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HISTORY OF FASHION A LESSON FOR CHILEAN WOMEN
Or Are Bachelet And Alvear Just Flavor Of The Month?
(Dec. 7, 2004) Women are “in.” In a country with a female Nobel laureate, two potential female presidential candidates and more female business executives and entrepreneurs everyday, females are all the rage. After many years, experts say women have gained an “active” role in society. I ask myself, was their role passive before the media put female characters before the Chilean public eye? I think not.
Seeking answers, I began reading a number of fashion history books. Since I believe fashion is about more than pretty garments, supermodels and advertising, I have started to research the importance of fashion in the female population and, more importantly, the significance of fashion in changing the female social role.
Ever since the Middle Ages, when men took to wearing tights, the female form of dressing has been in constant evolution. During my visits to clothing museums, I’ve discovered the significance of each garment during the different historical periods. Today, at the beginning of the 21st century, I look back and see a great change in clothing, after the Second World War.
Dressing has always been a form of expression, in a personal and social manner. Now that the female role has become more publicly acclaimed, it is even more so. A woman named Coco had a lot to do with the change experienced during the last century. Many years after her death, a male designer took over her legacy. He is now the world’s best-known designer and one of his collections is the most awaited by reporters: Chanel, by Karl Lagerfeld.
Yes, Coco did a lot. She democratized the female business suit. Her look, described as dark and mannish by many, took over the world. Now, I look around the streets of Santiago and wonder if Chanel ever thought her creativity could go so far. This year, her influence has been manifested with the use of a fabric flower pin on our flared tweed blazers. I’ve concluded that women haven’t had such a passive role but their influence has not been “covered” by the media as much as men’s. For instance, look beyond the Andes and you’ll see a great number of Argentine women following Evita’s legacy of glamour.
However, I find it worthless to speak of many female achievements in Chile. Women have become the “item” of the season. The capacity issue has become more of a gender issue. During the last weeks, I have heard a number of people state that Bachelet and Alvear would mean a change for Chile. What a great marketing strategy, I think, for a country whose divorce law has been running since less than a month. I still haven’t heard much of Bachelet’s or Alvear’s presidential plans. Instead, I’ve heard numerous fashion critiques regarding their skirts and hair color. Serious journalists and politicians describe Bachelet’s legacy of fighting for the country after what happened to her father, her role of being a single mom, the torture she suffered after being arrested by male officers. Every time she is introduced, it is under the female role, which takes us to the immediate thought of her as a victim of men. The female character and her “emotions” are what Chile speaks about.
Chamantos were given as the country’s official souvenir during the APEC Leader’s Meeting. Only eight women were responsible for the making of the 21 chamantos, for no one else had the skills to make the delicate reversible hand-made garments worth about three thousand dollars each. After the official picture, I read and watched journalists speak of the teary-eyed ladies, watching the leaders on TV. I wonder why their importance is so disregarded. Why don’t journalists go beyond the superficiality of those images and think of the Chilean tradition that is being lost, instead of focusing on banalities? These women’s tears meant a lot more than emotion. They mean years of work to keep a part of our culture alive, finally having the chance of putting their work under the world’s gaze. Does this mean their role has been passive until now? I think not.
I turned to Spanish female communications expert, Almudena Semur, and asked her about female equality in the business world nowadays, especially in Chile, where it seems to be the latest fashion.
“Only when we see as many mid-ranking females as there are men, filling corporate positions and making business decisions, then we will have achieved equality,” Semur said.
I found her words to be a great answer. Until we believe that a woman is fit for an important seat, we – as women – will only be regarded as accessories, for the image of a country in great need of internal change. If Bachelet or Alvear reach La Moneda, they’d better wear their best Chanel look and address workers as powerfully as Evita, and shake Bush’s hand as strongly as Lagos did, or else no change will have taken place and they will once again be described by the media as “weak women, in desperate need of a make over and a strong partner.” Only time will tell if they are truly capable of wearing the presidential band and fulfilling a leader’s duty, or if they are only their political party’s accessory of the season.
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| Courtesy of bacheletpresidente.cl |
| Is Bachelet just flavor of the month? |
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