How should a feminist dress?

In September 2014, designer Karl Lagerfeld showcased a line for Chanel where models walked down the runway in tweed pantsuits, holding placards that screamed slogans like ‘Women’s Rights Are More Than Alright’ and ‘Ladies First’. While Lagerfeld insisted to Elle UK “I’m very much into [feminism], and my mother was also a great admirer of a certain feminist of the 19th century,” critics were quick to pronounce that the show did nothing for gender equality.

“The Chanel show felt hollow to me,” says Aishwarya Subramanyam, editor, Elle India . “For fashion [manufacturers] to be engaged with the cause, it would involve a change in the way you function and in the imagery used to market those products.” Since the Chanel show, the debate on the correlation between fashion and feminism has gone mainstream, with celebrities like Lena Dunham and Priyanka Chopra advocating a woman’s right to wear what she wants. “And,” adds Subramanyam, “any conversation around feminism is a good thing,”

Today, Lakmé Fashion Week, in collaboration with Godrej India Culture Lab, will host a panel discussion on the subject Feminism and Fashion – Navigating a Knotty Terrain . The event showcases works by fashion stylist and blogger Pallavi Datta and spoken word artist Sharanya Manivannan. Later, there will be a panel discussion with fashion designer Anita Dongre, crafts revivalist Laila Tyabji, Instagram star Mallika Dua, moderated by Nisha Susan, founder of feminist e-zine, Ladies Finger .

Susan, who is also the activist behind the popular 2009 Pink Chaddi campaign, won the Laadli Gender Sensitivity Media Award for her reportage on sexual violence in 2015. “Fashion is often thought of as frivolous,” she says. “We wanted to complicate the idea [of feminism]. As issues that plague women at work, we talk about equal pay and sexual harassment. Why don’t we discuss what we wear to work?”

So what does a feminist wear?

Suffragettes in 1908 England used fashion to champion their cause, votes for women. Effectively branding their campaign, they used colour as a show of support: purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope. It was trendy to identify with the cause by wearing even a small piece of jewellery in these colours.

A full century later, the 80s saw the emergence of the ‘career women’. The women of Wall Street identified power dressing by appropriating menswear: suits and power-shoulders. Yet, they didn’t forgo feminine frills, bold earrings and bright lipstick. Sociologist, Jan Felshin coined the term ‘feminine apologetic’ to theorise that women in sport or working in traditionally male-dominated roles used clothing or jewellery to proclaim their heterosexuality. The disclaimer being: I am powerful but I’m not masculine or a lesbian.

In 2016, with gender lines increasingly blurring, feminism is not exclusive but inclusive. Regardless of shape, size and sexual orientation, the idea is to support the cause of equal rights by prioritising individual style over public perception. Which is why, perhaps, that the trend for ‘athleisure’, essentially sportswear for leisure, has been adopted with such gusto. It sells the idea of attitude and non-conformity without compromising comfort. So while ‘boyfriend’ jeans are must-haves for women, floral prints are available at most men’s fashion brands. That this is happening in fashion, traditionally the most-stereotyped zone when it comes to perception and gender roles, is significant.

In India, feminists are fighting against the moral police, people who ban the colour red in colleges, who say jeans cause rape. In the workplace, women who dress in ethnic clothing are fighting perceptions of being old-fashioned and conservative. “Fashion does often use a stereotype of a perfect ‘sexy’ female body to sell itself,” says Laila Tyabji craft revivalist and founder of Dastkar, “but it can also liberate Indian women from the stereotypical traditional saas-bahu image they have been stuck in for centuries. Women need to find their own self-image and use fashion to interpret it.”

Traditionally, women have always used craft as a form of storytelling. Organisations like Sewa and Dastkar have engaged with women artisans by using traditional embroidery, weaving and appliqué handicraft. “This has transformed their lives,” says Tyabji. “It has given them decision making powers within their families and a sense of self-worth. Supporting them supports the feminist movement and creates new feminists.”

The author is an independent fashion consultant and Editor of The Juice Magazine

Feminism and Fashion – Navigating a Knotty Terrain: exhibition at 4 p.m., talk at 5 p.m., Godrej One auditorium, Vikhroli East