WHAT WOMEN DESIGNERS WANT
ELLE US|March 2024
Women are the beating heart of fashion, but female designers remain underrepresented in the industry. Here, 13 of the best on how their identities shape them, and how they’re pushing for change.
Véronique Hyland
WHAT WOMEN DESIGNERS WANT

Diane von Furstenberg has never forgotten what a well-known male designer once told her: “Women make clothes. Men make costume.”

It was a dictum that has stuck with her for years, and one that she personally believes has some merit. After all, she says in her delicious Belgian drawl, "Madeleine Vionnet invented the bias cut. And what does bias do? It creates stretch in a woven fabric. Women understand the movement of the body; women understand body language in terms of function. At the end, fashion is not art, it's design. And design is about functionality."

It's certainly true that several prominent female-led labels have helped push fashion in a more practical, comfort-oriented direction: In addition to Vionnet's bias cut, there are the flowing pants popularized by Coco Chanel, the sportswear of Claire McCardell, and the proto athleisure of Norma Kamali. But alongside them have been women who've created elaborate, delightfully impractical fashion-as-art, from Rei Kawakubo to Iris van Herpen.

So female designers are certainly not monolithic in their approach. But they do have one thing in common: They continue to be underrepresented at the highest echelons of the industry. In honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, ELLE interviewed designers at the helms of brands about their touchstones, how their gender identity informs their work (if it does), and what fashion can do to correct the imbalance.

Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av ELLE US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra March 2024-utgaven av ELLE US.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ELLE USSe alt
The Surreal Life of Tyla - Inside the dizzying, meteoric rise of a true African pop star.
ELLE US

The Surreal Life of Tyla - Inside the dizzying, meteoric rise of a true African pop star.

The night before the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tyla was unusually calm. The South African singer was about to give a surprise performance at the Prelude to the Olympics, held at the Fondation Louis Vuitton and attended by celebrities from Zendaya to LeBron James.I was asked to do the event by Pharrell [Williams, Louis Vuitton Men's creative director], so it was insane-an instant 'Yes, she says. Sometimes I'm nervous, like I'm really nervous. But this time, Tyla looked forward to the show the entire day.

time-read
8 mins  |
October 2024
Wellness - Amazing Grace - Actress Toks Olagundoye was making people laugh on TV while managing intense treatments for breast cancer.
ELLE US

Wellness - Amazing Grace - Actress Toks Olagundoye was making people laugh on TV while managing intense treatments for breast cancer.

My work makes me really happy, says Toks Olagundoye, an acting veteran who plays Olivia Finch on the Paramount+ reboot of Frasier. That's one reason she stuck with the hit show's first season despite a shock diagnosis: During the course of preparing for and filming the series, as well as Paramount+'s Fatal Attraction, she underwent chemotherapy and six surgeries to treat breast cancer. Feeling healthy ahead of Frasier's Season 2 launch on September 19, she talks to ELLE about her healing story.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024
Shanghai Rising - An international fashion presence and an appreciation for the city's own talent are powering a renaissance in China's largest city.
ELLE US

Shanghai Rising - An international fashion presence and an appreciation for the city's own talent are powering a renaissance in China's largest city.

A year ago, Louis Vuitton wrapped the giant warehouse space housing Fotografiska Shanghai in electric blue. The occasion? "Nóng Hó, Shanghai" (Shanghainese for "Hello, Shanghai"), a four-week cultural festival of book clubs, architecture tours, and live music to promote the maison's City Guide Series. "Everything was built in 48 hours, whereas in London that would've taken weeks," says Shem Jacobs, a recent transplant to Shanghai and Fotografiska's director of partnerships, Asia. "The efficiency here is really amazing."

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024
The Power of Kindness
ELLE US

The Power of Kindness

To mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, Lauren Sánchez and Nina Garcia come together for a conversation about identity, education, and civility.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2024
The Gift of Ketanji Brown Jackson
ELLE US

The Gift of Ketanji Brown Jackson

In an exclusive profile and a new memoir, the history-making Supreme Court justice is telling her story.

time-read
9 mins  |
October 2024
Gaining Momentum
ELLE US

Gaining Momentum

Vaccines, targeted meds, and a new way to stop hair loss? Breast cancer research is reaching a breakthrough point.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024
The Miami Glam Squad
ELLE US

The Miami Glam Squad

The city's rising cohort of beauty entrepreneurs is leading the Latine beauty boom.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2024
Golden DAYS
ELLE US

Golden DAYS

Tiffany & Co. pays tribute to Elsa Peretti's legacy.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2024
THE CULT OF COZY SEASON
ELLE US

THE CULT OF COZY SEASON

Forget \"New year, new you.\" Fall has us all turning over a new sartorial leaf.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024
Scarlet WOMAN
ELLE US

Scarlet WOMAN

For one Latina novelist, reclaiming the color red turns out to be the ultimate power move.

time-read
2 mins  |
October 2024