When I was a kid, everyone was obsessed with having a thigh gap. The girls at school in their low-rise skinny jeans. My fellow figure skaters at the rink, where thigh gaps were a point of pride. On TV and in the movies—they were everywhere. And then they weren’t. Collarbones have risen to take their place, having become more prominent in the years since Ozempic became mainstream. Ariana Grande is on tour right now, and her collarbones (as well as what appears to be her entire sternum and rib cage), are on display. Similarly, I noticed Demi Moore’s birdlike physique and sharp clavicle on both the Oscars red carpet and at the Cannes Film Festival. Meghan Trainor, too, has been under scrutiny for her new, slimmer appearance, at which a collarbone is now front and center. While a little less severe looking, I keep noticing Olivia Rodrigo’s sternum, which I never would’ve thought to notice five years ago.
Collarbones Are the New Thigh Gap
Are we taking thinness too far?
If it takes just three to call a trend, then the facts are clear. Collarbones are the new thigh gap, and the examples are plentiful. It started with Zendaya at the 2024 Met Gala. She dazzled in not one, but two show-stopping looks that honored the Sleeping Beauties theme. Both were gauzy off-the-shoulder numbers that put her clavicle on full display. There was something elegant about the way it protruded, a dainty hanger for the diaphanous gowns rested. Later that year came Wicked. Between the “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” and musical numbers, it wasn’t the plot that held my attention. It was Glinda’s fragile appearance. Faint traces of her sternum peeked through the v-neck of her cotton-candy gown. Two years later, Grande’s bone structure has only become more prominent. Then there was Jenna Ortega promoting Wednesday with the entire half of her rib cage a shadow under the harsh camera lights. Anya Taylor Joy, Margot Robbie, Rachel Zegler—I could go on about the celebrities I’ve seen falling into this pattern. And then, I’ve noticed it bleed out from the screen into daily life as I walk the streets of New York. Rib cages, sternums, clavicles jutting so far out they’re unmissable.
“How did we get here?” I ask myself. The obvious answer of GLP-1s aside, shifting fashion trends have played a big role in how we signal beauty and desirability. The aughts were the reign of low-rise skinny jeans, which put every curve and angle on display. Jeans were so tight, you could fake a thigh gap even if you didn’t have one naturally. You could digitally manipulate images to create one. Now, fashion favors wide-leg pants, a style that’s endured over the last five years as people have reached for less restrictive clothing after endless days spent in pajamas courtesy of the pandemic.
Their rise also coincided with the renaissance of “heroin chic” and has continued through the mainstream adoption of Ozempic. So we find ourselves at diametrically opposed odds. On the one hand, extreme thinness is being enthusiastically embraced. On the other, our baggy, relaxed fashion choices make it almost impossible to discern. At least where thighs are concerned. In that way, I think that we’ve collectively groped for the clavicle as the new signifier of skinny. It’s long been glamorized—strapless, off the shoulder tops and dresses have accentuated this feature since Hollywood’s Golden age. It’s something that, unlike the thigh gap, can always be made visible in some way, no matter the fashion trends.
There are people who are genetically predisposed to being thin, but an issue arises because society glorifies this physique. Skinny is equated with pretty, and there is the belief that beauty should be effortless. Even I’ve fallen guilty—when I see someone so thin, my first instinct hasn’t usually been “something is wrong.” It’s been “I wish I could naturally look that way.”
As I’ve followed the discourse around Grande specifically, it feels like the conversation has evolved from “skinny is good” to “how far is too far?” Speaking with nutritionist Jane Leverich, she points out that thinness can have many factors beyond genetics: autoimmune conditions, eating disorders and treatment for (terminal) illnesses all play a role.
“In reality, health is a lot more nuanced than body size alone,” she says. “Different factors like genetics, lifestyle habits, stress management, sleep quality, medical conditions and access to healthcare all play a role in a person's overall health and physical appearance. You can't determine how healthy someone is (or isn't) just by looking at them.”
When I look in the mirror at my own clavicle, wondering if it’s more prominent than before, catching the faint outline of my own sternum under the dark lighting of my gym, I oscillate between a feeling of being pleased, and of being afraid that I’m careening too far in a direction I haven’t consciously intended. Collarbones may be the new thigh gap, but unlike the latter, they can’t be faked. And, in that way, that perhaps makes them more dangerous.
