Chanel spectacle aside, here are The Riveter’s favorite collisions of fashion and feminism from this fashion month
by Gwen Campion
Feminism has never been more en vogue than it is right now. We’re living in a day and age where celebrities are advocating the movement left and right- Beyonce sampling Chimamanda Adichie’s feminist speech, Miley Cyrus preaching equality, John Legend proclaiming that all men should be feminists. It’s pushing forward a new wave of feminism: one that includes men, one that focuses on the true equality of the sexes, and one that takes advantage of celebrity endorsement.
Celebrity culture and the fashion industry are wound together like vines to a tree, and as the Hollywood buzz about feminism ramps up, it’s impossible not to influence the industry as well. Hot off the heels of Emma Watson’s viral HeForShe campaign speech at the UN, Fashion Month is wrapping up and it’s easy to see it was far from immune from the feminist fervor.
That influence is most blatantly seen in Chanel’s Ready to Wear show, in which Karl Lagerfeld took a super-model filled women’s rights protest to the streets of Paris (or at least to a fake street in the Grand Palais). The faux-riot, which boasted signs with slogans like “History is Her Story,” “Women’s rights are more than alright,” and “Feminist but feminine,” has caused a much more real riot in response. Some outlets are applauding Lagerfeld’s daring and commending Chanel for being a brand that, since it’s initial creation by Coco herself, has been known for its push for women’s liberation. Other opinions, like that expressed in this Hairpin piece, peel back the surface of over-glamorized, trendy feminism and expose it as an exclusive form that serves only the interests of upper class, white females like the mostly-white models who walked in the show.
Controversy aside, we cannot deny that Lagerfeld’s show is bringing light to fashion industry feminism. Looking back at this season’s presentations, showings were about so much more than talented designers and top models. As it all wraps up with a Chanel tweed “ladies first” sloganed bow on top, we’d like to bring you the five most notably feminist moments of Fashion Month.
Betsey Johnson’s LGBT Wedding Party
The models wore jewel-encrusted necklaces that spelled out the show’s title- PRENUP. At age 72, Johnson is breaking into the bridal industry and decided to celebrate her new venture by putting on a massively campy wedding march. The show opened with a gay couple in matching white suit jackets sharing a bouquet, followed by SoulCycle’s Stacey Griffith and her Amazonian ‘bride’ in a glammed up display of advocacy for marriage equality. The rest of the show was peppered with transgender models like Isis King, famous divorcees a la Camille Grammar and drag queens like Sharon Needles and William Belli. Overall the runway was a virtual melting pot of LGBT support, equivalent to a high fashion Pride Parade.
Aquazurra’s Stiletto-clad Men
The newly-launched HeForShe campaign is a feminist movement that aims to include men for the bettering of all humanity. It’s all about putting men in women’s shoes, and this fall one footwear designer literally did just that. Picture it: male models in well-tailored suits, legs rolled up to reveal toned calves and large feet clad in pointy stilettos. Aquazurra designer Edgardo Osorio claims his heels are so comfortable that even men won’t mind wearing them, so this fashion week he decided to test that theory. Female and male models alike pranced around in the new collection of footwear, creating solidarity between the sexes. It’s become acceptable and even fashionable for women to wear menswear, but even with the growing acceptance of gay and trans* individuals in the fashion industry it’s still taboo for men to take cues from women’s fashion. Osorio’s point may have been to prove the comfort of his shoes, but with that he’s created a push for women’s rights by giving men the ability to wear women’s couture.
Marc Jacobs No-Makeup Models
Natural beauty reigned supreme this fall at Marc Jacobs. Not nude makeup, not ‘no-makeup’ makeup, but 100 percent bare, natural faces walked down the runway in this season’s hottest couture. Francois Nars, makeup artist and founder of the makeup brand Nars, was backstage at the show so that he could apply “not one gram of makeup” to the girls. In a time where we look at celebrities thick foundation and fake eyelashes and consider that the ‘natural look’, it’s utterly refreshing to see the true, unfettered beauty of the models being celebrated. It’s become the norm for women to spend thousands of dollars on cosmetics to look acceptable in society, and Nars, who makes his living selling those cosmetics, has taken a chance to stand up for the truly natural beauty of real woman. Applying that philosophy to a brand that is revered by young girls and grown women alike gives everyone a reason to look in the mirror, take off their makeup, and love what they see.
#FreeTheNipple
It’s a campaign that started with Scout Willis’s and Rihanna’s removal from Instagram for posting photos with clearly visible female nipples, but it’s turned into much more than a protest of the photo-sharing site’s rules. It’s become a feminist movement. On the surface, it’s a fight for the right to show nipple, but on a deeper level, it’s about empowering women to make their own choices about their bodies, unhampered by society’s restrictions. This season it’s clear to see that the campaign has infiltrated the fashion industry and inspired designers across the globe. Freed nipples were a common occurrence this month, some of the standouts being Dasha Denisenko in her sheer blue blouse at the Christopher Kane show and about half of the models at Burberry Prorsum. It may not seem like much, but it’s a step toward eliminating the virgin/whore dichotomy that hyper-sexualized yet puritanical America clenches on to so tightly.
Bibhu Mohapatra’s Rule Breakers
It’s not the first time a designer has created a collection inspired by heiress, muse and activist Nancy Cunard, (Gucci revealed her to be the inspiration behind their 2011 Hard Deco collection) but it is the first time that inspiration has come not from her iconic beauty, not from her jazz-age style, but instead from her life’s work. The heiress turned her back on a cushy, spoiled lifestyle to fight for her beliefs. Cunard turned into an activist when she faced persecution for seeing her then-boyfriend Henry Crowder, a black jazz musician. Though the pair eventually split, Cunard’s attack on racist attitudes didn’t, and she went on to publish an anthology of compiled works from some iconic African American writers like Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes.
The mostly-geometric collection was built around Cunard’s spirit and her bravery to fight an unpopular battle, break barriers and stand for her beliefs. “I’m not interested in girls who are simply charming or pretty,” Mohapatra said. “Whether it’s a career, or raising a family, or charity work, I love dressing interesting women that do something!”
[hr style=”striped”]
Gwen is a St. Paul native currently spending her senior year studying fashion journalism at Iowa State University. She divides her time between editing a campus magazine, bartending at the local dive and blogging about style. Find her at weirdgirlstyle.
Top photo from Chanel Ready To Wear 2015 show, courtesy Chanel.
