Chanel’s Spring 2015 show during Paris Fashion Week made headlines. Instead of the typical finale, the fashion house’s guard of tweed-clad models picketed the Grand Palais. A parade of women, led by Brit Cara Delevingne, carried signs that read “History is her story” and “Boys should get pregnant too.”
The collection itself symbolized empowerment for women through clothing. Power suits were in deconstructed tweeds, there were hints of utilitarian greens and khakis and a lot of ties were featured. From the surface, Karl Lagerfeld advocated for feminism.
But Karl Lagerfeld is not a feminist. Throughout his career, Lagerfeld’s comments have revealed that he holds strict views on what a woman’s body should look like. When German magazine Brigitte announced their plans to feature models that were not stick-thin, Lagerfeld argued that fashion was about “dreams and illusions, and no one wants to see round women.”
The Chanel designer’s hypocrisy doesn’t stop there. Lagerfeld has attacked famous women like Heidi Klum and Adele, who he called “a little roundish.” Just last year, the man tried to defend himself in an interview to CNN. Lagerfeld argued that calling the Grammy award-winning singer roundish was not a synonym for fat. “After that she lost eight kilos so I think the message was not that bad,” said Lagerfeld.
If Lagerfeld identifies himself and the brand with feminism, it’s time for him to apologize for his body-shaming of women, and alter Chanel’s skewed view of what it means to be feminine. Because so many people in the industry respect Lagerfeld (despite his infamy), he can use his platform to support women’s equality beyond one fashion show.
If Chanel drops the feminist act next season, we have an even bigger issue. The fact that the show’s protest happened barely a week after news of Emma Watson’s support for the He for She campaign is ironic. Production of fashion collections and concepts take months, but it’s quite possible that the Chanel team could’ve handed the models some pickets, a megaphone, and declared, “Go protest! Go picket!” or “Yay feminism!” In other words, the theme of feminism in the show may have been used because it was on trend.
We can’t deny the public attention on gender equality. Prolific women like Watson and Beyoncé have championed feminism by using their fame to highlight gender equality. These leaders have helped the cause by identifying as feminist and using their work to draw attention to inequalities. When people identify as feminist, more and more supporters are helping break the stigma of the label. Just a few years ago feminism had a negative connotation.
During the Chanel grand finale, ringleader Delevingne led chants and shouted, “What do we want? When do we want it?”As feminists, we want to raise awareness about the equality of women and men in all realms and dispute misconceptions about the movement. Treating the movement as a mere trend, as a fashion accessory, is reductive. Feminism needs advocacy with action, which means more than a fashionable mock protest.