Feminism, Fashion and the Future: Dior SS15 Haute Couture Show Review

Figure 1: Dior Spring/Summer 2015 Collection, designed by Raf Simons and shown at Paris Fashion week.

 

Figure 2: Dior 1954 ‘New Look’ Dress. The ‘New Look’ dress put Dior on the map, after having been founded in 1947.

Figure 3: Photograph of ‘New Look’ suit
 Designed by Christian Dior
 Photographed by John French
London, England
 1947 
V&A John French archive

Dior’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection stood out from the rest. In comparison to the splatter of metal and floral feminism that made up the Chanel show, or the musical, glittery and colourful extravaganza that was Jean Paul Gaultiers last Ready-To-Wear show; Dior’s collection brought a touch of taste, minimalism and serenity to the otherwise chaotic Paris fashion week.

Raf Simons was inspired by three themes. Both traditional men and women’s dress from the Belle Époque, the idea of the future, and the notion of the ‘Modern’ woman and what that meant. I believe Raf Simons achieved all three; his collection embodies a fresh take on 18th century royal French attire; with traditional details such as dark thick calf leather, richly dyed silk jacquards, and swaggering bishop sleeves- yet with the twist of being free and unrestrictive. This is where the futuristic aspect weaves in; in the past when designers revisit 18th century, the soft and feminine silhouettes they create, in reality, are anything but.

Raf Simons believes the definition of a modern woman is a woman that’s free; which chimes in beautifully with the chorus of feminism seen at Paris Fashion week. An example of Raf’s Vision of a free Modern woman is Emma Watson. Because of her, Dior’s cheer for feminism was not only seen on the runways, but also in the U.N. At the launch of her HeForShe campaign, as if on cue, wore Dior.

But has Dior always been an advocate? Of course, Christian Dior and the brand have always been devoted women’s strive for beauty and glamour, but have they always been devoted to women’s strive for rights?

Women spent the duration of WW2 adapting to more powerful professions, left behind by their husbands, fathers, and brothers. In 1945, when the war was over, and the men were back, women were sent back to mother and cook. This is reflected in the spring 1947 New Look (see Figure 2, 3). With masculinity, came power; Dior’s New Look brought about a feminine silhouette that came at the cost of a corset. With no masculine silhouette, no more masculine rights- this meant a drain of power for women.

Dior has evolved; and the 2015 Collection just shows how far they have come. A similar silhouette to the New Look can be seen, however the crucial difference is that this female silhouette is no longer restricted: she is free.

Even the details scream a free woman, no longer restricted by stereotypes of a woman; the sharp cut lines, boy shorts, clinical white, knee length, the shocking colours and harsh bodices; versus the soft eyelets, embroidery, the flowing fabrics, waist definition, exposed backs and the pastel pinks and blues: all facilitate the overall look of a feminine yet androgynous woman with power emanating from her head to heels.

This juxtaposition of man and woman, Dior then and Dior now, fashion in the past and future, all culminate to represent what Raf Simons vision of the Modern Dior woman, as well as represent how she came to be.

-Josephine Vermilye

Three Summery Ways to Wear Plaits!

For most of us girls who skii, plaits are the only option.

Pigtails, braids, ponytails, loose? Not an option.

Plaits are bound at the ends (no hairband headaches when stuck under your helmet), go straight down either side of your head, keep your ears warm!!, minimise Post-Skii-Helmet-Removal frizz and fuzz, and whats more look super cute/cool at lunch time or Apres-Skii!

Now I'm a very lazy girl. But that's not always a bad thing.

Long hair is as much of a nuisance in the winter as in the summer.

So I undo my plaits pre-shower and redo my plaits post shower.

Skii-Shower-Braid-Eat-Sleep-Repeat.

From this I have developed two key 'styles' (more like side effects).

The first is 'The Slept in, Messy Plaits' which give them an edge.

The second is the 'Polished Perfect Partially Wet Hair Plaits' which give them a sleeker look.

Both of which feature in these three looks.

My essential and reoccurring hairstyle of messy to clean plaits while on this most recent skii trip to Aspen, Colorado!

