Wanted: Designers who respect women
A single brand captivated the fashion industry during the spring 2019 runway shows. The frustrated and angry argument was ostensibly about clothes. But in truth, it was sparked by the same triggers that have consumed the broader culture.
On the surface, the story of Celine centered on the brand’s transformation under a new male designer from sophisticated, thoughtful restraint to louche, puerile ostentation. But dig for a bit and you see the fashion world debating women’s power and agency versus that of the men who would define them.
By the time the shows came to a close, most every collection had been viewed with a few key questions in mind: Are these clothes in service to women? Do these frocks make sense in the life of a woman — not a girl, not an adolescent, but a woman with responsibilities and daily demands? Do these clothes elevate her, or do they threaten to make her look foolish?
This season, there’s little willingness on the part of casual observers or passionate fans to forgive designers who get lost in their own imagination. There’s no patience for trussed or hobbling clothes. No patience for shows that send a homogenous parade of wasted-youth models down the runway. To hell with the muses, the “it” girls and wannabe influencers.
What have designers got for a woman who takes her style seriously but also has work to do and a life to live?
For spring 2019, women can turn to Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli for elegant sportswear and eveningwear that will take their breath away. Dries van Noten cast an artful eye on sportswear; Hermes exudes straightforward luxury. and Sacai’s Chitose Abe is ever more avant-garde in her trompe l’oeil approach to design.
For those with a more fanciful nature, consider the bedazzled tops and denim skirts at Miu Miu. Imagine wearing Miuccia Prada sheer skirts — but with a lining.
The fashion industry deserves women’s anger. But fortunately, all is not lost.
The much-discussed Celine was founded in 1945, but the industry paid it scant attention until designer Phoebe Philo arrived in 2008. She transformed it into a minimalist brand of easy but sophisticated sportswear that captured the imagination and loyalty of women who believed that Philo alone communicated with them in a manner that wasn’t condescending or bullying.
Philo understood them, woman to woman. When she took her runway bows one season wearing a pair of Stan Smith Adidas sneakers — well, oh boy. It was as if the leader of the cool-girl pack had declared that women had a right to be both comfortable and fashionable. Surely other designers had made a similar point. But none in quite the same lead-by-example way.
Last week, Philo’s successor Hedi Slimane debuted with a collection that celebrated youth, night prowling, puffy babydoll dresses and debauchery. There was beautiful tailoring in his collection too. But it was overshadowed by the cloud of rage emanating from scorned lovers of Philo’s Celine
There has never been this kind of mourning over a design house’s change of creative directors. The closest was, perhaps, when Alber Elbaz was dismissed from Lanvin. Both Elbaz and Philo were acclaimed for their focus on clothes that overtly celebrated the modern woman in all of her facets. It didn’t matter if one was drawn to their aesthetics or if one could afford it. It was their mission statement that mattered. They were there to help, to serve, to uplift.
Their aesthetic trickled down to a mass audience. Elbaz bequeathed the hoi polloi the revived glory of costume jewelry. Big chunky faux jewels that tied around the neck with a grosgrain ribbon can be found everywhere from J. Crew to a Saturday afternoon street market. And Philo? Her clean, refined lines can be seen at more affordable brands such as Everlane and COS.
The designers who show their collections on the runway work in a rarefied environment and serve a niche market. But what they do dictates the direction in which the industry will go.
How they envision a woman matters. There are not that many designers who see women with 20/20 vision.
The anger that sprang up in fashion this season was sparked by something relatively trivial. Designers move on. Brands evolve. But it spoke to a much bigger issue, which is that women will be heard. The question going forward is how many designers are ready and willing to listen.