Part of Our World: 44 Times Little Mermaids Stepped Onto the Runway

They want to be where the people are. Disney’s live action remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey is set to premiere later this week, so we decided to take a look back at the many times designers listened to the siren call and invited mermaids onto their runways. The movie has been in production since 2016, with Bailey’s casting announced in 2019, so there should be no surprise about the wave of sea creature fashion on the the spring 2023 runways, but mermaid-esque fashion is an evergreen.

While the title character herself is not much of a style icon (sorry, Ariel), the idea of her has inspired many. From damp hair and dewy beauty to soaking-wet draped looks, it seems that fashion has always been craving to live under the sea. But flippin’ your fins, you don’t get too far; legs are required for prancing down the runway. Hence the abundance of fishtail skirts and mermaid gowns, scale-like sequins and paillettes, and marine motifs we’ve seen over the years. Don’t forget about the jewelry, either; all kinds of shells (yes, including those white puka ones we wore in the 2000s) have made their way back to the runways of late—we love Ariel’s gadgets and gizmos just as much as she loves ours.

Scroll through the many times little mermaids chose to explore the shore—and runways—here.