From upper left to bottom right: 1. Clean plaits! 2. Messy plaits (but mums plaits are clean)
3. Messy in a skii lift mid skii 4. Clean plaits along with apres skii root beer float
 5. fresh on the slopes with clean plaits 6. and finally last day messy sweaty plaits.

With skii season wrapping, I've been testing different ways to wear plaits so I can seamlessly segway them from winter to summer. These are the three styles i'm most looking forward to wearing them with. So without further ado...

Feminine Yet Hardball Street Style Look

The messy feminine plaits soften the harsh colours, graphics, chain and overall hardball street-ness.

Top and bottom: Feminine plaits on top, pink Chanel flats on bottom, and street in-between.

Moschino SS15 Jumper: Barbie Inspired Collection

 Christian Dior three Chain Necklace: Borrowed from mum.

Pink Chanel Ballet Flats: Second Hand Store Find

These were my favourite jeans until they got ruined.

The trick for safety pin DIY Jeans is to mix up the sizes of the pins. 

Essential: Make sure you get at least TWO of these XL Retro Saftey Pins.

 Moschino Bracelet: Net a Porter x V&A in Vintage Jewlery 

(Seriously check it out. Such good prices.)

Vintage Earrings brought a different retro aspect to the outfit.

But big earrings, of any kind: clip on, vintage, one on one side, are very in this summer.

Whatever your views of Iggy Azalea (can she sing? Has she had plastic surgery? Is that really what an Australian accent sounds like?)  It's undeniable that her fashion sense, just like her impressively pear shaped figure has had a large impact. 

To put it bluntly, she has taken rap and the traditional black culture that surrounds it, and repackaged it in a white.. Australian way. Like it, Love it, or Hate it... the female gangster look is... in?

The Half 'Teenager-at-a-Festival', Half 'Middle-Aged-Mother' Look

Middle Aged Mother                 v.s.                   Festival Teenager

A classy, vintage, Louis Vuitton Bag - but it's a backpack. With a foxtail on it.

Loose fitting, unripped, monochrome dyed, practical jeans - paired with a tummy exposing crop top.

Classic refined smoking slippers - with fat diamond encrusted gold heel. oh. and leopard print.

Elegant vintage gold and black clip on earrings - with fun cool club master sunglasses

but..  Plaits   -    Plaits 

This one can go both ways!

See why I insist on sleeping in my plaits? Soft, whispey, feminine, and most certainly effortless!

LV saying hello.

 My leopard print shoes, Louis Vuitton backpack + Foxy, and hair all match colour scheme, tying the outfit together from top to bottom.

I've admiringly dubbed these shoes my Las Vegas shoes, because I wore them the first time I visited. They scream faux-luxe, tackiness, Hugh Hefner, arrogance, flashiness, and bling bling. 

But that's why I love them!

Plaits are also fun because they lure innocent people into a false sense of security... 

when in reality... I could take them down in a fight...

 Louis Sitting Pretty. 

(Who I got for a pretty fee too! From the same Second Hand Store as my Chanel shoes!)

Navajo, New Mexico, Yellow.

Plaits + Native American inspired look = Can't go wrong.

Turquoise, tassels, brown leather and lace; all make up the traits that are inspired by Navajo women.

                     

Can you paint with all the colours of the wind? Pocahontas moment.

Gorgeous suede skirt with (cow) ivory beading, and such beautiful tassels.

American Indian turquoise and and silver from the Navajo tribe in New Mexico.

Navajo Princess!

Here is a good place to pause. 

My grandparents live in New Mexico; so it's a place I hold dear to heart.

The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American governed territory, that straddles part of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. It is the largest plot of land owned by any Native American Tribe. 

I tend to think of America as a whole; with all the stereotypical traits of New Yorkers, Texans, Floridians (lived with them!), Bostonians (Studied with them!) as miniature american cultures.

But Native American culture is so much bigger, richer, because its older than all of those miniature cultures. It's so un-american (considering all the traits I associate with the adjective american)

That is why many draw so much inspiration from the Navajo tribe alone; it's a huge culture.

