Chanel’s Spring Summer 2015 runway was the stage for a couture rally, drawing inspiration from the 1970s. Karl Lagerfeld transformed the Grand Palais by dipping into an era defined by protest posters, street chants, and second-wave feminism. An ode to when fashion and politics walked in tandem.
The feminist discourse sparked by Emma Watson’s #HeForShe campaign made this show so relevant to what’s happening today. Unlike typical Chanel, this collection seemed very lassiez faire while rooted in house codes.
My favorite moments:
- chainmail dresses with flowers interwoven
- cropped suit with hidden splashes of pink
- frilly white yokes and adornments
- the “military tuxedo”
- watercolor boots
Yet, for a collection visually indebted to the civil rights era, the runway remained conspicuously narrow in who was allowed to embody that liberation. The protest aesthetic borrowed heavily from movements built by many voices of color, yet the casting told a quieter, more exclusive story.
This is where the empowerment begins to fray. The slogans promised unity, but the imagery suggested a feminism filtered through a singular lens: polished, affluent, and unmistakably homogenous. Liberation, in this framing, appeared couture-sized and carefully curated. Which raises the uncomfortable question: Who gets to participate in fashion’s version of revolution? Does this include all the black and brown bodies put on the line? Or is civil justice just a “look” to get appropriated?
I guess the bigger industry-wide question I have is: Will feminism performed on the runway become less about a collective uprising and more about a privileged PR stunt reserved for those already centered in fashion’s spotlight?
