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Is Feminism Just a New Fashion Trend?

By Posted on 15 6 m read 4.7K views

Trend?

Ah, Feminism, the β€˜F-word’… A couple of years ago, few people would admit to being a feminist. But, now, it’s written on T-shirts in every high-street store you pass. So why the U-turn? We’ve gone from being embarrassed to say the word to wearing it in capital letters emblazoned across our chests.

Feminist T-shirt by Tee & Cake

It would be interesting to see how many impressionable young people are wearing these clothes because they identify with feminism. Then again, maybe they’re just following another trend that will be out of style next season…

So, has everyone suddenly become loud and proud to be a feminist or have fashion brands just tapped into a market to make some big money? I would hope that it’s the first option, but that seems less likely looking at these facts:

  1. Only 36% of British adults define themselves as feminist yet 76% support gender equality as of 2017
  2. Only 20% of Americans consider themselves feminist

Which probably comes down to the fact that the definition of the β€˜F-word’ is misunderstood.

β€œFeminism has had exactly the same problem that “political correctness” has had: people keep using the phrase without really knowing what it means.”

― Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

Dior: Feminism, a Clever Marketing Trick?

We should be jumping for joy that a designer like Dior is celebrating feminism… Yet, why is this excitement just coming out as confusion? I check the website and it’s retailing for Β£490 (I was expecting it to be expensive, but woah), however, that isn’t the disappointing thing.
The disappointing thing is the lack of information and lack of credit to whom it owes its slogan: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. There is NOTHING. ZERO. It’s a missed opportunity – why wouldn’t they celebrate a woman who’s as inspiring as her? Yes, she sat front row at Dior’s show, but that’s as much reference there is.

(If you haven’t listened to her speech, then watch it here – it’s a perfect summary of what feminism is. I also got the mini book – it only takes about 20 minutes to read and it’s a cute bed-side table book).

And then I’m annoyed that it doesn’t reference anything apart from what it’s made from. Nothing about raising awareness for gender equality. Nothing about supporting female charities. At this steep price some proceeds must go to a charity?

Well, it turns out it does. A β€˜portion of the sale’ will benefit Rihanna’s charity Clara Lionel Foundation (no mention of what percentage). But I only find this out by digging through the internet. Maybe they made this announcement as an afterthought to dampen the criticism they received…

So, some part of the profit of this T-shirt will go to charity, but how much is not specified. It could be 1% or 100%; but what I’m willing to bet is that it leaves Dior with a hefty profit.

This lack of information makes Dior seem so non-committal to the feminist movement that it just seems like a marketing tactic. And its clearly working, as its now sold out worldwide and high-street retailers like Topshop and River Island are following suit… as are consumers.

β€œWhat does [this Dior T-shirt] say about the person wearing it other than: β€˜I can afford a $600 T-shirt’? Feminism has been entirely co-opted by consumerism.”

-Jessa Crispin

When I saw this tee on the catwalk, I loved it, because I love the quote, Chimamanda’s speech and BeyoncΓ©’s song where part of her speech is sampled… and I wanted it. (So I guess their marketing has manipulated me too!) So that’s why I decided to dig deeper.

Hannah in 'We Should All Be Feminists T-Shirt'

So I made a stand and got a copy from Etsy for a Β£12 which is 98% cheaper (lol) than the Dior and then donated 100% of what I paid for it to a feminist charity: The Fawcett Society.

Just a disclaimer: I don’t usually advocate buying fake luxury items and I’m not going to pretend this top’s real Dior, but in this case, we’re all winners, because:

  1. A charity received a donation and I actually know how much was donated
  2. A local small-company in London got some business
  3. It prompted me and maybe another person to think about this feminism ‘trend’
  4. I get a T-shirt with the quote on : )

(If you want to donate too you can here)

This topΒ was one of the only pieces from Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection for Dior that I liked. And it’s a plain cotton T-shirt with someone else’s quote on it, so that says it all! But that’s another matter. As its first ever female Creative Director in the Fashion House’s whole history, you would’ve thought that she could’ve made a really big feminist statement and taken it a lot further than just this one piece in the collection.

But, does it really matter whether the motivations were in no way altruistic or informative?

At the end of it all, the high-street is following and people are wearing the word ‘feminism’ more than ever. Whether it’s because it’s a statement they believe in or they’re following a trend, it must be heading in the right direction. All publicity is good publicity, right?

‘Feminist’ Fashion done the best way

This brings me to Elle Magazine’s campaign This is What A Feminist Looks Like from their 2014 December issue – their first ‘Feminism edition’ on which Emma Watson covered.

Their T-shirts, worn by nearly every celebrity you can think of, female and male, had a clear purpose of raising awareness… and they donated all the profits.

100% of profits from the ethically-produced range go to gender equality lobby group The Fawcett Society.

-Elle

A version of this T-shirt is still available on the Fawcett Society website.

So, is Feminism a trend?

Yes. It is. But, it’s not just a trend. Slogans will always be a thing in fashion. Right now, it’s a statement about female empowerment. But, feminism being a fashion trend isn’t a bad thing. It’s starting to open up more conversations about it. It doesn’t necessarily mean this trend will fade away either. It might just be the push some of us need to stop feeling afraid of or embarrassed by the ‘F-word’.

