Dimitra Petsa’s “wet looks” are making a splash.
The Greek fashion designer’s brand, Di Petsa, has outfitted celebrities ranging from Bella Hadid to Lizzo in its signature soaked-looking sheer mesh dresses, created using a clever combination of draping and stitching — but no actual water.
Petsa tells Pvnew Style her top-secret technique, which took “six or seven months” to perfect, aims to address society’s “censorship” of women’s natural bodily fluids.
“If you cry in public; you have to hide it. If you sweat in public; you have to hide it. If you breastfeed in public; you have to hide it,” she says.
“So what I wanted was to create a look that makes you look like you’re wet even though you’re not — to celebrate our wetness.”
With Di Petsa hosting its first-ever New York pop-up at 168 Ludlow Street (open through July 16), I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try on a few of the label’s wet and wild wares for myself. So I headed downtown on a sweltering, oppressively humid summer day, taking some comfort in the fact that — per Petsa, at least— sweat is something to be embraced, not embarrassed about.
First up? The $2,900 gold halter dress seen on Shakira in her “TQG” music video with Karol G.
“It was one of those childhood dreams come true,” Petsa says of dressing the “Whenever, Wherever” singer, whose music she often blasted while working on her master’s at Central Saint Martins. “I’m a huge, huge fan.”
And it would appear the feeling’s mutual: “After the shoot, she ordered more dresses.”
A word to the wise for those looking to invest in one of these couture takes on the wet T-shirt: Be prepared to go commando. I didn’t, of course, since I was trying on these dresses instead of taking them home — but even my nude thong partially peeked through the transparent mesh. Bras? Forget about ’em; it’s pasties or (quite literally) bust.
While I was nervous about leaving the fitting room in the nearly-naked look — I never ordinarily wear anything this sheer or clingy — a kind shopper quickly assured me I looked “like a pop star.” Better watch your back, Shak!
Next, I tried on one of Di Petsa’s gowns, a $4,525 white open-backed number I could envision working as a wedding dress for a particularly body-confident bride.
Chloe Bailey wore the same look at the 2021 BET Awards, and Petsa custom-made a similar style for Gigi Hadid’s viral pregnancy announcement photoshoot in 2020.
Each of these one-of-a-kind “wet looks” is sewn entirely by hand, and while they usually take two to three weeks to create, Petsa tells me she had just a few days to complete Hadid’s.
“I brought in my childhood friends — everybody was there, just sewing, sewing, sewing,” she recalls with a laugh.
It took me a few minutes to get into the gown; while at first I feared I’d gotten tangled up in its lining, it turns out the piece actually includes built-in leggings, which Petsa stitches to the skirt in select spots to create the illusion of a sopping-wet garment stuck to the skin.
I was also surprised by both dresses’ soft and stretchy fabric — not at all the slick, rubbery feel I was expecting, given their liquid-like appearance in photos. Petsa, who has a background in performance art, says her styles are made for movement and motion, which might explain why they’re popular among performers like Nicki Minaj, FKA Twigs and Doja Cat.
That stretchiness boasts another benefit, one in keeping with the designer’s body-positive ethos: “If you gain weight, if you lose weight, it still fits,” she says.
While Hadid opted for a look that showed off her baby bump, Petsa can use her trademark technique to spotlight whatever a customer’s best assets might be.
“Everything’s made exactly to your measurements; we can highlight and conceal different parts of your body,” she says of her bespoke business.
And Petsa’s offerings extend beyond her famous “wet looks.” In line with her interest in the stigma attached to breastfeeding in public, her collection also includes corsets with cutout cups for easy access, along with “breast leak” tops that lend the look of lactation.
“Western society has such an obsession with women’s breasts, but only in a sexualized context,” she explains. “Whereas if it’s a mother nursing a child, then suddenly it’s [taboo].”
She even offers trompe l’oeil pieces printed with sweat and urine stains — all part of her mission to normalize female wetness in all its forms.
Icky? To some, perhaps. But taking the “secret” out of secretions is precisely the point.
“It’s just your body!” Petsa points out. “And you can dress it [however] you choose. Having this creative autonomy over your body is really beautiful.”
