Trendwatch: No need to hide the baby bump

(AFP PHOTO/PIERRE VERDY)

(Relaxnews) -

Gone are the days of wearing overalls and unflattering 'potatoe sacks' during pregnancy -- designers are making a point of emphasizing the baby bump and creating edgy maternity wear.

Jean Paul Gaultier sent a heavily pregnant Jourdan Dunn down the runway at his show during Paris Fashion Week, with the British supermodel wearing accentuating, shiny banding around her growing stomach and a matching Madonna-inspired cone bra.

Dunn is not the only one who incorporates her pregnancy into her fashion job and encourages pregnant woman to dress stylishly "despite" their baby bump: German topmodel Heidi Klum -- praised for her fashionable outfit choices during her four pregnancies so far -- briefed candidates on designer contest series Project Runway to create a dress for pregnant actress Rebecca Romijn to show off her stomach.

And the equally Roisin Murphy, singer and designer favorite for making fashion-forward outfit choices, performed at the Viktor & Rolf show, also during this Paris Fashion Week, in what can only be described as avant-garde maternity wear. Her pregnancy added to the "feeling of hope and positivity for the future" the design duo wanted to convey, they said in a statement, and the statement pieces she was wearing was a perfect match for Viktor & Rolf's 'power' theme.

Singer and activist M.I.A. had pioneered the 'bold belly look' when she (nine months pregnant) performed at last year's Grammy Awards wearing a transparent dress by House of Holland, covering only the essential body parts with polka-dotted patches.

In any case, the incompatibility of fashion and baby humps (or curves in general) seems to be a thing of the past. For affordable yet stylish maternity wear, check out labels such as A Pea in the Pod (which just recently launched a collaboration with Nicole Richie), Topshop, and Belly Dance.

Sites: www.bellydancematernity.com / www.apeainthepod.com / www.topshop.com