spiked by 222%.

But it wasn’t just the ripe and juicy summer-ready hue that whet our fashion appetite, but rather the cut-out stamps that the Euphoria actor championed. And Carey Mulligan. And Andra Day. Hell, even Vanessa Kirby too! Because if there’s one thing young Hollywood loves, it’s a good ole trend, and cut-out dresses are set to be the talk of the fashion town this summer. 

Indeed, cut outs weaved themselves onto all manner of dresses at Fendi, Miu Miu and vegan powerhouse Nanushka’s spring/summer 2021 shows, proving that even the most conservative of get-ups can be injected with a healthy dose of hole-yness.  

The purveyor of the cut-out dress the fashion set can’t get enough of is Aje, a pared-back Australian label that came into its own during the spring/summer 2020 fashion weeks as every editor and influencer alike sported its Mimosa cut-out dress. It’s gone from strength to strength since, with Tracee Ellis Ross, Madonna and Kate Moss now all fans of the label’s minimal-effort, high-impact pieces. And, of course, those all-important cut-outs. 

Fast-forward two years to our re-emergence and, according to Lyst, searches for dresses of the cut-out variety, which Aje and a handful of others have continued to specialise in, have enjoyed a steady increase over the past few weeks.

But don’t be frightened by the idea of there being a hole in your dress. This is fashion after all, and there is a dress to make everybody feel at one with the holey trend. These are the cut-out dresses to buy now. 

Images: courtesy of brands