Of the 80 looks Christian Dior showed at Paris Fashion Week yesterday it is one single piece from the spring/summer 2018 collection that poses an ethical dilemma. The item in question is a long-sleeve Breton with the words ‘Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?’ printed across its chest. The slogan is lifted directly from Linda Nochlin’s groundbreaking 1971 essay of the same name. It's a bloody good question but this isn’t the first time the label’s womenswear artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri has taken a feminist mantra from another female activist to make a fashion statement.
Nearly a year to the day, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri made her debut at the house with a collection that has also become defined by a singular t-shirt. Across the front of the unembellished white t-shirt was written the title of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book ‘We Should All Be Feminists’.
Using clothing as a political canvas is nothing new. Katherine Hamnett’s ‘Choose Life’ to MP Caroline Lucas’ ‘No More Page Three’ tees are just recent examples of people in the public eye pinning their political credentials to their chest. But, what Dior is doing is different. The label has twisted somebody else’s words into an Instagrammable moment. It is ignorant at best, damaging at worst. When a Fashion House as internationally well-regarded and closely watched as Dior dances with feminist slogans, the high street follows. ASOS, Misguided and Prettylittething now sell tops scrawled with the word ‘feminist’. This isn't progression it's big business co-opting a phrase. Not only does it sanitise the call to arms, but it suggests the business practices of fashion don’t at some point in their production cycle take advantage of the poorest women in society.
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This is not a problem limited to Dior. American-based designer Prabal Gurung feels comfortable shifting t-shirts that read ‘My Boyfriend Is A Feminist’ and ‘The Future Is Female’, which echoes the wording of Otherwild’s charity t-shirt. When it came to be sold, Dior charged $170 for its ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ tops and donated a portion of sales to Rihanna's charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation.
Did Dior ask to borrow Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s or Linda Nochlin’s words? Who knows. But that is only a kernel of the problem. While corporations put a price on feminism and make it a sellable concept that’s as dictated as any other statement by the whims of fashion, we all have a dilemma to face.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.