Feminism In Art vs. Fashion: A Comparison

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From Trump’s presidential win, to the growth of Rape Culture, no one can doubt that 2016 was one of the most eventful and chaotic years so far. And as a consequence, 2017 was the year where various industries decided to take matters into their own hands and act up against these past events. One of these industries was the Fashion industry, where 25 out of 60 major fashion shows demonstrated their rage and disagreement towards politics in 2017, through selected pieces of clothing and accessories. For instance, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Spring 2017 Ready-To-Wear collection for Christian Dior was one of the most memorable fashion moments of the year. Among the structural dresses and skirts, the famous Italian designer also debuted her line of faded slogan tees, where one of them expressed a bold and meaningful statement: “We should all be feminists”. The purpose of this being to pay tribute to the feminist writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose convictions Maria Grazia Chiuri shares.However, there comes a point where the market stars to wonder, can the political statements that most fashion brands do, be considered 100% genuine and with good intentions, or just another selfish way of them cashing in and generating revenues? Was 2017’s fashion activism just another seasonal trend?The difference in the amount of awareness that was raised between 2017 and 2018 regarding activism is significant. According to Harper Bazaar’s writer, Lauren Alexis Fisher, “At New York Fashion Week 2018, there were no pink "Fashion Stands with Planned Parenthood" buttons or blue ACLU ribbons selected by the CFDA as an official cause, and out of 60 major fashion shows, only seven incorporated politics into their clothes, set design, or inspiration.”Of course the effort that some fashion houses did this past season cannot be undermined, such as Tom Ford’s AW18 collection that sent “Pussy Power” bags and shows down the runway. Or how for Prabal Gurung’s AW18 fashion show they staged a powerful finale of women linking arms, as #MeToo founder Tarana Burke sat front row, while Calvin Klein's show was a dark, apocalyptic-take on the current state of American politics.Nonetheless, as mentioned before, there is an uncertainty that is still increasing among people because they feel that the amount of awareness that the Fashion Industry raised back in 2017 is not the same as this year’s. And the fact that many fast fashion brands such as Forever 21 and H&M are trying to take advantage of the situation, by releasing cheap tees with vague slogans about Equality and Feminism, and eventually profit from it, does not help in the slightest bit. Especially when these fast fashion brands do not even promote equality within their own business model. According to NewStateman’s writer, Kathleen Farmilo, “Despite the importance of their female customers, the CEOs of Forever 21, Topshop, H&M and Urban Outfitters are all men. While H&M’s gender pay gap figures in 2018 might be below the UK average, men were still likely to earn eight per cent more.”Real change does not come in the form of “instagrammable” pieces of clothing and accessories that even though have a “good intention”, they do not donate anything to the cause they are meaning to support. And not just donating but actually making a change within the company. Do they pay their employees equally? Does the brand promote inclusivity and diversity in every aspect at work? Does it offer maternity and paternity leave? Because if they do not do so, and only worry about inspiring people with their clothes while they are doing nothing to back up their message, then they weaken the concept that Fashion can have an effect in politics. This is what later leads people to believe that the fashion industry is formed by cold-hearted individuals, that only care about their clothes and making a profit out of them. When in reality there are brands that are willing to take matters into their own hands and make a change with real actions, that will eventually make a difference in the world.Because at the end of the day, real change comes in the form of real actions that have a genuine meaning behind them. Let’s take the Art Industry into consideration. Feminism’s most powerful weapon for transmitting equality during the 20th century was art, and through it, brave women fought through their creations to make their rights valid. Per instance, it was a genuine stun when Yoko Ono played out her 1964 performance “Cut Piece”. In it, she sat on the floor in a customary Japanese posture and let the public cut bits of her garments until the point when she was completely nude. This demonstration was loudly protesting violence against women and it was the first of its sort to fight for women’s rights.Although this act did not change society’s perception right away, it inspired other people to join the movement as well. For example, the Guerrilla Girls movement, which is still active up to this day. Making their main goal to demonstrate reality to the world, a gathering of infuriating women called Guerrilla Girls introduced at public presentations, investigations about the unfair conditions of working women artists and artists of color. They organized protests, made publications, stickers, announcements and artworks and, amid their first years, they began the "weenie counts," where individuals would count the male to female subject proportion in museums displayed in huge artistical centers.The information gathered from the MET's open collection in 1989 demonstrated that in the Modern Art areas, under 5% of the works were by female specialists, while 85% of the nudes were female. Guerrilla Girls were additionally well known for wearing gorilla veils, moving concentration from their personalities to genuine issues, and they likewise utilized names of expired female specialists, as Alma Thomas, Rosalba Carriera, Frida Kahlo and Hannah Höch.In conclusion, the problem that the Fashion Industry has when it comes to political statements is not the production and selling of pieces of clothing that claim to raise awareness about a certain issue, but the lack of responsibility that lies with major fashion companies who produce pseudo-feminist clothing without honoring any actual feminist allegiance within their brand. If a company wants to inspire people to make a change, then the first step they should take is to do so within their business models and do something with the revenues they have acquired from said items sold. In this way political statements will be taken seriously, and not as a joke. They should take as an example the art industry, which through its creative work keeps on genuinely motivating new ages of young women and protestors of their rights, giving them higher hopes of a better future where equality is relevant enough in every aspect of our lives.Elena Ardila