I try to put my phone into my pocket and sigh. I can’t put my phone into my pocket, because I do not have a pocket. This on-trend, catch-your-eye, twirl-in-the-wind dress is very much pocketless.
Fashionable, but not functional. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, it probably does if you’re a woman. We’ve all scrambled for the pockets which should be there but aren’t, eventually giving in to the grapple for a handbag or rucksack instead. I remember watching a boyfriend blithely dig into one of his multiple pockets for change a few years ago, and feeling my eyes narrow.
Why is it that men always seem to have pockets, I wondered? And why is it that women’s clothes rarely do? It suggests more than a hint of sexism, more than a whiff of some worryingly backwards thinking. The implication is that men’s clothing is designed to be practical and functional, while women’s is meant to be decorative – an inflammatory statement to make in today’s age of #MeToo, #Time’sUp and general gender #wokeness. Luckily, the world of fashion seems to be catching on.
Cue the shady lady herself, Ms Anna Wintour. Referencing the sturdy flat boots seen pounding the Milan AW 2018 catwalk, she summarised for Vogue that the footwear represents “freedom and movement”; the idea that you can run into the hills without worrying about laddered tights or sinking stilettos. “What I think you see,” she continues, “is the idea of the designers struggling with what it means to be a woman today”. How to “present the idea of power and women’s empowerment, while at the same time being feminine ”. I imagine hushed meetings in the run-up to one of fashion’s golden events, one question at the forefront of everyone’s minds. How do we reflect and appeal to the empowered woman of 2018?
The new power woman isn’t juggling a phone, notepad and macchiato, hailing down a cab while giving instructions to her secretary. She’s ankle-deep in God-knows-what, nails chipped and grinning.
What we saw at Milan suggests a turning away from the shoulder pads and power suits of seasons gone by (although designers like Victoria Beckham did re-enter this familiar territory), and instead an embrace of a new idea of the “powerful woman”. This woman isn’t juggling phone, notepad and macchiato, hailing down a cab while giving instructions to her secretary. She’s ankle-deep in God-knows-what, nails chipped and grinning.
Unlike Moschino’s 2015 homage to Barbie or D&G’s Spring 2004 ready-to-wear collection (which featured a belly-baring, Daisy Duke-wearing snowboarder), tiny clutches have morphed into bags you can actually fit your life into; strappy sandals into platform sneakers. The return of the bumbag (embrace it!) seems to represent this trend in a nutshell. After all, what could be more practical and aesthetically displeasing than a fanny pack?
Perhaps all this is no surprise, given the return of silver screen icons like Wonder Woman and Lara Croft – action women with, among many other things, two significantly smaller assets than their former incarnations. It’s a casting move that hasn’t been without its controversy (sigh), but it marks an important development in the way we look at the female adventurer. Something about these characters seems slightly more tangible and relatable – as well as being objects of male desire, they’re figures young women can really aspire to be.
This isn’t to say that the executive powerhouse, the Barbie blonde, and the muddy daredevil can’t coexist in the same realm of female empowerment, or that they’re not equally valid expressions of female badassery. It does, however, suggest another step taken in undermining old-fashioned ideas about what a man can be and what a woman can’t be. Again, this probably isn’t surprising in 2018. Just take a look at this year’s gender-bending looks from Gucci and Vivienne Westwood, and the androgynous silhouettes seen at Paris from Chloé and Lemaire. Sure, this has been done before, but it’s never felt quite so relevant. With TV shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and pansexual public figures like Miley Cyrus in the spotlight, the idea of gender fluidity has never been so mainstream.
And so, the new woman. A practical woman of unrestrained movement and hands-on, nail-breaking action. A woman who isn’t a vulnerable victim waiting to be saved in the latest adventure movie, but who stands firm in the starring role.
The truth is, in spite of the Weinsteins and presidential pussy-grabbing, in many ways this is an exciting time to be a woman. Changing attitudes towards femininity are taking expression on the runway, and we can walk the streets wearing our boots and our bumbags like a badge of fluidity and freedom. We can don our athleisure and say 'up yours' to the years of being told to dress “like a lady”, knowing that if we decide to put on an uncomfortable pair of heels it’s damn well going to be our choice.
So here’s hoping that this time next year I won’t be jumping for joy when a dress has a pocket, or heaving that same heavy sigh when it doesn’t. Instead, I’ll just slide my phone into one without a second thought.
Header images: @prada @sportmax @streeteye75 @voguerunway via Instagram