And I will disagree with what some of Jessa Crispin says in the article I quoted above: that young girls who are now starting to identify as feminist are bland and lazy. If people are wanting to wear a T-shirt with the word Feminist on it, then no-one should discourage them.

Maria Grazia Chiuri’s T-shirt wasn’t just the stand-out piece from this Dior collection, but from the whole of this year’s Paris Fashion Week. Regardless of my scepticism, this T-shirt alone got a global conversation going about Feminism and I think that is what we’ve been needing for a long time.

I think this quote nicely sums up why fashion is fully on board with feminism:

β€œWhen you are a woman making clothes for women, then fashion is not just about how you look. It is about how you feel and how you think. Feminism for me is about equal opportunities. If I am going to stand for something, I would like to stand for this idea: that if you are a woman you can have these opportunities in life.”

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director at Dior

So, yeah, why not fully embrace this trend?!

What are your thoughts?
Is is just a marketing tool for retailers or do they really care about raising awareness about gender equality?
And will you be following the trend by wearing a feminist T-shirt?

Thanks for reading my first ever blog post! β™₯

Products in this post

Update!

As of 15 July 2017

Look how similar this H&M T-shirt is compared to the Dior T-shirt! Like, so similar that I’m surprised they got away with this being the world’s largest clothing retailer?! But at Β£17.99 it’s a steal. Any lawsuit coming their way from Dior, I’ll let you know!

H&M The Revolution is Female T-shirt
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15 Comments
  • Claire O'Reilly
    May 17, 2017

    Interesting thoughts, great read and lovely photos. I think this trend has made some women feel a bit uncomfortable, but I definitely agree that it can be bad thing to start associating more positive connotations with a word that is so misunderstood.

    • admin
      May 17, 2017

      Thanks Claire! πŸ™‚ Yes, I do like seeing people wearing tops with these kinds of ‘slogans’ on, but then it makes you wonder if they’re just wearing it because they’re following other people. You’re right, we definitely need more education around the word – it shouldn’t be seen as a negative word. So, hopefully this trend will help us start thinking differently about it!

  • Daniel
    May 17, 2017

    It’s a shame to think that brands such as Dior are essentially exploiting a movement such as feminism in order to turn a profit, but at the end of the day it means that feminism is a hot topic, and it sells! This can only be a good thing, and at least they have made some form of contribution, but I would be willing to back your bet that Dior are turning a very attractive profit on a piece that can be manufactured and sold online for much less. An interesting post πŸ™‚

    • admin
      May 17, 2017

      Yes, definitely – at least they could be more transparent about how much they’re donating to charity. It just seems a little bit sneaky… But, then maybe that doesn’t matter at the end of the day? They’ve raised a lot more awareness regardless and made us think about it.

  • Daniel
    May 17, 2017

    The ‘selfridges says’ section on the ‘Prabal Gurung’ tee in the related product section above pays more attention to the matter at hand, but again I see no mention of any monetary contribution. But as you say, is that the most important part or is just raising awareness value enough? Looking forward to more posts!

    • admin
      May 17, 2017

      Ah good spot, I didn’t see that. That’s good to see that they’re highlighting it! I quite like that one πŸ˜‰

      • admin
        May 17, 2017

        It says here as well:

        Wear it throughout the summer and beyond, ensuring that the important message is not forgotten like a passing trend.

        which is one of the questions I wondered in this post – so it’s nice they’re thinking about that too.

  • Gabrielle
    May 30, 2017

    Loved this! Very thought provoking and gets you thinking – I personally don’t like when people exploit the word and I’m not convinced the designers/retailers have the cause at the heart of what they’re doing!

    • admin
      May 30, 2017

      Thank you Gabrielle! Yeah, you’re right – it’s so hard to tell if it’s about the cause or the money…
      Thanks for reading πŸ™‚ x

  • Alessandro Verducci
    May 31, 2017

    Buon lavoro Hannah. Amo il tuo stile belliissimo.

    • admin
      May 31, 2017

      Grazie Alessandro!!!

  • Alessandro Verducci
    May 31, 2017

    Ciao Hannah, vedo che hai l’icona di stile GOK WAN tweetato il tuo bel lavoro. Ben fatto. Alessandro x

  • Nicole M Casanova
    June 7, 2017

    Great read! With every movement there is greed and people trying to capitalize from it.

    • admin
      June 7, 2017

      Thanks you Nicole!
      You’re right; companies look to profit from everything.

  • Dominique
    July 3, 2017

    This was a very nice post and interesting position you take when discussing it! I’m with you that this wider public attention within fashion is on the one hand good as the ‘F-word’ is being discussed more and more, but on the other hand brings quite a lot of concerns with it. As you already said: is a Feminist tee worn out of support or out of trend? And even worse: is the meaning of Feminism hijacked and overwritten by new connotations created by companies out for profit and eventually adopted by consumers, making it in some way meaningless or less effective…

    Time will tell, I guess… πŸ˜‰

    Love,
    Dominique

    http://www.fashionedbypluche.blogspot.com

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