What's a feminist wearing?

When talking about feminism the first topics that might come up concern pay gaps, sexual freedom, or the right to vote. But what about the very things we are wearing every day? Fashion and feminism have been historically interlinked. The clothes we wear and how we wear them reflect not only the individual but also the societal and political changes we are going through. However, the fashion industry as we know it today is also fostering the exploitation and oppression notably of young women. Which leads to the question: Can I be a feminist and still love fashion?

Through the decades

To this day, women in leading positions continue to pay tribute to the 20^th century suffragettes by wearing white. Kamala Harris, vice president of the U. S. A., wore white on her first official outing, American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sported a white pantsuit when she was sworn in. The colour became symbolic of the Women’s Right Movement to vote, opposing critics who considered the suffragettes to be immoral as white stands for purity.

If fashion has been fueling the feminist movement and has been used as a tool for over a century, then you may ask yourself why it could be considered as unfeminist or even anti-feminist to love clothes.

About the fast fashion industry

One very important factor is of course how most of our clothes are made. Fast fashion companies like H&M, Urban Outfitters and Zara (as well as a lot of luxury brands, e. g. Hugo Boss and Burberry) are manufacturing their products in the global south, in Bangladesh, India, or Pakistan. Garment workers in the factories rarely earn enough to cover basic needs and manufacture under dangerous safety and health conditions. Approximately 80 percent of these garment workers are women (of colour). A lot of them face verbal or physical abuse and sexual harassment at the working place.

In the 2010s, many brands came forward proclaiming they are supporting women’s rights and are changing their policies to being more ethical and sustainable. One memorable statement was made by Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director at Dior, during the 2017 spring show, when a model sported a t-shirt with the slogan “We should all be feminists”. However, just like this event, many activists claim campaigns blowing up on social media are merely a PR stunt, greenwashing on the outside while there have not been made significant changes on the inside, to improve conditions for garment workers.

"If they are commenting on your actions as a woman, they're also commenting on your appearance"

Ana Fernández
^{Volunteer @ Fashion Revolution Scotland}

Secondly, while there have been made some improvements over the course of decades, the fashion industry still heavily relies on exploiting insecurities of both, but first and foremost the female gender. Changing fashion trends can even change the desirable body type at the time, from BBL a la Kardashians back to 90s heroine-chic figures. Cosmetic surgery or even wearing make-up has been considered anti-feminist by some, who are essentially arguing that women are not doing it for themselves but to adhere to societal beauty standards. To summarise, it seems impossible to be a woman.

Making Pink Great Again

Recently, there appears to be a shift in the fashion world, a return to girlhood, fueled by the Barbie movie and artists like Gracie Abrams. This is mainly showing via trends on social media. For example, corsets regained popularity over the past few years, while they used to be seen as the piece par excellence of female oppression. The coquette-aesthetic revolves around lace, bows, and soft pastel colours.

This shows how fashion allows women to take something and reframe it, essentially doing it like the suffragettes did with the colour white. Feminism and femininity are not mutually exclusive: Liking pink, being girly does not make you weak, not less valuable. And let’s not forget how these changes benefits men just as much. Growing tolerance gives men confidence to wear dresses, crop tops and paint their nails – things that have been seen as inherently feminine.

What makes fashion feminist, is captured in the very essence of the movement: it is about choice. A woman can choose to feel good in feminine and modest and revealing and baggy clothes. As long as it is not imposed upon her, as long as she does not think she has to dress or not dress a certain way to have worth.

There are many different aspects to consider, a lot of different perspectives to be heard when talking about fashion and feminism. One thing is for sure, the one does not go without the other. Fashion has been and always will be political. With the clothes we wear, we are making a choice each day but to answer the question at the beginning, feminists can wear anything and everything or even nothing.