KATY Perry went beyond boundary-pushing to jaw-dropping in her revealing and controversial styles at Paris Fashion Week.
But though her "rebellious" outfits were picked to grab attention, a psychologist says the star's "taut face" signaled uncertainty and discomfort.
Katy, 39, walked the runway at a star-studded Vogue World event in Paris on Sunday.
The pop star wore a black cutout dress from Noir Kei Ninomiy's Fall 2019 collection.
Katy paraded across a gray stone floor, followed by Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner at the Place Vendome.
What Ola and James Jordan really ate and did to shed 7st
Vogue described the Roar hitmaker’s outfit at Paris Fashion Week as a geometric naked dress.
But while the bold dress signaled confidence, fashion psychologist Professor Carolyn Mair, PhD, claimed the pop star looked "worried."
“Katy was trying very, very hard to get attention in Paris," Mair told The U.S. Sun.
“The Vogue World runway outfit had a lot of boob showing and was very provocative.
"The dress had a tough leather top and a feminine, romantic skirt.
"The leaves and flowers were about rebirth and signal Katy trying to regenerate her music career.
"The leaves had been cut with jagged edges, which made them look edgy and rebellious, especially when juxtaposed with the romantic and feminine skirt.
"Katy's shoes can easily be unraveled, and the tongue has been removed to show flesh.
"But instead of looking tough and provocative, Katy Perry looked unnatural and worried."
I'm a 'time traveler' - the 'worst case scenario that could kill us all'
Katy’s sixth album and new single, Woman’s World, will be released in July. In June, she shared a clip of her track on TikTok.
But it hasn't exactly been a runaway hit.
She looked unsure and nervous in all of her Paris outfits, and her face looked taut.
Carolyn Mair
“This song sounds terrible. Lol, we need Katy back from the summer of 2010,” commented one fan.
“This song is actually painful to listen to,” added another.
UNDER ARMOR
Katy may hope that some headline-making fashion will set the conversation about her back on track.
But according to Mair, Katy struggled to show strength in Paris in the wake of her underperforming new single.
"We can see that Katy was trying to handle the music challenges and look resilient and tough," she said.
"But the person inside all these provocative outfits did not measure up.
"These clothes were also Katy's armor chosen to protect her and represent a different, tougher persona than her authentic self.
"She looked unsure and nervous in all her Paris outfits, and her face looked taut."
It seemed the stakes were high for Katy amid her latest career comeback.
The star had already weathered poor sales from her albums Witness in 2017 and Smile in 2020.
Smile sold 1.5 million copies worldwide, compared to her 2010 Teenage Dream release, which sold over 12 million.
"I became very insecure and had to go on a journey, both emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically to understand why I relied so much on validation," Katy confessed to Sunrise, an Australian daytime talk show, in 2020.
Katy was trying to show individuality but was not doing this successfully. It looked inauthentic.
Carolyn Mair
During her final Play Las Vegas residency show in 2023, Katy appeared to be on that same trajectory.
"I’d like to see you try… Call it a flop one more time!" she shouted on stage.
Katy became famous after her first album, One of the Boys, debuted in 2008, with her single I Kissed a Girl reaching No. 1.
Her follow-up single, Hot n Cold, topped the charts as well.
A string of catchy anthem-style hits followed. Similarly, fans adored her happy-go-lucky quirky cartoon-character fashion.
TRY TAYLOR
Mair claimed Katy looked much more at ease when styled this way.
"Katy was much more comfortable before now in all her cartoon character clothes," she said.
"In Paris, Katy was trying to show individuality but was not doing this successfully. It looked inauthentic.
Katy looked exhausted, unhappy, and not relaxed in Paris this week.
Carolyn Mair
"Other pop stars like Taylor Swift do not feel the need to dress like this.
"Even when Taylor does her sequined show outfits, they are not revealing like this.
"Katy looked exhausted, unhappy, and not relaxed in Paris this week."
Katy attended profile-boosting events across the City of Light, culminating in the Vogue World runway show.
On Tuesday, the star wore a red dress with a train covered in the lyrics from her song, Woman’s World.
As she entered the Ritz, her figure-hugging Balenciaga number was teamed up with black tights.
Her tights could not get much lower, and you could see the muscle on the side of her tummy.
Carolyn Mair
Katy also wore Balenciaga's coat that same day to their Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2024-2025 show.
This time, she was naked underneath, from the waist up. Katy's long legs were covered in holey black tights.
TEAR IT UP
Mair said Katy continued to want to look provocative.
“The Balenciaga fur coat was trying to be provocative, and, again, Katy was trying to look confident and defiant," she said.
"Her tights could not get much lower, and you could see the muscle on the sides of her tummy.
"These torn tights hark back to the Gothic era, where holes were supposed to look cool.
"The tights could have been very expensive too but they look destroyed and contrasted with her luxury long fur coat."
Katy has focused on boosting her turbulent music career since leaving American Idol in May.
In February, she confirmed her departure from the reality show on Jimmy Kimmel.
"I love the show so much, but I wanna go and see the world and maybe bring new music," she told him.
Meanwhile, Katy has continued to work with Aussie stylist, Tatiana Waterford.
“She has had so many major fashion moments, and at times, it feels hard to top them,” Waterford told Vogue Australia in 2023.
“I constantly have to push myself to dig deeper with references and brainstorm new places we can go together," she added.
Katy has gradually moved away from the retro-styled era. Gone are her babydoll dresses, polka dots, and dyed hair.
The angel wing print on the front of her jeans drew attention to her thighs and genital area.
Carolyn Mair
"Fashion is just a language," Katy told Vogue in 2017.
"It's storytelling. I am so encouraged by the big morph in fashion that's happening at the moment. Everybody is shape-shifting, changing, adapting," she added.
BIKER CHIC
Mair claimed Katy wanted to support her new KP 6 album release by shocking fans.
Back-to-back outfit changes in Paris included a two-piece leather number for a radio interview on Sunday.
"Katy's biker leather outfit was also very rock chick, shocking and rebellious," she said.
"This was meant to show her as a tough and edgy non-conformist.
"The eye was drawn to the cut-out section that showed her boobs, so some people may have wondered if Katy had some surgery and she wanted to show them off.
"The angel wing print on the front of her jeans drew attention to her thighs and genital area.
"Again, this was another outfit to show she was confident and self-assured, rebellious and tough.
"Katy's fingers and face looked rigid sometimes, which showed she was not genuinely feeling that way."
