The female power suit

Coco Chanel – the ultimate woman of style and symbol of emancipation – believed that trousers gave women a sense of freedom. Today, women’s suits are synonymous with elegance, success and self-worth; in the past, they were a true manifesto in the name of gender equality. Is the return of suits to womenswear a sign of yet another change?

Fashion emancipation

While discussing a male cut on a female figure, it’s impossible to avoid references to women’s emancipation movements and the fight for women’s rights. But let’s start at the beginning.

Less than a hundred years ago, the idea of women wearing trousers was considered immoral and outrageous. When at the end of the 19th century actress Sara Bernhardt dared to enter a café dressed in a trouser suit as part of a political provocation, the response was exactly that. The actress was asked to leave the café and her behavior caused a scandal. However, it was around that time that Elizabeth Smith Miller created a pioneering design of women’s trousers, which she called „bloomers” (after women’s rights activist Amelia Bloomer).The design was inspired by traditional Turkish pantaloons.

Suits and the female dandy

During World War I, women working in the heavy industry started wearing suits as uniforms. However, introducing the women’s suit to high society was a challenge that could only be taken on by Coco Chanel. Even before the outbreak of the Great War, she created a suit for women consisting of a coat and matching long skirt. Incorporating functional trousers into her collections took a few more years and they were finally available in the mid-1930s.

The controversial ideas of the French fashion designer were popularized by Marlene Dietrich, who played the role of a femme fatale in Morocco smoking a cigarette and wearing a top hat and a tuxedo. Her style was dubbed the female dandy and that is how she dressed off the silver screen, which caused the outrage of local authorities and almost lead to legal action.

Empowering women

Yves Saint Laurent is considered to be the father of the modern suit, but in 1964 Andre Courreges gave the world the simple, form-fitting pantsuit for women, which was appropriate both as daytime and evening wear. Finally, in 1966 Saint Laurent showed Le Smoking, a collection designed to highlight feminine sex appeal, beauty and self-confidence.

This idea is also shared by Riccardo Tisci, creative director of Givenchy, who says that putting women in men’s clothes brings out their true beauty, independence and sensuality. Ever since the empowered look became fashionable, designers have given free rein to their imagination when it comes to variations on the classical women’s suit – Tory Burch offers a wool suit in pink, Gucci and Balenciaga make references to the ‘70s, and Alexander McQueen puts a futuristic spin on the tuxedo. On the runway, women’s suits are mostly made of wool, as well as glossy silk and soft velvet.