At Venice last week, Lebanese actor Rym Mroueh arrived with something more important than another festival-season fashion moment: a bump that she made no attempt to disguise.Cast member Rym Mroueh poses during a photocall for the movie “Furies” in Venice Spotlight section, at the 83rd Venice Film Festival in Venice. REUTERS/Yves HermanAt the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, where she appeared as part of the cast of Furies, Mroueh posed for photographers with the ease of someone who understands that pregnancy need not require a different version of herself. The slit in a black gown to highlight her baby bump showed how women are photographed during pregnancy has changed over time.The red carpet maternity fashion was once dominated by concealment. Now, the opposite is increasingly true. The bump is part of the silhouette. Sometimes it is the silhouette. The change did not happen overnight.Staying true to styleActor Sienna Miller attends The Fashion Awards 2025. File photoAt the 2025 Fashion Awards in London, British actress Sienna Miller appeared in a sheer Givenchy gown from Sarah Burton’s Spring 2026 collection, revealing her pregnancy while staying true to her style. It was romantic, slightly bohemian and sensual. Pregnancy didn’t change her style, and why it should?Maternity style, rewrittenAdriana Lima poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ at the 75th international film festival, Cannes. File PhotoAt Cannes in 2022, Brazilian model Adriana Lima for the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick, wore a black Balmain gown designed by Olivier Rousteing. The dress was long, fitted and dramatic, but its most important feature was an opening at the stomach that deliberately framed her bump. It was a simple reversal. The traditional maternity gown might have used fabric to cover the stomach. This one used the absence of fabric to draw attention to it. The effect was especially striking at Cannes, where the red carpet has always been a theatre of extreme glamour. The Victoria Secret’s Angel did not dilute the drama of the occasion because she was pregnant. She amplified it.Sheer confidenceVanessa Hudgens arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards,  in Beverly Hills. File PhotoAmerican actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens offered another compelling take on the evolution of maternity dressing at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. In a sheer black Alberta Ferretti gown, with an off-the-shoulder neckline, plunging V and flowing cape, she brought femininity and feminism together in one striking look.Freedom of choiceKaley Cuoco attends the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California. File PhotoAt the 2023 Golden Globes, American actress Kaley Cuoco offered a gentler interpretation. Seven months pregnant, she wore a custom lavender Vera Wang haute gown with hand pleating, crystals and delicate bow details. The colour was soft. The construction was romantic. The silhouette floated around her changing body. That matters because the contemporary maternity fashion can sometimes become too narrowly associated with transparency and body-revealing clothes. That freedom of choice is the real evolution.Red power moveRihanna performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsOn February 12, 2023, Rihanna took the stage at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in Glendale, Arizona, in what became one of the most recognisable maternity images in recent fashion history. Jonathan Anderson created the Loewe elements, including the sculptural bodice, while Alaïa’s Pieter Mulier designed the oversized red leather outer layer. The look wasn’t typical maternity fashion. Rihanna was suspended above the field. She was moving between platforms. She was performing a career-spanning set before one of the world’s largest television audiences. Rather than relying on conventional red-carpet footwear, the Diamonds hitmaker wore MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon sneakers—practical enough for the physical demands of the show. An ensemble fit to power a strong girl through pregnancy and style.A Modern PenelopeCast member Anne Hathaway attends the “The Odyssey” world premiere in London. File PhotoAmerican actress Anne Hathaway’s 2026 maternity appearances show how far the vocabulary has expanded. For the London world premiere of The Odyssey on July 6, Hathaway appeared in an ethereal Dior look, using flowing fabric and an elevated waist to accommodate her pregnancy rather than conceal it. The choice felt particularly appropriate for the actress playing Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s epic. There was something almost classical about the proportions: long lines, fluid fabric and a silhouette that suggested ancient drapery while remaining unmistakably modern couture.Back to Venice, which brings us back to Rym Mroueh. Her Venice appearance is part of a fashion story that has been developing for years. No more does pregnancy dictate the limits of their self-presentation. Miller can be sheer. Lima can be sculptural. Hudgens can be sensual. Cuoco can be romantic. Hathaway can be regal. Rihanna can turn a pregnancy into a Super Bowl reveal. And Mroueh can arrive at Venice simply looking like a woman who happens to be pregnant and happens to be part of one of the world’s most glamorous film festivals. That may be the most meaningful change of all…