The Problem With Contemporary Womenswear
Menswear is so much better right now, and it’s not just about how it looks
“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.” I heard this quote by George Bernard Shaw in a documentary the other day, and it stuck hard. It came to me again when I watched Schiaparelli’s couture show on Monday. Animal heads aside, the clothes saddened me. Sturdy silhouettes, uncomfortable shapes, and garments impossible to sit in were everywhere. Sure, it’s a couture collection not meant for everyday wear. I get that. But Daniel Roseberry isn’t the only one suddenly putting women into these rigid, limiting pieces of clothing. Miuccia Prada wants us in extremely tight T-shirts and skirts too short to sit in. Jonathan Anderson sees us in stiff leather and plastic plants. Dolce and Gabbana think we should wear metal corsets.
It’s immensely amusing to observe. But it’s not very likely you’ll see “a powerful executive turning looks in the boardroom” in a piece with a metal harness resembling a peacock, and covering her entire face, as Diet Prada suggested in their review of the Schiaparelli show. The industry is still trying to impose a particular appearance on us. They’re still trying to sell us the dream, to convince us we’ll become something we’re not if we look a certain way.
Conversely, a few brands are determined to erase the line between menswear and womenswear and give us multifaceted clothes we genuinely want to wear. I love how Galliano does it at Margiela or how brands like Wales Bonner, The Row, and even Saint Laurent do it. However, most womenswear designers are trying to be innovative through collections disconnected from the only thing they should have in mind - the human body.
On the other hand, contemporary menswear is all about liberating the body. I imagine the industry as this big alpha mother going around a giant backstage with a headset and telling people what to do. (Oh wait, it has a face, it’s Anna Wintour.) She orbits around and says: “Guys, listen, you need to tell men to wear what feels best. We can’t keep telling them to wear suits anymore. It’s discriminatory. Get rid of the suit, okay? Tell them to go bare-chested, yeah. The internet allows their nipples. They’re cool. Maybe tell them to wear a skirt, you know. But be believable. Tell them like: ‘Dude, just try it. There’s so much air down there. You won’t believe how good it feels.’” Kim Jones hears this, gets up, calls Robert Pattinson, and says: “Rob, you’re wearing a skort. It’s going to be lit.”
Seriously now, clothes should be about feeling good, and men’s collections for fall 2023 were indeed about that. Dior’s draped jumpers are innovative and chic at the same time. Saint Laurent’s tailored pants and dressy tops are everything I want to wear out to dinner from this point until I die. Pared-down suits by Officine Générale or Bode are a dream to wear all year round. I profoundly hope we’ll see some of this humans-first approach in the upcoming womenswear weeks.
Womenswear has gone too far in wanting to empower women that it’s doing the complete opposite. Brands want to tell women they’re allowed to wear whatever they want, but then they go on to make up these ridiculous pieces of clothing just to prove their point. Sadly, the only point they end up proving is that we haven’t learned anything from history.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
*I do not own any of the photos in this newsletter, they belong to GoRunway.
Definitely it’s more art than anything else but the message is confusing. What is contemporary femininity ? Ask Giorgio Armani, he knows it :)
Men fashion is indeed more comfortable and wearable, and something we would wear every day, but I don’t think Schiaparelli or any other female fashion brand is doing restrictive constructions on purpose, they simpy want to bring back high fashion and impress, and although unwearable to normal people, they have managed to. Female fashion was boring for about a decade or more and doing this grande, crazy creations, they put us a little bit on our toes. It’s more art than anything else. Plus, covid period made many designers and fashion conscious women want more occassion wear, glitter, etc in order to look fabulous.