Whether you love it or hate it, the F word seems to be everywhere we turn at the moment. Some of the world’s most influential women have aligned themselves with feminism. Whether it is Beyoncé sampling Chimamanda Ngozi in ‘Flawless’ or Emma Watson’s speech at the UN, it seems that, slowly, the caricature of the bra-burning, man-hating feminist is being replaced with a more authentic image: someone who believes that women of all races and backgrounds deserve the same political, economic and social rights as men.

The online world is one of the reasons behind that. Despite the one-upmanship, the virtual eye rolls, the patronizing tones, the very real fear of being mocked (or worse) online which has sometimes stopped myself and other women from voicing our opinions, technological advances have helped to erode some of the negative connotations of feminism. Although undoubtedly we have a long way to go, people are starting to realize it is ok to identify yourself with this movement.  Feminism is certainly à la mode and this has certainly not gone unnoticed in the fashion industry. Karl Lagerfeld’s recent show for example, involved models brandishing placards demanding women’s rights.  Although many see feminism as somewhat incompatible with the fashion world, I do approve of the number of female editors-in chief in the fashion industry, with the likes of Anna Wintour refusing to defend her ‘ice queen’ reputation or apologise for being #NotBossybutTheBoss.  Dare I say it, I also like that modeling is one sector in which women outearn men and that women within this industry continue to be successful despite often being belittled for being ‘vapid’, ‘superficial’ or comically low-brow (Zoolander I’m looking at you).

However, I am well aware of the more insidious aspects of the fashion industry; the lack of diversity in terms of the race and size of models has been well-documented.  Feminism must represent the voices of all women and those we saw gliding down the catwalk during Paris Fashion Week recently were the same, tall, slim, youthful, largely Caucasian beauties that are often held up as the pinnacle of beauty by the fashion industry and the media.

Yes, fashion is about fantasy and the dramatic. And of course, slim and beautiful women can obviously be feminist too. But what kind of message does this uniformity of appearance send out?

I am also sceptical about Karl Lagerfeld’s recent show given his commentary on women in the past. Let us not forget that this is a man who would rather Pippa Middleton ‘only show her back’, and who has claimed that ‘no one wants to see curvy women’, in reference to singer Adele.To see this man then, leading this elite crop of women down the catwalk in a feminist ‘protest’ was disconcerting. Moreover, some of the slogans- ‘Ladies First’, ‘Free Freedom’ and ‘Boys Should Get Pregnant too’- were ambiguous and meaningless, hardly indicative of any real commitment to the cause.

Should I just accept that ‘all press is good press’? I’m not convinced. My fear is this: there are still people who belittle feminism and I can’t help but feel that Lagerfeld’s half-hearted appropriation of the term will add fuel to their fire. More importantly, I am well aware that many feel that mainstream feminism is exclusionary and only makes space for privileged white women. When a man who has been quoted ejecting misogynistic slurs leads a group of women that represent a fraction of society down the runway paying lip service to an ill-defined version of feminism, he only further alienates those who already feel excluded from the movement.

We must be wary of Lagerfeld’s version of feminism, because the thing about trends is that they can be dropped as fast as they are adopted.

 

Clio Tsivanidis