Brigham Young correctly observed, “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” Oscar de la Renta proved that a business that empowers women is poised for success.
Fashion has always been attacked by those who simplify and categorize too easily. For them, fashion exerts control over women and negatively affects their body image. Too fat? Too thin? Too nude. Too covered.
Karl Lagerfeld observed that “dieting is the only game where you win when you lose!” Although the runways are still filled with under-aged, anorexic women, today there is greater voice given to older, fuller, and more interesting women.
Fashion taken seriously, expresses a woman’s strength, her beauty, her independence from men, as well as her mood, that day. Fashion is not just throwing on clothes, but an organism that interacts on its own and takes on a life mastered by women’s demands.
Coco Chanel warned “Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.”
Fashion, as in art, is a mirror which reflects news and politics, and is a mirage of the outside world. Feminist fashion is standing firmly for a belief in the expression of a woman’s beauty, inside and out.
Yves Saint-Laurent : “Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman…”
In the free world, we criticize. Remember though, there are many countries, even today, where fashion comes in one color, and any variation from the dictated code is punished by death.
Fashion, then, must be taken seriously. Fashion that empowers women, must be celebrated.
What made de la Renta wildly successful, was his keen appreciation of feminism and the feminine power. Here are a few quotes from the fashion great.
“We live in an era of globalization and the era of the woman. Never in the history of the world have women been more in control of their destiny.”
“Every season I am inspired by women.”
“I was surrounded by sisters. My childhood was all women.”
“We're dealing with sophisticated customers. What's most important to these women is individuality. I have to create things she'll want to wear, no matter who she is.”
“The qualities I most admire in women are confidence and kindness.”
“Now is the most exciting time in fashion. Women are controlling their destiny now, the consumer is more knowledgeable, and I have to be better every single day.”
And he heeded, “Walk like you have three men walking behind you.”