With its own language, food, and of course way of dressing. Unfortunately it's adapted and modernised today due to globalisation (like everywhere else in the world), but there is a wealth of tradition and records to admire. The reason I brought this up is because although Navajo culture does still exist today, it does not exist happily. Many problems burden the nation, but predominantly it's coal mining 'curse' (as this documentary dubs it).

This is the trailer for the Vice documentary. The documentary itself is only 15 minutes long. If this interests you, it's interesting to watch and learn about. At the end of this year I'm donating to The National Parks and Conservation Association which has a great plan to reduce pollution of this coal-fired power plant that is causing so many health issues. 

You can too- if you wanted- if that was something you were interested in. Click on the link above!

For this last look I cleaned up my plaits a bit. 

Just this once...

I hope you all enjoy! If you are inspired by any of these ideas you know I'd love to see! You can post them in to comments of this post on Rogue Gone Vogue's Facebook page!

Happy belated Easter! -J xxx

My PR Internship at Ralph Lauren

This February I had the momentuous opportunity to work as a PR intern in Ralph Lauren's Press office in their flagship store (New Bond/Cork Street) in London.
It was the most demanding, busiest, hardest thing I've ever had to do: but it was exhilarating and I enjoyed every minute of it to the core.

I was working at Ralph Lauren for the month of February, in a team of four. I worked under and alongside my two incredibly inspiring bosses; and got to know two other lovely girls and fellow interns, Jess and Charlotte, throughout my month. As well as everyone else (it seemed) who worked in the building!

I have an unbelievable amount of things I want to share with you, but you have to understand that as part of my responsibility is representing Ralph Lauren, there are a few things I will have to leave out.
But I do hope you can still share my excitement with me as you read along (even if I can't say who)!

What did I do?
In a nutshell: I booked courriers to pick up and drop off clothes from us to magazines/VIPs; I checked out clothes by writing up a docket. Every morning I went through the newspapers, supplements and sometimes magazines to find RL in the Press. I then scanned them to perfection, edited them, and saved them.

I packed and unpacked clothes in Large/Medium/Small Bags, Suitors, Boxes etc. These were to be sent to Paris, Milan, New York, or so close to Bond Street I'd drop it off by hand as I left.
We sent out clothes for photo shoots to publications such as Vogue, GQ, Evening Standard, W, Roller coaster, Glamour, Marie Claire, Esquire, Golf World; You name it, we sent it.


I sent off many candles and bags as thank you gifts to various fashion kings and queens. Odd jobs included updating a contact list of everyone in the fashion industry's title and e-mail (Vogue Russia was an interesting one to type out), organising closets (my OCD heaven), and hand delivering one of a kind garments to a celebrity's hotel room the night before the Brit Awards!! (see excitement below in elevator and taxi)

My oh my where do I start? I will split this up like the neat freak I am: in a list!

10 Things I Learned While Working at Ralph Lauren

1. For the last time; the Fashion world is NOT like the Devil Wears Prada. Surprise surprise; people are kind AND glamorous! They are not just one or the other!
I have no awful stories to tell you of being shouted at or having to fetch 100+ coffees for everyone.

The fashion industry is just like any other industry. Take media for example, my boyfriend's line of work. We both have offices with desks, computers (on which we mostly use Excel and E-mail), mail to pick up, printers to print emails, expenses, accounting and such etc. The only difference is my line of work is so much more exciting to me than his...

So to me it isn't ordinary mail; it's monthly early glossies (magazines) and SS15 Black Label Clothes back from a photo shoot from across the world.

WW Polo SS15, WW Black Label SS15 (and Resort), WW Collection (Safari) SS15 Closets in our showroom.

2. I learned how to damn well pick up the phone.
Glamorous and exciting as it was that I was booking a Courier to Vogue, when I started at Ralph Lauren (and even before) I had the biggest phobia of picking up the phone.
Moreso with the amount of responsibility I had. But as Jess, the wonderful intern who mentored me through my first two weeks, said to me (about most everything I would worry about);
'The more you do it the easier it gets'.

