Seen

Gender and race as the missing factor

Dec 10, 2023

This week I’ve struggled a bit with writing this newsletter, not because I didn't know what to write about, but because I had trouble focusing. Last Thursday we drove 5 hours to Pamplona for the weekend, a city in Northern Spain, famous for its running of the bulls every July and Ernest Hemingway's love of the whole thing, immortalised in his book The Sun Also Rises. This city is my boyfriend’s hometown and although we don’t come as often as we’d like, we really love the atmosphere here, its quiet yet determined energy plus the gorgeous food make every visit a delight we often miss and look forward too. Unfortunately, the bf is now sick in bed with flu and I’m bored and restless, which is a bad place for me to be in, as in that frame of mind I rarely want to accomplish anything other than lobotomising myself in front of a screen and calling it a day.

Today, I wanted to talk about representation and visibility for women and creatives of colour in the fashion industry.

There’s a new exhibition happening in the Met’s Costume Institute in New York called Women Dressing Women. The exhibition centres on the many female designers that have designed for women and who have often been forgotten or overlooked by history, aiming at correcting that. I read about it in Time Out, calling it a feminist exhibition. It brought to mind the post in which, after Sarah Burton’s resignation at McQueen, Diet Prada observed that with Burton gone and her new replacement being Seán McGirr every designer at Kering was now a middle aged white man. Before we delve into the curious case of the only visible male designer, let me circle back to Time Out’s headline: How is it that after what seems like a never ending cycle of feminist revolutions have we come to a place in which hosting a fashion exhibition that celebrates women designers is considered a feminist act? I mean, really? Is fashion so used to being led by (white) men that when somebody says, hey, that’s a great female designer, there’s still a certain level of shock? According to a Mckinsey study called Shattering the Glass Runway most of the opportunities at the highest levels are offered to white men, and not for a lack of female or diverse talent, rather for a lack of trust in these demographic’s capabilities or simply just because they’re just not seen.

I was thinking though, it’s quite interesting that many women are at the helm of successful menswear labels which they actually started. This is such an interesting axiom, why is so much weight applied to the gender of the designer when who designs it is of little relevance to the outcome and reception of a collection? In my opinion, their huge success comes from the fact that women design with practicality in mind but keeping heritage and individuality at the forefront of what they do. Many also place responsible sourcing and manufacturing as a non-negotiable part of their business models.

Remarkably, most of these female-led labels started with menswear and have now expanded into womenswear, why? I guess, and this is my personal opinion, because women love their approach and have been wearing their designs since the beginning. And either way, gender is such a basic way to differentiate good design. This, together with the fact that Donatella Versacce, Miuccia Prada, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the late Vivienne Westwood or Rei Kawakubo have been doing great for ages designing for women (and men) in -of course- their own mega brands should attest to the absurdity of thinking that only men will do well while in control of multi billion fashion houses.

But still, although I do agree that opportunities are harder to come by if you’re not the right gender or race, I didn’t want it to be the sole claim for today’s article, instead, I really want to celebrate my favourite female designers for what we would traditionally consider a menswear collection. As I’ve often said, this distinction feels outdated today, as consumers are not bothered anymore by the gender of a collection when it comes to buying an item they like. But still.

Martine Rose

An accidental outsider for many years, she is now widely recognized as a force to be reckoned with in fashion. Her design aesthetic breathes an idea of fashion that mixes football and bad boy attitude spelling desirability like no one else.

Priya Alhuwalia

A burning interest to work with upcycling, the blending of cultures that reflect the designer's own and striking patchwork techniques make up her super cool collections.

Ahluwalia designs — Images via Tagwalk.com

Grace Wales Bonner

The woman who single handedly brought the now ubiquitous Adidas Samba back to life, is one of the most intelligent and savvy fashion creatives today. Her signature collections mixing heritage sportswear and Britishness seen through her European and Afro Atlantic optic are a never ending success formula.

Wales Boner designs — Images via Tagwalk.com

Louise Trotter

Although now at Carven, the five years she spent at Lacoste, turned the french house upside down, bringing it from stuffy posh material into actually desirable sport casual, beautifully-cut clothes that exuded confidence and were finally in tune with the times.

Lacoste catwalk looks — Images via Tagwalk.com

Emily Adams

The poetry of Bode’s one of a kind pieces is powerful. Her clothes, cut from antique fabrics, seem to hold the power of old histories told by our grandmothers. Their uniqueness and evocative prowess, talk about wearable family heirlooms, widely appreciated as if they were art pieces.

Lisy Herrebrugh

Together with partner Rushemy Botter, they create collections that pay homage to the sea and its importance within the Caribbean islands societies. Their designs portray the detailed resourcefulness of play in childlike universes and the swag of being young, cool and full of potential.

Gema Martín and Noemi Villa

This little brand, still at the beginning of its journey has changed the access stylish men have to no-fuss, comfortable clothes full of character. Together with their partner Javier Lozoya, they spotted a gap in the Spanish menswear fashion market for cool clothes that were made with care and individuality at their core.

Walkers appeal designs — Images via walkers appeal instagram

To finish today, and talking about visibility, if you’re in London, there’s another must-visit exhibition and this one finishes soon, The Missing Thread at Somerset House, celebrating the breadth and high value of British black fashion creatives’ work. I leave you with an article in the Guardian reviewing it and a short documentary film on the exhibition.

That’s all from me this weekend misfits! Who are your favourite underrepresented creatives or designers? Let me know in the comments! As usual, it’ll be a delight and an honor reading you.

Diary of a Fashion Misfit

Discussion about this post