Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2010.
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When the weather warms up again, it will be fashionable for women to wear panties as outerwear if some of the industry's greatest minds are betting correctly.

Designers picked up and modified Martin Margiela's 2007 thought experiment on clothing that toyed with exposure. One year later, Marc Jacobs and Chloe presented sheer clothes that revealed the garments beneath; this motif was later echoed in the Spring 2009 collections of Erin Fetherston, Prada and Luella.

Stars with fashion-forward radar noticed -- and possibly contributed -- to the trend. In 2005, Madonna donned micro-briefs to promote her album "Confessions on the Dancefloor." In 2007, Sienna Miller borrowed Edie Sedgwick's iconic look (sweater, tights and leotard) while promoting her Sedgwick bio-pic "Factory Girl." Lady Gaga all but established her fashion cred by swanning about in leotards starting in 2007. Just this month, Beyonce and her back-up dancers shimmied onto the Video Music Awards stage in spangly leotards and tights.

Does the trend, er, have legs?

A critical mass of marquee designers, including Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada, have all shown versions of panties-as-outerwear for Spring 2010. (And the Paris shows haven't even started yet.) While the 90% of the fashion flock will scoff, the girls who go to fashion parties take it upon themselves to dress in the latest and most outré styles. It's likely only a matter of time before what's fast becoming known as "pantslessness" leaps from celebrities to club girls to college girls like a species-jumping virus.

It's worth noting that many once-scandalous looks were eventually watered down and integrated into the mainstream. From mini-skirts worn to middle school to bustiers worn over blouses on the evening news, "scandalous" is always a matter of perspective.