From tulle skirts and shoe ribbons to ballet flats and Ozempic, the last few years have seen ‘balletcore’ enter the mainstream world of fashion. The term, often described as cutesy, sleeker-lined fashion, includes tulle or puffy skirts, flat pumps, ribbons and corsets as key staples of the look. 

But I suspect the flats mean more than a blister-free foot. This trend confirms society is leaving the body-positivity movement firmly in the 2010s as emaciation makes a comeback. 

Balletcore: No Dancing Matter

Ballet has always had a difficult relationship with food. It’s not uncommon for dancers to be undernourished or under heavy pressure to fit the ‘ideal’ ballerina stereotype. Statistically, as many as 82.6 per cent of ballet dancers have experienced an eating disorder during their career, including their training and retirement. Although some steps have been taken to include more body types in the ballet world, the ultra-thin look is still the dominant preference and expectation. But whatever your view of how dancers should look, the problem is that this unhealthy aesthetic has spilt out onto the streets, with ballet-coded fashion advertised everywhere.

Looking at Hollywood, the media and the influx of ‘thin-fluencers’ online, we are reminded of the ‘heroin chic’ era of the ’90s when extreme thinness was all the rage. From Kate Moss joking that ‘nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’ to advertisers promoting low-calorie drinks like Diet Coke as the sexiest thing since flavoured water, and using Moss as their poster girl, the ’90s were less concerned with chia seeds and more with looking ultra chic in a pair of skinny jeans.

Think back to the body positivity movement, especially its peak in the 2010s. Plus-size models took centre stage, fashion felt inclusive at last, and bigger bodies were finally shown some love. Interestingly, fashion likewise grew louder and prouder, and women’s clothing began to step out of the dainty, ultra-feminine box it had been confined to. We saw similarities to ’80s fashion trends, with bold colours, masculine styles, chunky shoes and the return of women’s suits — somewhat patronisingly called ‘the power suit’ — but fashion nevertheless felt freeing.

Take the chunky trainer. One deep, and admittedly strange, dive into the history of ‘sneaker maximalism’ tells us that 2017 saw brands like Balenciaga and Yeezy launch their own chunky trainers when popularity soared for the big stomper. That same year, the hashtag #bodypositive was going viral worldwide, and the movement appeared to be at its peak for the whole decade. But now the funky shoe has junked its chunk, bigger bodies seem to be disappearing again, and women have shrunk once more to dangerously small sizes. A 2025 report by Vogue Business verifies this, revealing that across 198 shows, a whopping 97.1 per cent of the models were between sizes 0-4, a disappointing decline in plus-size figures compared to earlier years. 

Further Proof is in the BAFTA Pudding

Earlier this year, the awards ceremony was arguably overshadowed by criticism over weight-loss levels and speculation about the use of Ozempic. Activist Jameela Jamil called out the ‘scarily thin’ celebrities and the fragile, underweight look that seems to be everywhere now. Jamil argues that when women are severely underweight, patriarchy is harder to dismantle. Extreme thinness, arguably a manmade beauty standard, helps keep women oppressed, lethargic, and above all silent.   

A figure often mentioned in discussions about celebrity weight loss, and someone who heavily embraces the ‘balletcore’ look, is singer and actress Ariana Grande. Concerns were sparked during the press tour of her recent film, Wicked: For Good, where Grande and her co-star Cynthia Erivo both showed noticeably slimmer physiques. And despite these concerns being dismissed as ‘vicious gossip,’ Grande’s diminishing appearance continues to raise eyebrows. 

In June 2026, she was pictured on stage looking dangerously thin again, wearing a tulle skirt, shoe ribbons and ballet flats. This wardrobe choice, and I stress the word ‘choice,’ for her world tour and personal style since the Wicked films, perfectly embraces the balletcore trend. In her newly released music video for her album Petal, she appears in a low-cut neckline, often called a ballerina neckline, revealing a starkly protruding ribcage and jutting collarbone.

Shades of Body Shaming 

It must be stressed that body shaming the singer is not my intention. Rather, I argue that the team behind her wardrobe choices, as well as her stylist, must be held accountable for accentuating extreme thinness as fashionable by playing up to the latest fashion mantra. As Jameela Jamil correctly points out again, they have dressed Grande in clothes that ‘accentuate the thinness for the discourse … accentuating her bones and tiny frame with belts and corsets.’ It’s arguably this blurred line between thinness and style, flaunted in the media, that’s so dangerous to the singer’s young fanbase and for the mental and physical health of younger generations. 

Balletcore signifies the return of dangerously thin bodies in women’s fashion — something I had hoped would stay in the 20th century. The bigger worry is that this fashion look signals a U-turn towards ‘traditionally feminine’ roles and behaviour, especially amid an influx of influential tradwives. 

A choice must come from the heart, not because it’s dictated from the top. Without body positivity to balance our appreciation of beauty, we risk losing young women and girls to extreme body issues and eating disorders. This is simply one risk we cannot afford to take for the sake of cute ballet pumps.    

DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.

Celebrities Health Women