Celebrating 10 of cinema’s most iconic underwear moments

“From the cradle to the coffin, underwear comes first!” said German playwright Bertolt Brecht. Whether or not he was referring to lingerie as a theatrical device or simply expounding the age-old human instinct to keep one’s parts appropriately packaged is hard to gauge, but there’s no doubt that, in the realm of cinema at least, many a revealing moment has occurred when a character is themselves quite literally revealed. Whether dancing round the house half-nude in a moment of ecstatic solitude, adorned in scanty garments for the purpose of seduction, or caught unawares in a state of undress, encountering a protagonist in their underwear can offer as much insight as it can visual enticement. Here, we celebrate ten of cinema’s most memorable lingerie moments on film, traversing genres, garments and end goals in the process.

Kirsten Dunst in Marie Antoinette (2006)

For most of Sofia Coppola’s fanciful reimagining of Marie Antoinette’s Versailles, Kirsten Dunst’s frivolous Dauphine is decked in swathes of silk, lace and feathers over corsets and crinoline; court onlookers remark on her resemblance to “a little piece of cake”. When it comes to the seduction of Jamie Dornan’s Count Axel von Fersen, however, she strips down to white stockings adorned with pretty blue ribbons. A voluminous white plume protrudes from her hair, while she retains a pale pink fan with which she teasingly conceals herself. A cake’s nothing without its icing, after all.

 Halle Berry in Swordfish (2001)

Although this action-packed (and particularly cheesy) cyber thriller marks Halle Berry’s first nude scene, the moment is eclipsed by the lacy lingerie look she serves when her character, an undercover DEA agent named Ginger, is caught undressing by Hugh Jackman’s hacker, Gabriel. Surprised in a sheer black bra and thong—she conveniently forgot to lock her door—Ginger directs her gun at the gobsmacked intruder who says, in what is perhaps the most unconvincing line in film history, “I’ve had a pretty shitty day so far, and it looks like it just got worse.”

 Tom Cruise in Risky Business (1983)

Paul Brickman’s coming-of-age comedy is responsible for catapulting a young Tom Cruise and his tighty whities into public consciousness. Cruise’s Joel, a one-track-minded high school graduate, is left in charge of his parents’ house while they head off on holiday—and he can’t conceal his delight. He tucks into a (still-frozen) ready meal, before ditching it in favour of a gyrating groove around the living room to Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll. His moves are unforgettable, to say the least, making full use of the fireplace and furnishings, but it’s his white cotton undies that steal the scene.

 Natalie Portman in Closer (2004)

In what is arguably the standout scene of Mike Nicholl’s heated romantic drama, Closer, Natalie Portman’s Alice dons a pink wig, black garter and flashy purple lingerie, replete with endless sequins and beaded fringing, to perform a dance for Clive Owen’s frustrated dermatologist, Larry. An American expat in London, Alice has taken a job in a stripclub after being spurned by struggling writer, Dan (Jude Law). In this loaded sequence, she puts on a seemingly impenetrable facade, while in fact exposing more of herself (both literally and psychologically) than in any other part of the story.

Sarah Michelle Gellar in Cruel Intentions (1999)

Sarah Michelle Gellar seduced and appalled in equal measure as the calculating Kathryn in Roger Kumble’s reimagining of Dangerous Liaisons, set in modern-day New York. Kathryn and her philandering, equally over-privileged step-brother Sebastian make a bet: if he can deflower the new headmaster’s daughter before the school year starts, Kathryn will sleep with him; if not, he’ll hand over his car. This scene is seared into millennials’ memories for many reasons: the sizzling sexual tension between the step-siblings; the revelation of their Machiavellian intentions, and Kathryn’s eye-catching corset: a ruched bustier in peach crepe with a tight black bodice. A nod to the Rococo setting of the original source material, it is also the perfect guise for a cold-hearted manipulator with a butter-wouldn’t-melt exterior.

Gwyneth Paltrow The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Gwyneth Paltrow’s ever-sullen Margot Tenenbaum—one of three former-child-prodigy protagonists in Wes Anderson’s beloved family drama—keeps her past and her bad habits firmly under wraps. An avowed non-smoker among her kin, her white-tiled bathroom is her secret sanctuary for cigarettes and contemplation. In one of the film’s most stylish scenes, she takes refuge there in a transparent slip dress, chasing her puffs of smoke with wafts of fragrance, squeezed from an old fashioned perfume dispenser.

Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

No list of lingerie-on-film would be complete without taking into account Tim Curry’s mad scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, in this cult movie musical. Finding themselves stranded with a flat tire during a storm, young lovers Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) seek shelter in the mansion of the cross-dressing doctor, who dazzles in a glittering halter-neck corset, accompanied by stockings, garters and platform heels. He and his esoteric coterie soon coax Brad and Jane into a similarly scantily clad state as a series of deranged dances and a rollicking rock opera score ensue, leading up to the revelation of Frank-N-Furter’s latest creation: the ripped Rocky himself, oiled up and decked in tiny briefs.

Demi Moore in Indecent Proposal (1993)

In Adrian Lyne’s moral dilemma drama, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson star as David and Diana Murphy, a young couple in deep financial trouble. David has a plan: to head to Vegas and gamble their way out of debt. Soon, the preemptively celebratory pair have blanketed their hotel bed in newly-won dollar bills, upon which a tousled Moore memorably rolls around in nothing but her crisp white underwear. A heated love scene follows, set to Sade’s No Ordinary Love—this, we are made to understand, is an unrockable relationship. Until, of course, Robert Redford comes along with a salacious, million-dollar offer that the devoted duo can’t refuse.

Pam Grier in Coffy (1973)

Pam Grier stars as a killer with a killer wardrobe in this blaxploitation classic. Through her work as a nurse, our eponymous heroine has come to loathe the pimps and dealers responsible for the drug epidemic in her hometown. When her sister develops a heroin addiction, Coffy snaps, disguises herself as a sex worker and embarks on a rampage to take them out—in one scene pulling a gun on an unsuspecting drug lord in nothing but revealing black lace lingerie and a cardigan. Grier soon came to epitomise the strong, sexy woman in a genre that had previously portrayed women as (frequently unrobed) victims, going onto deliver similarly empowered performances in Foxy Brown and Shea, Baby. “I attached a political voice to sexuality for women,” the actress has noted of the film’s popularity and cultural relevance.

Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

All eyes were on Nicole Kidman and her real-life husband Tom Cruise when they starred as Dr Bill Hartford and his wife Alice in Stanley Kubrick’s divisive swansong. The pair’s relationship swiftly begins to unravel after Alice’s pot-fuelled admission to her husband of her sexual fantasies about another man, spoken while clad in high-rise white panties and a matching v-neck vest by Swiss manufacturer Hanro. The sales of this simple but sensual $40 design, hand-selected by the notoriously pernickety director, doubled after the film hit the box office. The takeaway? Confessions are best served in camisoles.