Political Movements in Fashion
Can fashion have a political conscience? The question is a recurring one, and the answers are all too often clichéd. Examples of the industry’s insensitivity and lack of sympathy (or knowledge) towards social and political realities surface regularly in the media, and stories about blackface editorials and articles praising the “beauty” and “philanthropy” of the wives of Middle East dictators make the movie Zoolander look like a realistic take on the fashion world. However (and contrary to popular belief) fashion is just as often used as a social commentary. When, in 1906, Paul Poiret freed women from the corset, the couturier was immediately hailed as a pioneer of the Women’s Liberation Movement. From Mainbocher to Yohji Yamamoto, designers have used their collections as outlets for socio-political commentary, and today’s talents are no exception. Through a surprisingly understated show, Rick Owens made an obscure comment on dominance and submission, on authority and its rejection.
Chanel's Feminist Protest Was Best Thing About Fashion Week
Girl power! Chanel had some memorable finales including the time pregnant model Ashleigh Goode closed the haute couture show show wearing a wedding gown. For the finale of their Spring/Summer 2015 at Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld accompanied models in a feminism protest. Instead of doing the typical runway finale, models carried signs with positive messages like “History Is Her Story,” “He Is She,” “Feminism Not Mascohism” and “Be Different!” The clothes didn’t feature any feminism messages or obvious themes, but there were a series of bright, bold florals that went well with the show’s bold and empowering finale. It’s great that Chanel closed the show with such a strong feminist message. Click here, for more fashion week coverage. (Photos: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Instagram/Cindi_Leive)
Fashtivism: "I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics" | Fashion News | Fashion
When a band of beautiful, angry young women storm the streets holding placards, the world listens. Undeniably, it helps when the chief firebrand is a supermodel. Yesterday in Paris, the cradle of protest, Cara Delevingne led an uprising; dressed for battle in a power suit with her megaphone held high. The activists accessorised with bags reading “make fashion not war”, but this was not a straightforward outpouring of political sentiment. The production was an unexpected move from head designer Karl Lagerfeld, who may share a first name with a certain Left-winger but once said: “I’m in fashion. Never mind the front row, this month it was all about being seen at The People’s Climate March in London. But activism is easily politicised and style plates aren’t immune from sniping and factions. The best riposte to criticism comes from Dame Vivienne Westwood: “I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics. As for Karl Lagerfeld, he remains an enigma. Reuse content
Can Feminists Like Fashion? - Forbes
Céline 2012 Runway Feminism and fashion have always had a rocky relationship, a point hammered home in an article in Ms. magazine’s January issue, “If The Clothes Fit: A Feminist Take On Fashion.” The piece explores the tumultuous role that fashion has historically played in gender politics—both serving as a medium for the advancement of women, and as a weapon of restraint. It’s hard to deny the key role that fashion has played in the women’s movement. That being said, feminist notions that fashion can be destructive, certainly didn’t come from thin air. Fortunately, fashion in recent years does appear to be moving in a feminist direction. Still that damned if you do, damned if you don’t attitude persists in regards to women and fashion. On the other side of the spectrum, women who choose to ignore fashion trends are deemed slovenly and out of touch.
Japan's women's magazines ramp up focus on politics amid widespread concern over Abe's security reforms
Public anxiety over the security legislation is in the streets — and in print. Even women’s fashion magazines have discussed the topic alongside recipes and hemlines, in a measure of how deeply aware the public is of the changes afoot. An edition of Shukan Josei (Women’s Weekly) published on Sept. 8 focused on women who took part in a massive rally outside the Diet on Aug. 30 in protest at the security bills. “Dear Prime Minister Abe, Do you know why we are angry?” screamed the headline. The article ended declaring: “We don’t need a prime minister who doesn’t understand how women feel.” In its July 14 edition, the same magazine carried a major 10-page feature about the security bills, including an interview with Seiichiro Murakami, a Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker who opposes the legislation. “We were surprised by the large number of responses on Twitter and on the Internet,” said Bunichi Terada, the magazine’s editor-in-chief. He said the magazine will continue to feature social issues.
Finding Feminism in Fashion
At the start of my junior year of college, I was elected co-chair of an organization called WomenSpeak, which hosted a series of events on campus each spring. A week of lectures, film, readings, symposia—the usual consciousness-raising whatnot. And to plan it, we organizers would convene every Thursday over dinner, half a dozen underslept young ladies in flannels and baggy jeans, fired up on Faludi and railing against the patriarchy. Aux barricades! I enjoyed those dinners, but I remember feeling a sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing unease about the whole thing. Having a sense of style is not selling out the sisterhood. So there I was, Thursday after Thursday, raising verbal hell about reproductive rights and structural misogyny, and meanwhile, in the book bag strung over my chair, there was probably a copy of Allure, dog-eared to an article about mastering frizz. She said something like that, anyway. Really, the condescension some people direct at fashion is just unbearable. I could go on.
Debating Style, Courtesy of Jeremy Scott and Carolina Herrera
Photo Is Jeremy Scott the Donald Trump of American fashion? Not in terms of politics — definitely not in terms of politics — but in terms of positioning? Mr. Scott, after all, is an oft-dismissed polarizing outsider who built his brand beyond the system by mocking fashion’s orthodoxies. His success is impossible to ignore, whether or not you liked the extended riff on bouffants, the B-52s, ’60s mod and cartoon caricatures he offered in pastel shades of patent, cotton knit and silk. Continue reading the main story Slide Show At the very least, it has exposed the extent to which many designers like to play it safe, and stick to the familiar party line. , for example, created his usual elaborate set — this time, an entire Caribbean lagoon complete with water, tiki bar and palm tree — for a show of peppy but entirely unoriginal striped crochets, flower-child patchwork prints and silk bombers. Continue reading the main story Slide Show As was the subtle way Mr. Photo As was the subtle way Mr.
What is Slow Fashion? | Slow Fashioned
When a new concept like Slow Fashion comes around it is often hard to describe it. We find ourselves grasping for parallels like: ‘Slow Fashion is a sister movement to Slow Food’ or using comparisons like ‘Slow Fashion is the opposite of Fast Fashion’ or even clarify a little more like: “Slow Fashion ≠Anti Fashion” or “quality over quantity” — and while it is important to understand what Slow Fashion IS and is NOT is some sort of familiar term or phrase it isn’t enough to capture the essence of the movement. Rather than pigeonhole the entire movement into these little sound bites we need start to explore what Slow Fashion CAN be rather than what it CAN’T — Slow Fashion opens up a world of creative possibilities in personal fashion that chasing fast trends at the mall never will: Slow Fashion… …Celebrates Personal Style Slow Fashion embraces the idea of personal expression through your clothing. Related articles:
