The SMU graduate making Dallas glow(w)

Whitney Kelly is known around the SMU campus as giving some of the best spray tans in Dallas. Now, after years of spray tanning students out of her laundry room, Kelly is moving into an official retail space in Lower Greenville. The new location will provide several new services, including clothing and blowouts, and her patrons will follow her there. But they’ll miss being greeted by the watermelon doormat to her apartment, and her German Shorthaired Pointer, Dylan. 

Kelly, a 2006 SMU graduate, started Gloww Tanin 2013 after seeing the growing popularity of tanning. She saw new discoveries in natural spray tan solutions and technology, many of which were not being used in the Dallas area. 

“There were a lot of new developments in the industry, besides going to Palm Beach Tan, laying in the tanning beds, or getting a Mystic Tan. It was definitely becoming a bigger industry, and I thought I should become a part of it when it first started,” said Kelley.

Gloww Tan has become a favorite among SMU students by offering custom spray tans made from natural solutions, and not to mention the 20% student discount. To ensure the most natural color possible, Gloww Tan gives each customer an individualized analysis of their skin tone and under tones. Whether they’re looking to for a natural glow(w), or wanting to be dark bronzed goddess, Gloww Tan has it all. 

“If you have red or pink in your skin and you want to cover it up, then you’re going to want to use a color base that derives from a green undertone solution. That green base is going to create a brown coloring that will combat any red or pink,” said Kelly. “We do have a violet tone that is going to be more of a red-purple tone. I would use this one if you have more olive skin or want to be darker.” 

Julia Blanks, a SMU junior from Huntington Beach, CA first heard about Gloww Tan from other students and has been a customer for over a year now. Blanks said she tans at least once a month and before any major event, whether it be a formal or a game day.

 “I love Gloww Tan because of the consistency. Whitney has perfected her tanning solution and tailors each solution mix to match her customers’ needs. Since Gloww Tan does not use a machine, the spray tans are much more accurate and even,” said Blanks.

Business is booming, so Gloww Tan is moving out of the first floor of Kelly’s apartment, into a formal retail space. The new space will allow for more customers, services, and products.

“We will be contracting people in for hair and blowouts. We also will have pop-up make up shops, and an entire retail boutique with women’s clothing, accessories, jewelry, handbags, and athleisure wear,” said Kelly.

As she prepares for this expansion, Kelly is growing her team of professional tanners. Sonya Camarillorecently became an employee. Camarillo is training to perfect her skills through free tans to SMU students. 

“I started working for Whitney a month ago because I love tanning. It makes you look and feel your best,” said Camarillo. “It’s been so fun! My favorite thing has been meeting new people and giving them that perfect glow.”

Gloww Tan’s new retail space is expected to open in February 2020, near La La Land Kind Café in Lower Greenville.

Clothing as a reflection of changing values in society

Clothing is a visual expression of a society’s culture and values. When a society undergoes a revolution or change, there is usually a corresponding shift in clothing that either is a result of change, or a tool of creating change, according to Elif Kavakci of the SMU Fashion Media Department. 

This relationship is especially prevalent in women’s wear and its correlation with feminist movements throughout the history of the Western World. 

“Throughout history, social and political movements have been a part of fashion, and we can see that they have mutual benefits,” said Kavakci.

As Rome fell in 476 AD, Christianity rose to power. By the Middle Ages, all of Europe was united under the power of the Catholic Church. Women were often seen as subordinate to men and objectified as tools of sex and fertility. These beliefs were projected onto the clothing and beauty standards of the time, which idealized large hips as they were a sign of fertility and healthy birthing. To obtain a voluptuous silhouette, women began wearing farthingales, also known as hoop skirts, and corsets made from whale bone. These items were painful to wear and limited women’s range of motion, further supporting their inferiority. 

While styles and trends changed throughout the Renaissance, the silhouette that emphasized large hips and small waists remained relatively the same. After the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19^thcentury, the Victorian Era ushered in new possibilities for women. Despite not having the right to vote or to own property, women were able to join the work force and feminist ideas began to gain momentum. Although corsets were still firmly planted in womenswear, large bustles and crinoline skirts were abandoned by the late 19^thcentury. This allowed women to have larger ranges of motions, and the ability to work in places like textile factories with some comfort. 

In early 20^thcentury France, a young orphan girl climbed the ranks of society by dating French and English aristocrats. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was shocked by the impractical and uncomfortable attire of affluent women. Chanel started making clothes out of comfortable jersey fabrics, created the first little black dress, and scoffed at the idea of the corset. Despite being met with early criticism, her freeing designs complemented the first wave of feminism and women’s suffrage and soon became synonymous with liberating women from restrictive clothing. By the 1920s, hemlines shot up, hair was cut short, corsets were gone, silhouettes straightened, and women had the right to vote. 

In the 1960s, a second wave of feminism sought to create more gender equality in other areas of life, including sexuality, reproductive rights, treatment in the workplace, and domestic violence. It was the beginning of the sexual revolution and birth control was easier to obtain. Coinciding with these structural changes, a London designer named Mary Quant invented the mini skirt. The mini skirt showed off lots of leg, and became a symbol of how women were beginning to take control of their own bodies and sexuality. Some women even burned their bras as a message of freedom from the patriarchy.

In the 1990s, a third wave of feminism, which continues today, criticized second-wave feminism for focusing on and being led by privileged white women. Third-wave feminism sought to unveil the layers of oppression by fighting for equal pay, body positivity, and rights for women of all races and socioeconomic class. 

Third-wave feminism created the breeding ground for a punk subculture called “riot grrl.” Often categorized as a music genre, the “riot grrl” movement also inspired rebellious fashion statements like shaved heads, unshaved armpits, and shirts objectifying men. 

            Kavacki believes that the power of fashion’s influence in politics is finally being acknowledged: “Nowadays, we have seen a lot of feminist messaging or political movements for women’s rights on the runway. Christian Dior is a brand that does that with the appointment of Maria Grazia Chiuri who is the first female creative director. The first collection that she did had T-shirts that said ‘The Future is Female’,” she said. “Fashion Week has become a platform for women’s rights on the runway.”

How SMU students are navigating the industry’s new landscape

“Does Journalism Have A Future,” headlines a New Yorkerarticle from earlier this year, and it’s a question many journalism students have considered at one point or another. Newsrooms have been laid off around the country, many of which were local newsrooms, according to the Washington Post.  However, “Newsgathering isn’t dying; instead, it’s becoming stratified, with real implications for our knowledge of the world,” said reporter Christopher Daly in an articlefor the Washington Post. 

Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter have substituted morning newspapers for many people under 35.  When 18-24 years olds get their news, 45% of them do so via smartphone, according to research from the Reuters Institute.  In a survey of nearly three dozen students from Southern Methodist University (SMU), over 75% of students said they consume most of their daily news from social media platforms. In addition, nearly 90% of students either agree or strongly agree that they like to be knowledgeable of current events.

How SMU Students Consume News Media 

Where do you consume the most news on a daily basis?

What is the second most common platform you use?

I consume news because I like to be knowledgeable of current events

I think news is fun

Not only are we consuming news in different ways, but the definition of being a journalist is also changing. Anyone with a smartphone or computer has the ability to write and share their stories. Traditionally, journalists and publications were the mediators between news and the public. This is no longer the case. 

Professor Jake Batsellof the SMU Journalism Department, offers a class called “Media Entrepreneurship” which aims to help journalism students navigate this new landscape. One of the students in his spring 2019 class was Dana Giles. 

            Giles had created an online media platform called “I Want The Real” (IWTR) which sought to bring light to taboo topics effecting young people such as drug addiction and dealing family trauma. The site quickly gained traction as readers began flooding to the website. 

            “When I released it [IWTR], it kinda formed on its own. I felt like I didn’t necessarily do that much, but when people read it and heard about it, I felt like they were the catalysts,” she said. 

As a business major, Giles was unsure of how to direct this new hot spot she had created, so she enrolled in Batsell’s class. 

            “She pro-actively reached out to me before the semester started and said that she wanted to come up with a business plan for her website. We worked together in the early stages of the semester to build out her community,” said Batsell.  “She put together a business expansion plan for the Provost’s Big iDea’s Contest, and actually won a $5,000 grant to expand the audience.” 

            Giles used her grant to purchase the equipment needed to start a podcast. The episodes interviewed people like a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, a SMU student who struggled with an eating disorder, and a lacrosse player who got involved with drug dealing. Giles graduated in May of 2019, and has decided to step away from IWTR at the moment due to the heavy nature of the topics discussed. However, she is just one of several other students on the SMU campus who are journalism entrepreneurs. 

            Belle Campbellis a SMU junior from Little Elm, TX majoring in fashion media and minoring in photography, advertising, graphic design, and arts entrepreneurship. After noticing a gap in the student media, she started her own magazine in the fall of 2018 called “The Green Book”. The magazine features articles about members of the black community at SMU.  

            “I try to use as many of their words as possible and really capture how unique each experience is, while also emphasizing the many similarities that tie us together as a community,” said Campbell. 

            At the moment, The Green Book is a fully funded publication thanks to financial aid received from Engaged Learning, Big iDeas, and the arts entrepreneurship program. After seeing the positive response from the community, Campbell is looking to revise her business model in order to make it more sustainable.

            “I do the interview legwork, I take the photos, I layout the magazine, I talk to the printers, I do it all. It’s the best way I’ve found to make sure the magazine stays true to the mission I’ve envisioned for it. But, I’ve got my eye on a couple of people in the SMU journalism department, so that could change soon,” she said. 

            Another group of SMU students also saw group of underrepresented voices on campus, and decided to begin their own publication. Temi George, a junior English major, is the co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of a magazine called Hugo, which started in the spring of 2019.

            “Our point is to give students, who don’t feel like they have a voice in on-campus publications as they stand now, a platform to be able to speak about things that they think matter. Also to give access to people who want to hear those voices,” said George.

            Hugo magazine aspires to promote diversity and inclusivity by capturing cultural moments and adding commentary to them. For example, one of their recent articles is a review of the Dallas Theater Center’s musical, “In The Heights.” The article discusses the significance of its Latinx representation and the work on Lin-Manuel. 

            For the moment, Hugo is the limited to online, however the staff would like to publish a printed publication as they continue to grow. Currently the magazine is being advertised only through word of mouth, but will soon begin engaging with their audience through social media. 

            A challenge Hugo has faced is adjusting from a staff of four to ten students. 

            “We are trying figure out how we fit everyone in, process articles, and what is the publishing process for us. Also, we know that we want to recruit in the future, so we know that we will keep expanding,” said George. 

            These young journalists are bringing light to people and subjects that are often neglected in the media. Perhaps journalism isn’t dying, rather the stories people want to read and hear are changing. Each one of these entrepreneurs have built their platforms based audiences with specific needs, like visibility and honesty. The future of journalism looks bright from where these publications stand. 

A Man of Boundless Imagination

Karl Lagerfeld is a name that will forever go down in history as one of the greatest creative minds to ever live. He was a man of many talents and wore many hats as a creative director, fashion designer, photographer, and artist. Lagerfeld is best-known for his position as the creative director for several fashion houses. In the following essay, we will explore his impact on the houses of Chloé, Fendi, and Chanel. 

Early Life 

Before he was an icon with his white ponytails and large black sunglasses, Karl Lagerfeld was just a small boy from Germany. Even though he consistently lied about his age, it is believed that Lagerfeld was born in 1933 in the Hamburg district of Blankensee. 

From a young age, Lagerfeld proved to be talented and unique. He began drawing as a child, and had a passion for political caricatures. Lagerfeld also showed interest in fashion from the beginning. Unlike the other German boys, he had long hair, wore Austrian clothing and bow ties. Although he received criticism from his classmates, Lagerfeld refused to change himself for other people. He always believed he would one day be famous…maybe that was due in part to his strong sense of individual identity.^[1]

Education and Training

Karl Lagerfeld claimed that he never received any kind of formal education. Rather, he said he self-trained his eye for beauty and art at Hamburg’s Kunsthalle Museum. Among his favorites were the paintings by Renoir, Manet, and Toulouse Lautrec. He fell in love with these French painters, which spawned into a love for everything French. In 1950, he attended the Christian Dior fashion show at the Hotel di Hamburg. Lagerfeld was mesmerized by Dior’s New Look, and he decided to move to Paris and become a fashion designer at age 17.  

Lagerfeld finished his secondary schooling at the Lycée Montaigne in Paris, where he majored in drawing and history. By the time Karl was 20 years old, he started working under the direction of Pierre Balmain and Jean Patou. Here, he perfected his skills in designing. In 1953, Lagerfeld won first place in a competition by the International Wool Secretariat for a coat design. Ironically, third place was given to another young designer named Yves Saint Laurent for his cocktail dress. Yves and Karl became lifelong friends and competitors from then on…

 In the early 1960s, Lagerfeld decided he wanted to move to Rome and study art history. While in Italy, he continued to work in the fashion industry by freelancing for major fashion houses like Chloé, Charles Jourdan, Krizia, and Valentino. By 1963, he was named the chief designer at Chloé.^[2]

Chloé: 1963-1983 & 1992-1997

In 1952, the French fashion house Chloé was founded by Gaby Aghion. She was one of the first designers to create a luxury brand that offered ready-to-wear. Aghion named and modeled the brand after her friend who she thought “embodied the carefree attitude of the modern young woman at the time”.  Chloé aimed to turn away from the uptight and conventional ways of haute couture in the 1950s, and became a popular brand that symbolized youth and femininity.^[3]

In 1963, Aghion hired Lagerfeld and several other young talented designers to work under her direction and carried out her vision. The team experienced immense success with their creation of iconic designs such as the shirt-dress and the silk blouse, which became classic pieces of the Chloé wardrobe and personality. After a year with the brand, Lagerfeld designed the Tertulia dress for Spring-Summer 1966. The dress’s “hand painted art nouveau-inspired motifs set the tone for Chloé’s elegant take on bohemian chic”.^[4]

Throughout the rest of the decade, Chloé continued to flourish thanks to the prolific talents of Lagerfeld. With pieces such silk trousers, he promoted the idea of “relaxed elegance, and established the on-going tension between the feminine and masculine” which is became engrained in the Chloé attitude.

In 1974, Chloé is left solely in hands of Lagerfeld as he is made the one and only designer for the brand. The 1970s was characterized by his “soft and flou silk dresses, which celebrate a feminine and carefree romanticism with delicate lace inserts”. One of the most notable of this designs is the Rachmaninoff dress made of graphic and geometrical prints in black and white, paired with a scarf tied around the head. This dress exemplifies the romantic and bohemian tone of the Chloé brand that still exists today. ^[5]

Another iconic design by Lagerfeld in the 1970s was the cape. He debuted the design in 1974, but continued to reinvent it each season throughout the decade. For example, the cape would be made of silk for the Spring/Summer and wool for the Fall/Winter. Lagerfeld felt that cape expressed a certain sense of freedom with its fluidity of movement—allowing women to look feminine while having the comfortability of masculine clothing.^[6]

In the 1980s, there is a new era of fashion with designs that are vibrant, and runways become parties. Karl joined in the exciting air of the time by finding much inspiration in music. He designed the infamous Angkor dress which features broad shoulders, bright colors, and a large violin embroidered on the front. Spring-Summer 1984 was the last show of Lagerfeld’s after two decades with the Chloé fashion house. The most notable design from this collection was the Ciseaux dress, which featured an embroidered scissor—symbolizing the end of his time as a designer for the brand. 

In 1992, Karl Lagerfeld returns to Chloé for a few years. During this time, he finds inspiration from several cultures, from classical to pop. He continues to create clothing that celebrates a “feminine and carefree romanticism”. 

In his Spring-Summer 1994 collection, he creates delicate and charming pieces. One of the notable garments was a sheer tulle dresses with hand-painted patterns inspired by the ancient frescoes of Santorini, Greece.^[7]Two years later, Lagerfeld changed the tone of the brand with his Spring Summer 1996 collection.  He strayed away from his classically romantic and flowing designs, and transitions into a more playful attitude that coincides with the modern spirit of pop culture.  Karl said the collection featured “modern romanticism” which is translated through sexy silhouettes accompanied by copper tones and bright shades of yellow, orange, and pink. Lagerfeld’s new designs were “brought to life by the famous 1990s supermodels whose larger-than-life personas defined this era”.^[8]In 1997, Karl is replaced by the fresh new- talent of Stella McCartney. 

Fendi: 1967-2019 

In 1925, the Fendi fashion house is founded in Rome by Adele and Edoardo Fendi. The store featured leather goods and a secret fur workshop. As the shop became successful, their five daughters started to get involved. The family business was full of bright energy and youthful ideas. In 1965, the overwhelming success caused the daughters to bring in the help of a young German designer, Karl Lagerfeld. Some like to say that Karl was the hand, and the sisters were the five fingers. One of Karl’s first developments for Fendi was the creation of one of the company’s first logos, the famous black and brown double F.

During the 1960s and 1970s, fur garments were become less desirable and becoming seen as “old-fashioned” and “bourgeois”. Lagerfeld sought to make fur accessible for women of all social classes and disassociate the garment from the luxury connotations. He began experimenting with tanning methods, weight, finishes, colors, and patterns. By 1966, he launched a colorful fur coat that was seen as scandalous, since previous fur garments had only been available in natural colors. This didn’t stop Lagerfeld from continuing to work with furs because in 1969, Fendi introduced a collection of fur garments that featured rabbit, mole, and squirrel… a first in high fashion!^[9]

Lagerfeld revolutionized the art of fur, both artistically and technically. He changed the manner in which fur was worn “by fully reinterpreting it, [and] transforming it into a fashionable, soft, light item of clothing”.^[10]His fur garments had eclectic inspirations such Eskimos, medieval armor, Japanese kimonos, and modern technology. Today, Fendi is still the only brand to have an “in-house fur atelier”.

 Lagerfeld had a similar approach to designing leather goods. Just like fur, he sought to expand the manner in which the leather was treated in order to create “unusual colors” and “new designs”. Lagerfeld and one of the Fendi daughters collaborated to create the first “it bag”, also known as the infamous Baguette. As you may have already guessed by the name, the handbag was inspired by the shape of French bread. You may recall this bag from an episode of Sex and the City, or seen it on the arm of celebrities like Madonna, Julia Roberts, and Naomi Campbell. Over the years, the Baguette has been reinterpreted over 5,000 times in several different materials and styles, and continues to be a cult favorite today. 

 In 1977, Lagerfeld introduced a women’s ready-to-wear line known as “365- a dress for every day of the year, for a woman who wants her fur and purse to match her dress”. Accompanying the collection launch was a film called “Histoire d’Eau”. It was created by Karl and his friend Jacque de Bascher, and it’s considered the first fashion film ever.^[11]The ready-to-wear collection succeeded and continued Fendi’s legacy of using fur in unique ways. Lagerfeld found ways of to combine fur with feathers, sequins, metals. His innovative designs were not the only thing that made his collections stand out. In 1993, Lagerfeld employed strippers and adult film stars to model a black and white collection he debuted at Milan Fashion Week. Anna Wintour was appalled by the show and walked out! Today, Fendi’s ready-to-wear has expanded in to menswear, shoes, eyewear, and fragrances. ^[12]

In 2015, Fendi branched out into the world of Haute Couture for the first time. Lagerfeld designed and presented his Haute Fourrure Collection in Paris. Once again, his designs: 

“explored the most extraordinary ways of working with rare and precious furs, combining it with elaborate embroideries and breath-taking techniques including the herringbone method of Gheronatura, and the introduction of new techniques including the silver fur effect.”^[13]

In 2016, the second Haute Couture collection for Fendi was revealed in a unique fashion show. A clear catwalk was placed over the flowing waters of the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome. Models appeared to be gliding over the top of the water while wearing enchanting gowns and furs.^[14]

Karl Lagerfeld was creative director of the brand for 54 years until his recent passing in January 2019. His final collection for Fendi was debuted at Milan Fashion Week in February 2019.  To pay homage to the legendary designer, models sported high collars and low ponytails. Today, the iconic double F logo is now referred to as ‘Karligraphy’.^[15]

Chanel: 1983-2019 

Karl Lagerfeld’s name is nearly synonymous with the brand Chanel, but it wasn’t always that way. In 1983, Chanel invited Lagerfeld to become its creative director. At the time, he was already juggling his role as creative director for both Chloé and Fendi. Fashion critics begged Karl not join the house of Chanel and claimed that the brand was dead and outdated. 

Fearlessly, Lagerfeld clapped back and said, “Chanel is the only couture house that I would be interested in updating. It’s the only one that could be modern. It’s a challenge. I like the idea.” ^[16]He then proceeded to exchange his position as creative director at Chloé for Chanel.

Gabrielle Chanel, also known as Coco, passed 10 years earlier. After her passing, the company focused on selling accessories and fragrances since those continued to bring in enough revenue to keep the brand afloat. Despite continuing to make couture lines, Chanel repeatedly seemed to be making copies of the late designer’s previous collections, with some minor changes. In addition, their ready-to-wear collections failed to make any kind of profit. ^[17]Thankfully, Karl saved Chanel from sinking. 

One of the first things Karl did was redefine and restructure the heritage of Gabrielle Chanel. Within the Chanel DNA, there is something called the “Chanel uniform”. The term was coined in the 1920s when Gabrielle revolutionized women’s fashion by creating a basic and practical wardrobe. Karl realized that many vintage Chanel pieces look contemporary because of their simplicity. He wanted to ensure that the brand maintained its classic and timeless aesthetic by creating guidelines for the brand to follow in each collection: tweed, little black dress, two-tone ballerina shoes, pearls, and the 2.55 double flap bag. Lagerfeld didn’t want to change Chanel, he wanted to radically modernize. 

Lagerfeld rejuvenated these basic pieces by pairing them with the unexpected—street culture. For example, he made grunge-styled garments from tweed. This combination proved to be a successful way to rebrand and revamp the brand. Karl famously said, “My job is not to do what she did, but what she would have done. The good thing about Chanel is it is an idea you can adapt to many things.”^[18]

Another way Lagerfeld achieved this was by using the interlocked CC monogram in a myriad of ways. The monogram was originally created in the 1930s and used as a part of the clasp on handbags. Lagerfeld’s imagination transformed this symbol by making it a print for clothing, costume jewelry, and chain belts.^[19]

Although you could endlessly discuss Lagerfeld’s ability to reinvent Chanel designs a million times over, he also managed to revive the Chanel runway through theatrical fashion shows. These elaborate spectacles costed a fortune, to which Lagerfeld replied, “For me, money is something you throw out the window, and then it comes back in through the door”. Primarily, these shows were done at the Grand Palais, but this Parisian monument would be nearly unrecognizable after Lagerfeld had transformed it into a stage for his collections. His boundless imagination resulted in several extravagant backdrops such as sandy beaches, snowy mountain chalets, cruise ships, and space ships. Some themes strived to mix the art of fashion with social and political statements. For example, one show featured a Chanel grocery store which was a commentary on Western consumerism, and another replicated a feminist protest in the streets in Paris. ^[20]

Thanks to Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel is considered a fashion powerhouse that leads the luxury fashion industry. After the passing of Chanel’s “Kaiser” (a nickname they for Karl), the brand has given the position of creative director to Virginie Viard, who worked closely with Lagerfeld for many years. In a public statement, Alain Wertheimer, the CEO of Chanel said: 

“Thanks to his creative genius, generosity and exceptional intuition, Karl Lagerfeld was ahead of his time, which widely contributed to the House of CHANEL’s success throughout the world. Today, not only have I lost a friend, but we have all lost an extraordinary creative mind to whom I gave carte blanche in the early 1980s to reinvent the brand.” ^[21]

Conclusion 

Karl Lagerfeld was a force to be reckoned with. His creativity and imagination knew no bounds. Over the course of half a century, Lagerfeld was an innovator in the fashion industry. For many, being the creative director of several fashion houses would have been too large of task. Karl’s ability to do this and consistently launch great collections was rare, and almost mythological. Despite being one man, he managed to compartmentalize each fashion house and create unique pieces that fit the personality and heritage of each house. Lagerfeld will impact several generations of fashion designers to come. 

---

^[1]Biography.com Editors. “Karl Lagerfeld.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 18 Apr. 2019, http://www.biography.com/fashion-designer/karl-lagerfeld.

^[2]“About the Man.” Karl Lagerfeld, http://www.karl.com/experience/en/biography/.

^[3]Fenn , Dominique. “The History of Chloé.” Globalblue, 27 Nov. 2014, http://www.globalblue.com/destinations/france/paris/the-history-of-chloe.

^[4]“Maison Chloé.” Chloé Official Website, http://www.chloe.com/experience/us/maison/.

^[5]Bumpus, Jessica. “The Forgotten Past Of Some Of Fashion’s Biggest Names.” Vogue, British Vogue, 6 Feb. 2019, http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-forgotten-past-of-fashions-biggest-names.

^[6]Salter, Steve. “The Importance of Karl Largerfeld to Chloé.” I, VICE, 28 Feb. 2019, i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/59xjma/the-importance-of-karl-largerfeld-to-chloe.

^[7]Grosso, Caroline. “French Fashion House Chloé Has a History of Turning Designers Into Superstars–Just Ask Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney.” W Magazine, W Magazine, 17 Mar. 2017, http://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/chloe-fashion-designer-history/all.

^[8]Fashion, 90S, director. Chloe Spring 1996 Collection. YouTube, YouTube, 10 Aug. 2015, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnjZEuLbeb0.

^[9]Reinach, Simona Segre. “Fendi.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/fendi.

^[10]“Fendi, High End Ready-to-Wear – Fashion & Leather Goods.” LVMH, LVMH, http://www.lvmh.com/houses/fashion-leather-goods/fendi/.

^[11]Belverio, Glenn, et al. “Fendi in Rome, 1977. Apparently It’s the First Fashion Film in History. By Glenn Belverio.” A Shaded View on Fashion, 24 Dec. 2016, ashadedviewonfashion.com/2014/05/14/fendi-rome-1977-apparently-its-first-fashion-film-history-glenn-belverio/.

^[12]Anderson, James, and Campbell Addy. “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Fendi.” I, VICE, 27 Apr. 2018, i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/qvxqpb/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-fendi.

^[13]Judge, Lindsay. “The Textile History Of Fendi.” A&E Magazine, 11 Jan. 2018, aeworld.com/fashion/in-focus/the-textile-history-of-fendi-fur/.

^[14]Martin, J.J. “Karl Lagerfeld Opens Up About His 50 Years with Fendi.” Harper’s BAZAAR, Harper’s BAZAAR, 5 Oct. 2017, http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a17910/karl-lagerfeld-fendi-collaboration/.

^[15]Style, SCMP, director. Karl Lagerfeld’s Last Fendi Show at Milan Fashion Week 2019. YouTube, YouTube, 24 Feb. 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taLAcdSPyo.

^[16]Weir, June. “THE DESIGNER WHO ‘DESTROYS THE PAST.’” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Aug. 1982, http://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/15/magazine/fashion-the-designer-who-destroys-the-past.html

^[17]Stafyeva , Elena. “Why Chanel Would Cease to Exist Without Karl Lagerfeld .” Vintage Voyage, 22 Feb. 2019, vinvoy.com/blog/chanel-without-karl-lagerfeld/.

^[18]Williams, Bre. “Karl Lagerfeld: How The Iconic Chanel Designer Changed The World of Fashion.” The Cheat Sheet, The Cheat Sheet, 19 Feb. 2019, http://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/karl-lagerfeld-how-the-iconic-chanel-designer-changed-the-world-of-fashion.html/.

^[19]Andrew , Brittany. “How Karl Lagerfeld Saved Chanel.” Couture USA, 5 July 2016, coutureusa.com/blogs/news/how-karl-lagerfeld-saved-chanel/.

^[20]Lang, Cady. “See Karl Lagerfeld’s Most Creative Chanel Fashion Shows.” Time, Time, 19 Feb. 2019, time.com/5532582/karl-lagerfeld-best-chanel-fashion-shows/

^[21]Chanel Official . “Karl Lagerfeld.” CHANEL, 2019, http://www.chanel.com/us/fashion/karl-lagerfeld/.

Androgynous fashion is tearing down the walls of a gendered society. 

Throughout history and still today, androgynous fashion is a force behind political movements and defining identity. Stories of cross-dressing have existed in nearly every culture since the beginning of time, but in the 1910s a woman named Gabrielle Chanel changed the game by giving women the gift of pants. For many, this is considered the birth of androgynous fashion. It wasn’t women in pants trying to be men, rather it was women wearing pants while still being women. Ironically, this coincided with the beginning of the Women’s Suffrage. For the next several decades, movie stars like Katherine Hepburn and designers like Yves Saint Laurent continued to push the envelope on women’s fashion. 

Despite the radical changes in acceptable women’s apparel, men experienced little no changes until the late 1960s. Known as the Peacock Revolution, this counter-culture movement was hailed in by David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles. These music icons played with feminine silhouettes by wearing heeled boots, skinny jeans, and ruffled shirts. Men began to shake loose from the conforms of masculinity without questioning their sexuality. Perhaps no one did this better than the legendary Prince, who wore go-go boots and sequins while maintaining his image as a sex icon for women. In addition, the rebellious tone set by rock bands of the 1970s-80s inspired many men to sport pierced ears, eyeliner, painted nails, and long hair. 

