While some still find the exposed thong look controversial, fashion’s elite — namely, Dua Lipa, Hailey Bieber, Doja Cat, and Julia Fox — fully embraced the aesthetic in recent years, shooting the risqué style right back into the zeitgeist. But during the whale tail’s first incarnation in the early aughts, however, the style was reserved for only the most stylish and most brazen. One of those select few was Halle Berry.

At the turn of the millennium, exposing one’s thong was already gaining popularity. (For reference, Sisqo’s “Thong Song” came out in 1999, so thongs were definitely on people’s radars.) But in the late ’90s, celebs were mostly flaunting the slinky underpinnings beneath see-through dresses. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that the “whale tail” would gain notoriety.

In June of 2000, Berry was nominated for an Oscar for the 1999 biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and was a month shy of her debut as the mutant Storm on X-Men, one of her most iconic roles. But while attending the MTV Movie Awards, it wasn’t her IMDB credits that got the crowd excited — it was her outfit.

To walk the red carpet, the actor showed up in a decidedly saucy number. She slipped into a fully-beaded bra and wore it as a top. The halter-style item featured a geometric pattern in varying hues of pink, red, and white. The backless piece also featured a fringe of beads that swayed with every move.

Even spicier was her choice of bottoms: Berry donned a matching mini skirt boasting the same triangular pattern. Pulled up to her waist were two skinny satin straps — the whale tail fashion girlies know and love. Resembling the aforementioned marine animal’s fluke, the style refers to the thin straps of the barely-there panties jutting out of one’s bottoms à la Berry.

Keeping her accessories on-theme, she reached for beaded jewelry, including dangly earrings and a stack of lavender bracelets. Meanwhile, she laced her feet into strappy heels bearing the same baby pink satin fabric.

The whale tail has never looked so good.

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