Women's HERstory Month: Inspiring and Powerful Women in the Fashion Industry

Though fashion today is still considered a male-dominated industry, the consumer focus has always been on women and womenswear. Trends, colors, and movements of any sort can usually be trickled down and pinpointed to the origin of a female muse. Another successful woman in the fashion industry is the late Vivienne Westwood who began pioneering designs in the punk and romanticism scenes in the 70s with inspiration that came from London and traveled across the pond to New York City. She shifted the fashion industry to begin to look at design in a more sustainable way and was always outspoken about capitalism and its role in society. 

What made Vivienne so special was that she constantly fought for human rights and civil liberties. A trailblazer in more ways than one. As we move further into Women’s History Month and past International Women’s Day, I think we can all take key notes from Ms. Westwood’s gull and drive, not only from the beginning of her career but throughout her entire legacy. Another theme to take away from the influential women in fashion is how intersectional their efforts have been through fashion, music, interior design, and other artistic mediums, which all communicate with and through one another. Similarly, women within the US and internationally, have made their mark through representation and by using their voices to challenge the status quo.

Representation holds significant weight as a means of importance and celebration today, throughout history, and for the future. In the effort to continue to highlight successful women in the fashion industry, the following are names of ethnic representations via fashion runways and editorials.

• Donyale Luna – First Black model for Harper’s Bazaar (1965) & British Vogue (1966)
• Beverly Johnson – First Black model for Glamour Magazine (1971) & Vogue (1974)
• Talisa Soto – First Hispanic model for Vogue (1989)
• Brandi Quinones – First Biracial model for Elle France (1994)
• Helena Christensen – First Peruvian-Danish model for Vogue Italia (1994)
• Gisele Bündchen – First Brazilian model for Vogue (1999)
• Caroline Trentin – First Brazilian model for Vogue Russia (2004)
• Arlenis Sosa – First Dominican model for Vogue Italia (2011)
• Joan-Smalls Rodriguez – First Afro-Latina model for Vogue (2017)

International Women’s Day is an annual date when US History highlights the women-led labor strike of 1857 at a textile factory in New York City. Several workwomen stormed the streets to protest against poor working conditions and unequal rights for women. Their goal was to bring a change in pay wages and shorter work days. These efforts sparked uproar across the country as there were so many women of different descent protesting for one common goal. International Women’s Day was officially recognized by the United States in 1975.

In the spirit of International Women’s Day, I asked a few of our students what the day meant to them. The answers I received and the conversations we explored fell into categories of the celebration of historic efforts, pride in being a woman, and appreciation of our acknowledgment of the art world as a whole. As a first-generation Dominican-American aspiring designer, I couldn’t agree more and take pride in being able to celebrate integral women in history and deeply encourage any efforts that aid us in foraging for a better future!