When Feminism is So Last Season

There was a time when feminism and fashion were at odds. When the ‘F-word’ was more likely to evoke an image of a hairy-legged man-hater than the runways of New York Fashion Week. 

It was 2013 when one of the red carpet’s favourite designers, Prabal Gurung, observed that “there has always been a strange sort of antagonism between fashion and powerful women, a belief that women must sacrifice femininity to gain power, authority and respect.” A troubling truth, for an industry so intrinsically connected with defining the aspirations, values and desires of both men and women. But as the world confronts new realities in Washington, revelations in Hollywood and changing tides almost everywhere else – the leaders of the fashion world have changed tack. 

A feminist makeover

The fashion industry has given feminism a makeover. The two are no longer at odds, they are complementary. Like a brand re-launch, feminism is now on trend. In 2017, the runways saw Dior’s now infamous ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ T-shirt, Angela Missoni’s take on the pink pussyhats and Mara Hoffman opening her show with the founders of the Women’s March. Prabal Gurung also launched the iconic ‘The Future is Female’ and ‘Nevertheless, She Persisted’ tees, with the latter evolving to an internet meme. Not to mention Saint Laurent and Balmain both ‘freeing the nipple’.

Dior's 'We Should All Be Feminists' T-shirt

There’s no denying that feminism is hot right now. Fashion has been politicised and it has already trickled down from the high-end designers to the high street and the likes of Topshop and Zara. No wonder Andi Zeisler, author of We Were Feminists Once, was quoted in a recent interview with The Huffington Post as saying: “Feminism is now considered very cool – it’s an aesthetic, it’s something that celebrities embrace, it’s something mainstream media uses as a hook to get people interested.” And to be fair, it’s not just the fashion industry on the feminist bandwagon. Everything from laundry detergent, cars, and paper towel brands are on board, too. 

Feminist cap from Topshop

However, unlike Zeisler, I’m not cynical about what she discredits as “marketplace feminism, [which] involves picking and choosing and taking on the parts of the ideology or practice that appeal to you and then ignoring those that don’t.” Anything that familiarises and popularises the movement has to be a good thing, even if it comes with a side of sales. 

What comes in, must go out

But, in fashion, what comes in, must go out. According to Missoni, “pink is the new black”, but what happens when it’s replaced by yellow? When feminism is a mere fashion accessory, does it ultimately risk becoming ‘so last season’? Vogue writer Eviana Hartman has already reported industry colleagues rolling their eyes over political fashion. “I’m so over it!” they scoff. So when the hashtag stops trending, how do we make sure that feminism is not just diminished as faddish fashion, but here to stay as evergreen style? 

 Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 2017 

Tacit feminism 

One answer could be that perhaps the future of feminism in fashion is that it no longer needs be so explicit. Maybe we won’t always need to wear our feminist ideals on our (literal) sleeves.

Feminist ideals could progress to be more implicit, embedded in the stories and aesthetic of the fashion world. In place of overt slogans, we can use symbolism and simply approach fashion with a feminist value system. For example,Vogue fashion editor Lynn Yaeger, while not being the type to burn her bra, has vowed to “channel strength, resistance and positive energy by wearing offbeat bright colours, bold prints, and my grandmother’s gold necklace.” 

And after all, shouldn’t feminism be less about what models are wearing, as much as who they are, their attitude, beliefs and what they’re doing? Which is not to say they can’t be sexy, soft or feminine – or even silly, playful and modest.

“…shouldn’t feminism be less about what models are wearing, as much as who they are, their attitude, beliefs and what they’re doing?”

Take H&M’s spring/summer 2017 campaign featuring Naomi Campbell dancing alongside a gang of international models to Wham!’s male empowerment tune, Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do). No slogan tees. No pickets or pussyhats. Just independent, sexy women, having fun and looking glam. All whilst making an implicit feminist statement. Or John Lewis’ 2017 And/Or: Denim Born of LA campaign, which simply follows the everyday lives (and bums) of women, with a feminist attitude, by delicately ensuring they’re sexy, but not sexualised. And the casual shot of a mum breastfeeding in public is without comment and largely incidental. This is what I call tacit feminism.

Still from Jon Lewis' 2017 And/Or: Denim Born of LA campaign

You could even argue Harvey Nichols’ 2016 partnership with Vogue, Bo Gilbert: the 100-Year-Old Model carried an implicit feminist message. More specifically, the campaign tackled ageism in the fashion industry. But, at the same time, it carries a less-overt feminist message, about beauty standards for women universally. It’s both progressive and defiant, but cleverly couched in Bo’s moving story. 

Harvey Nichols x Vogue Bo Gilbert, the 100-year-old model

There’s no arguing that 2017 was beyond time for fashion to take a loud stand for women. But as the ever-fickle industry inevitably moves on from the ‘trend’ of feminism– it can and should remain an enduring and implicit ‘style’, that influences everything we do.