Models Embrace the #MeTooMovement

At the upcoming Milan Fashion week, designer Miucci Prada is expected to take the fashion industry by storm. She explained her muse for the runway: “My excuse for the show was the freedom of a woman in the night, super-sexy without being bothered. Both powerful and feminine.” Prada’s line for the 2018 show this September aligns itself particularly well with the #MeToo Movement, as she continues to rebel against conformity and push the political boundaries of traditional fashion.

Prada’s phD in political science has not gone unrequited in the fashion industry. In fact, it catalyzes the collision between dress and gender norms; an intersection that has always been a part of her brand. In her 2018 Spring/Summer collection, she wanted to pushback against forces threatening women’s rights, particularly feeling urgency under Trump’s new presidency. Prada described her active, militant inspired line: “I am suggesting militant women in a very practical way… Through clothes.” Her line included prints of hand drawings from cartoonists’ and manga artists’ work from the 30’s and 60’s. This non-conformist attitude is nothing new to Prada. She launched the ugly-chic look in the 90’s, clearly standing out from the beauty norms exhibited in the rest of Milan Fashion week. The #MeToo movement’s infiltration of the fashion industrymay have influenced Prada’s new line for this September.

The #MeToo movement supports women survivors and intends to prevent future victims of sexual assault- issues particularly relevant in the modeling world today. While models are constantly changing in and out of clothes, being touched and adjusted on a regular basis, the line drawn to what is necessary for the job and what is predatory and manipulative can easily be crossed. Models including Kate Upton and Sara Sampaio released detailed personal experiences with sexual assault this past fall. An initiative made by CFDA and Model Alliance requires private changing spaces backstage behind the runway. These efforts are a reaction to the vulnerability that comes with modeling. Now people are having the courage to implement change. Prada’s vision for women is to feel protected in whatever they wish to wear at any time of day, even going on to say that a woman should feel free to wear nothing at all.

Although Prada’s models did not walk the runway completely nude, their dress was definitely liberated from the norm. She paired working garments and practical apparel such as rain boots with evening wear/gowns, layered wool ski-like garments against neon and chiffon, and had models in cocktail dresses wearing official looking ID badges. Both clearly feminine with added practicality, these designs allude to a sense of protection or surveillance with the ID badges. Prada challenges the traditional dimensions of every material she uses, continuing to innovate and recreate what is considered high fashion.

There is a clear imbalance in her collection. Unconventional pairings are exaggerated to show the contrast between classical elements of girlhood and defensive armor. Prada intentionally confronts the art world, and its criticism of the fashion world with these costume-like outfits including bold embellishments and non-traditional materials used for garments. Like the #MeToo movement, Prada promotes femininity and strength in a cohesive and forceful union through what she knows best: fashion.