In the grand scheme of things, the fashion leaps made by men were miniscule in comparison to those made by women. Dr. Myles Lascity, a journalism professor and the director of the Fashion Media program at SMU, believes that this is evident through the assumption that “if something is going to become unisex or gender neutral, it’s always the men’s side that takes precedent…It wasn’t ever the female garments, but now we have a trend of it going the other way,” he said. 

Lascity thinks the fluidity from the other direction (men to women’s garments) was largely started by Jaden Smith when he modeled for Louis Vuitton in a skirt. In spite of all this, he was quick to note that this trend may not get much traction:

“There’s a difference in what Jaden Smith is doing… this very sort of high end fashion as art element, on the red carpet and in advertising campaigns and what not, in comparison to everyday wear. There’s haute couture, and then there is what we are wearing… And we are moving towards athleisure wear and less formality. A skirt in general is a much more formal attire. It’s sort of sad to say, but if we are going to see unisex fashion, it’s going to be in the athleisure wear, and not necessarily guys in skirts,” Lascity said. 

Even though gender fluidity may only fit the formality of a runway or red-carpet, it has become more visible in the media and gives a voice to people who don’t conform to the social constructs of gender. For example, Fred Holston, identifies as non-binary and works for the Kim Dawson Modeling Agency in Dallas. One of the reasons they entered the fashion industry is because they were attracted to the nonverbal communication of identity that style provides. Unfortunately, displaying their true identity hasn’t always come easy:

“I can speak to my experiences as someone who was assigned male at birth adopting more feminine characteristics/presentation, and the ways in which that has created some potentially unsafe and uncomfortable situations for me. For example, in childhood—characteristics perceived as male manifesting in a young girl is often met with the endearing title of “tomboy”, but when femme characteristics manifest in children assigned male—there isn’t necessarily an equivalent terminology, and often this behavior is feared or discouraged,” Holston said. 

Thankfully there are people who want to change the way we wear, advertise, and talk about fashion.  Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, is spearheading this movement in the luxury fashion industry. In 2016, he decided to combine the men’s and women’s shows together—ditching the idea of separate, gendered collections. On any Gucci runway, you can expect to see men in dresses and sequins, and women in suits. Gucci also released a short fashion film called “The Future is Fluid” which features 13 young people from around the world to tell the story of how they are blurring the lines and redefining the world “through a prism of fluidity”. Gucci ambassador, Harry Styles, has become an icon for his gender fluid style and co-chaired the annual fashion event of the year, the Met Gala. 

The theme of the 2019 Met Gala was Camp, which is defined as the “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration” according to Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay. The origins of Camp date back to queer culture in the 17^thcentury, and is often associated with androgyny and drag. “We’re experiencing a resurgence of camp not only in fashion, but in culture in general. Camp tends to come during times of cultural instability,” Andrew Bolton, the curator of The Costume Exhibit said. Fashion journalists and critics were quick to associate the theme as a response to the “age of toxic masculinity in Trump’s America.” 

The Camp theme inspired some of the world’s most honorable and recognizable men to cross countless gendered fashion boundaries for the event. Some of the most notable looks being: Billy Porter, Ezra Miller, Jared Leto, Hamish Bowles, Ryan Murphy, Alessandro Michele, Harry Styles and Darren Criss. As these men walked up the pink carpeted steps of the Met, they broke the traditional masculine molds by sporting sequins, fur capes, earrings, painted nails, heels, dresses, crowns, ruffles, and makeup. Despite the fact that Camp is supposed to be excessive and outrageous, these Met Gala looks will inspire us to view fashion in a different way. 

As society progresses, we can see a direct correlation between the rise of androgynous fashion and the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly gender identification rights. Gender is a social construct that is many times reinforced through clothing. So what better way to fight the system than redefining it with its own weapons? Fashion is a tool of expression, experimentation, and celebration. If there is one thing we can learn from watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, it’s that the only things to be taken seriously in life are love and kindness. Therefore, everything else in life should be ridiculous, exciting, and hysterical, so were whatever you want. Clothing has no gender.