By Darlyn Granja

Soft pink pastel mixed with a vivid red color, fabric as vibrant as it is beautiful. The dress that shined a little bit of light onto the darkness that was the summer of 2020. The strawberry dress that broke the internet. 

The strawberry midi dress originally created by Lirika Matoshi made waves as an impactful trend, not only for fashion but for all of social media. Although the strawberry dress trend and its popularity took off during the summer of 2020, it made its debut on the red carpet of the 2020 Grammy Awards back in January when plus-size model Tess Holiday donned it for the first time.

Unlike the positive feedback this fashion statement received during the summer of 2020, Holliday, who created a campaign that challenged society’s unrealistic beauty standards, received negative backlash when she wore the dress at the Grammy’s.

Holliday pulled no punches and immediately went on Twitter to address hypocrisy and express her disappointment:

“I like how this dress had me on the worst dressed lists when I wore it in January but now bc a bunch of skinny ppl wore it on TikTok everyone cares,” Holliday says.

Her statement was powerful and highlighted a major flaw in our society. As artists, designers, influencers, and members of a community, it is up to us to confront body shaming and the unrealistic expectations and standards of beauty in today’s society. 

In hindsight, it is undeniable that this fabulous strawberry dress had a strong influence not just in fashion but in popular culture. The million-dollar question, however, is why? What was so special and unique about this dress that made it go viral?

Perhaps it was the design itself that caught the attention of the public’s eye. Made of lightweight tulle netting with a full skirt and ruffled puffed sleeves, the high-waist area of the dress is belted around with a thin tied-up string, creating a fun vintage look.

The beauty of this dress doesn't solely rely on the adorable glittery strawberry designs scattered across the fabric of the dress. Its true beauty shines with the way the decorative fabric is constructed to make the garment embrace the body of whoever wears the dress in an effortless way that provides a very soft, yet stunning silhouette. This feature allowed the dress to be seen as welcoming for everybody’s size, despite the negative backlash Holliday received.

The internet took note of Holliday’s tweet and connected on a personal level. People of all shapes and sizes began to wear strawberry dresses to stand with Holliday and denounce body-shaming culture. Not only were people wearing this dress as a fashion statement to prove that anyone could look fabulous in this magnificent garment, but artists began to incorporate the dress into their artwork. 

Character designers and fans alike began to draw their favorite characters and original characters wearing Matoshi’s strawberry dress. The dress became a symbol of empowerment, showing success both as a social cause and within the fashion industry. Face coverings, hats, and other accessories began to don the now symbolic strawberry design.

Although the strawberry dress was trending for quite some time, strawberry designs are not uncommon in fashion, especially in Japanese Harajuku and South Korean K-Pop fashion, respectively. You can find strawberry designs on hoodies, especially ones that tend to be worn oversized, t-shirts, and a number of other accessories.

Strawberry fashion is meant to be playful but unique, showing that style doesn't always have to be extremely casual or elegant to be considered fashionable. The strawberry kawaii, or cute style, shows that fashion can also be sweet. 

Maybe the reason why the Strawberry dress made such an impact was that it was unique compared to most of the trendy dresses we had seen before. Perhaps it's the delicate pastel pink color matched with the playful strawberries that caused artists and designers to fall in love with this vibrant design. 

Despite the frustration that this lockdown generated, seeing this dress surface around the internet and watching the impact that it had creatively and socially, provided a small ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy summer. 

If you’re interested in the strawberry midi dress, it doesn’t just exclusively come in the trending pastel pink. It is also available in black, for those who prefer darker colors, showing the versatility of this design and that it can appeal to anyone’s fashion taste. 

The dress is available at Lirika Matoshi’s official website along with many other unique and equally beautiful options that are just as charming as the strawberry dress that made rocked the internet and made quarantine a little sweeter.

Darlyn is a culture writer for La Tonique.