Before we can talk about what I alluded to last week, we need to talk about a longer battle.

The shock of the economic disruption felt by many across the globe years ago has slowed the experimentation in favor of more pragmatic offerings in a quest to remain solvent in an increasingly competitive and alluring industry. The glamour that fashion advertises betrays the harder realities that it is a business within manufacturing and must cater to the needs of the customers at large. This population base, depending on where you sit, is nervously comfortable or making cautious choices or, to a lesser extent, is detached form the greater world, insulated from the fears bandied about through various aspects of the media, including social media.

But regardless of where one sits, being connected opens the door to these concerns and fuels more conservative approaches. The overwhelming pragmatic choices are shaped slowly as we fight our desire to consume (a habit long instilled into our cultures) with the need to make smarter choices. For some these are driven by fiscal responsibility translating into viewing selection as investment while for others it satisfies ecological morality as they factor their impact into their choices.

But the overall theme that has been staying with our clothing has been about armor and defense. This translates into stiffer textiles, harder cuts and geometry along more masculine lines. It also has translated into more masculine elements that have been noticed. While more utilitarian (ever try to run for a taxi in a column dress?), it also satisfies the subconscious power associated with being in a men’s world. And whether we like it or not, despite the inroads since the last century women still have to fight for the elusive equality that they have yet to and should truly enjoy: full equality. 

It is impressive to see a company such as Gucci campaign for women’s equality but also telling that it is newsworthy, for these rights should be obvious. Yet our world view courtesy of the internet shows a world that has a lot of growing up to do; judging by stories coming out of India concerning the gang rapes or the continued subjugation of women’s rights in most parts of Middle East there is an awful lot of work yet to do.

But in the first world, where the imbalance is not as readily apparent and where more women enjoy participating in the working environment, the fight for survival takes place in that arena, and it is here that the best defense is a good offence. And that means matching the” opponent”.

During both World Wars women got a taste of literally wearing the pants in the family and the freedom of movement they provides really symbolized the freedom that women got to have in times of crisis. In both scenarios, particularly the Second World War, women were able to participate in the working world and experience opportunity that was before off-limits. The more conscious and militant grasp for equality in the 70s saw more women fight for and win the right to take positions previously unavailable in the employment sector and wearing pants,  the ultimate masculine territory, became the symbol of that hard-won shift.

The wearing of pants, along with the power suit in the 80s, became the logical wardrobe choices in order to make inroads in the boardrooms while commanding to be taken seriously, especially given the continued resistance that faced women then. In political circles those elements still come into play as women in power opt for more masculine clothing options. And unfortunately our society, rooted in surface impressions and pervasive bigotry, still make hasty judgments and support the stereotypes that feed assumptions of capability based on adoption of traditional garment symbology rather than on more measurable merits. Hence, the increased competitiveness and importance of economic success plus the sexist view of masculinity equating power has helped drive the proliferation of masculine textiles and menswear elements have become prominent in the collections on both sides of the Atlantic.

It is impossible to list the collections as examples; it is such an overwhelming thread dominating collections this season. Even collections that are more experimental such as Commes des Garcon or Viktor & Rolf have taken to task.  

We are definitely on the defensive on all fronts, a hardened populace gripped with impending scenarios that plague us, verified by continued reports, fear-mongering fueled by testimony and statistics that remind us that our problems are not yet resolved. It has put many on a heightened sense of alert, mirroring tension that reflects a period from before. And as mentioned at the end of the last article, this tension has found expression in the collections alongside the fighting spirit being stirred. And we will get to that.