Charli XCX makes sheer tights the power move at the InStyle Imagemakers
At the 2026 InStyle Imagemaker Awards in Los Angeles, Charli XCX wore a custom Balmain leather blazer as a dress, a printed tie, pointed pumps and sheer black tights.
No trousers, no skirt: Charli XCX arrived at the 2026 InStyle Imagemaker Awards in a black leather blazer worn as a dress, and the only thing between the hem and her pointed pumps was a pair of sheer black tights. It is the kind of look in which the tights do a lot of quiet work, and nobody bothered to credit them.
Here is what the sources confirm, what they leave out, and how to wear the same idea away from a red carpet.
The night: the Imagemakers and Chris Horan
The third InStyle Imagemaker Awards took place on Thursday 15 October 2026 in Los Angeles, at a private residence, according to the Getty Images captions. The awards celebrate the people behind famous images: stylists, make-up artists, hairstylists and other creatives. Charli XCX was there to present the Future of Fashion award to her longtime stylist, Chris Horan, who also styled her look for the night, as InStyle reported.
The look: Balmain leather, a tie, pointed pumps
Sports Illustrated Lifestyle sums it up in one line: "a custom Balmain leather look" with "a neutral-patterned tie, sheer tights and pointed-toe pumps". Reality Tea adds the details: a black leather blazer dress with sharp, structured shoulders, nipped at the waist and closed with a single button, with leather shorts underneath; a silk tie from Balmain's Pre-Spring collection in cream and gold; black pointed pumps with slim heels. It also mentions oversized black sunglasses and silver rings.
InStyle's own headline put it bluntly: "nothing but a leather blazer and necktie". The photos show that this is not quite true. CelebMafia describes the legs as "almost entirely exposed beneath transparent tights", and in the full-length shots the black veil runs from the hem of the blazer to the shoes.
The tights: what we know and what we don't
The facts are thin. Every source agrees the tights are sheer and black; none names a brand, a style or a denier. From the photos the finish looks matte, with no visible seam, pattern or logo, and the skin clearly shows through: that places them in the lightest range, roughly 10 to 20 denier. That is our reading of the pictures, not a credit.
So the shop the look box at the bottom lists two pairs we chose ourselves, both marked "similar": Wolford's Fatal 15, a seamless, matte 15 denier tight that John Lewis sells in black, and Calzedonia's Matt Totally Invisible 20, a cheaper sheer black option.
Why sheer black works with leather
A short leather blazer is a heavy, shiny, structured piece. Put an opaque black tight under it and the outfit becomes a single dark block: strong, but closer to winter uniform than to evening. A sheer tight does the opposite. It keeps the leg visible, so the blazer still reads as a dress, and it adds just enough black to connect the jacket to the shoes.
The pointed pump matters too. A sharp toe in the same black as the tights lengthens the line of the leg, the same trick we saw on the runway at Celine, where sheer black tights went with pointed pumps look after look, and at Brock, with kitten heels.
It also fits a pattern. Olivia Rodrigo opened her tour this autumn in barely-there Wolford tights under a red minidress: on stage and on the carpet, the sheer leg is doing the work that bare legs used to do, with more polish.
How to wear it
- Choose 10 to 20 denier, matte. Under 10 the tight is hard to see and ladders at a glance; over 30 the skin disappears and the effect turns opaque. Our denier guide explains the scale.
- Match the black of the tights and the shoes. Same tone, no contrast at the ankle: the leg ends in a point.
- One heavy piece, the rest bare. A leather blazer, an oversized jacket, a tailored coat. Sheer tights balance volume and weight; they are not the place for a second statement.
- Keep it matte. With leather already catching the light, a shiny tight adds a third reflection. Matte keeps the focus on the jacket.
- Bring a spare pair. Sheer black ladders easily, and on black the run shows. A few rules on how to stop tights laddering help, but a second pair in the bag helps more.
Mistakes to avoid
- Nude instead of black. With an all-black outfit and black pumps, a nude tight breaks the line at the ankle. Charli's look works because it is black from shoulders to toes.
- Sheer tights with chunky shoes. A platform or a lug sole makes a sheer leg look thin. With fine tights, keep the shoe fine too, or read our guide to what colour tights to wear with a black dress for other combinations.
- Too short without a base. Charli wore leather shorts under the blazer. If you copy the blazer-as-dress idea, a short or a slip underneath is what makes it wearable.
A tie, a leather blazer and a veil of black on the legs: a red-carpet look that, without the sunglasses, works for a winter evening too.
The photos
The photos on this page are embedded from Getty Images (Lisa O'Connor/AFP and Amy Sussman/Getty Images) and stay on Getty's servers with their credit. The description of the look comes from Sports Illustrated Lifestyle, InStyle (via Yahoo), Reality Tea and CelebMafia; the tights brand is not credited in any of them.
