Feminism in the Fashion Industry

Feminism has become very popular in our society today. Many women (and men) are campaigning towards equally. Feminism is essentially the belief that both women and men should be treated equally. This includes being offered the same jobs, opportunities and pay. It also includes the belief that colours, clothing and toys shouldn't be gender specific and should be accept by all. You automatically think of pink for a girl and blue for a boy but why is this? Well it's because our society has created these meanings and we stick to them. These colours shouldn't define who we are and what gender we choose to have. 

As the fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world it's a great way to campaign something such as feminism. We wear clothes everyday and people see what you wear all the time so it's easy to get your words out there. Many people are using fashion as way to advertise feminism and equality and the results are amazing.

Dior has recently employed their first female director in over 70 years. This is a huge step for the fashion industry and the company itself. Maria Grazia (the new Dior artistic director) has pushed for feminism in her designs. She created t-shirts with words such as "We should all be feminists" on them which sparked a huge arise of celebs, such as Rihanna, getting involved in the campaign. She has also created an entire blue collection to show how colour should be genderless. 

Another feminism movement is 'Free the Nipple' which is a movement campaigning for equal rights. It's about letting women show their nipples anytime they want just like men can. Men can pose in topless photos, go swimming and even walk around the streets topless but women can not. Why is this? Men and women both have nipples so why should only one sex be allowed to show theirs freely? 

People believe that if a women shows their nipples in public or even in photos, they want sexual attention from men. This has lead to many cases of rape! Even when this happens people say that it's the woman's fault because she was showing herself off and wanted the attention, when really this isn't true. However, turn this around and the opinions are completely different. Men can freely show their nipples without being sexualised or 'attacked'. 

This campaign was hugely supported at Fashion Week where celebs wore see-through tops and sheer dresses without a bra. Miley Cyrus have also been seen sporting tops with 'Free the Nipple' on to support the campaign. Other people are supporting the movement on Instagram by using the tag #freethenipple and through other campaigns on social media. 

Feminism is going to be a popular movement in our fashion industry until equality is given. As the fashion industry is made up of a lot more women than men it's a huge advantage for the campaigners. Wearing a t-shirt or using a hashtag spreads awareness of the campaigns and movements while supporting the fashion industry. 

If you are interested in supporting the feminism movement check out this Missguided T-shirt I found on ASOS for only £12. There are also many different clothing items you can get instead so definitely look around if you are interested.

I hope you found this post interesting and understand a little bit more about feminism in the fashion industry. If you like these discussion posts then head back every Friday for a new topic. See you next week...

Emma Victoria