Stop being an ass, Karl.
The Mulleavy sisters are holding it down in the US. Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo continue to dominate the Paris runways. Miuccia Prada is being celebrated as an icon within her lifetime. And the editorial circle reads like a sorority roster, with only a few honorary male members sprinkled in. It turns out Who Run the World is a rhetorical question.So will someone kindly tell me why exactly we’re still allowing men in fashion—in our world—to get away with unacceptable behavior? Karl Lagerfeld, I’m looking at you. If you make one more snide comment about a woman’s weight or one of her body parts, I may have to knock your sunglasses off with your own 2.55. Look around you, darling. Not only are female designers taking over, but your customers are executives, lawyers, supermoms and all around not a breed to be messed with. You don’t get to the point in your life of being able to afford a Chanel jacket by standing around and wondering if your ass looks better than your face. Comprenez vous?Of course, no conversation on this topic would be complete without mentioning Creepy Uncle Terry. Seriously, who let this guy in? In what universe do magazines publish articles on the plight of women around the world and then hire a photog who’s personally responsible for 0.02% of all sexual harassment? Of all time. Look it up.
The bottom line is this: Maybe we would have had to put up with this in the era when Coco was still calling the shots and Terry was the creepy kid on the playground, but we’ve come a long way, baby. These guys are lucky we even let them play, and maybe it’s time we reminded them of that. With all due respect, Men’s Fashion Week is pretty much like, whatever. Oh look, ties are getting wider again. Fashion is about us. It’s an industry of women, by women and for women. Let’s ensure it’s one that supports women as well.