First time; I had a script. Didn't go so well when they digressed from my script but I asked my team and managed ungracefully.

Second time; still had my script, segwayed my way through the conversation like a champ and got the job done flawlessly.

Third; tried without my script and I was worse than first time I called. Followed by panicky 'please hold' as I searched for my book/script as if it was oxygen.

Seventieth time; "Oh heeeeellllooooo James how are you this fine sunny morning? I'm swell! How do you know it's me? You're so good at this! Oh really? Hahaha! Yes indeed I would like to book a bike!  Account number 305- Oh you know the rest! Such good memory you've got; sharp thing you!"

I even learned my phonetic alphabet which I didn't think I would ever need or want to learn.
But after this incident...

"Yes N15 0WP"
"I'm sorry M for Mike?"
"Uh.. no N for .. Noodle?"
Woman on the phone cracks up a little and everyone the office snorts a little.
"Uhhh W for Water?"
All the girls in the room crack up again
"P for.... Parrot?"
Everyone just busts into laughter.

By the end; it was well worth knowing my Mikes from my Novembers. Even if only to avoid having another Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment like that again...

Not so enthusiastic face in honour of that embarrassing little blip!

3. When dealing with VIP's and Celebrities; play it cool...
I said 'play it cool' goddamn it! stop your giddy giggling this instant!
Hard as it was for me to convince myself- it really is not that big of a deal. The fashion world plays a huge part in the behind the scenes of the movie industry, always has.
But how lucky was I to be working at Ralph Lauren during awards season!!! BAFTA's, Oscars, Grammy's, Brit Awards. My oh my, I'm biting my tongue again!!

Lucky for me I get to keep Eddie on my wall of stars...
Not necessarily to ogle at while on the phone.. But to remind me
who wore RL at what event for when going through the press in the morning!

4. Hard work pays off.
Sending out 20 pieces of clothing just to have them sent back and not featured in anything sucked. But you get used to it.
Sending out 1 piece and seeing it feature in a styling page, double page spread or even a cover?! That was priceless. And you never get used to it.

This is my portfolio in my lap before my interview to LCF for PR: Full of those gems that I was involved with...
(Giselle in Collection SS15 in March Vogue, and Rosie in Collection SS15 in March Glamour!) 

5. I would not have survived if I was not part of a team.
It's like playing 2x2 tennis; except instead of the goal being to defeat the team mates, it's to just keep the ball moving. I had a quick learning curve in my first week. It's imperative to learn to ask questions and divvy up work. You are learning, but you sure as hell don't know everything. You need to manage your incompetence like a boss. Even feeling like the small fry I was in my first week, I learned to trade, pass on, and ask for work. Back and forth with tasks and questions all to keep the ball moving; like tennis!

These are the wooden panelled walls and floors that decorate the office that the dream team (that's us) works and thrives in.

6. In the same vein of treat others how you would like to be treated; leave behind what you want to be remembered by. Once you are settled into any system (me at two weeks in) there will be things that you will begin to critique in your mind. Things are run in a certain way and you need to understand that it will stay that way; Ralph Lauren can't have an intern every month changing everything. But what you can leave behind to make the person who fills your shoes job easier is the considerate, way forward, right thing to do. Even if that means just reorganised filing, closets, or even introducing a system of putting a rubber band around a roll of stickers so that it doesn't fall apart  (© Josephine Enterprises).

MW Polo SS15 Closet; organised by me.

Perhaps one of my greatest joys and achievements... If only I could be bothered to do this to my own closet...

7. Chocolate and Tea can go a long way. It was a pleasure to take care of my team by treating them, and it was a pleasure to be taken care of by my team and treated. It was ritual for all of us to stop whatever we were doing, no matter how important, to take time to celebrate a birthday, a goodbye, or a congratulations. On my last day being on the receiving end of that meant the world to me.

Selfie of Ralph and I on my last day. Bittersweet send off.

8. When working in fashion it's not all about what you wear, it's how you wear it.
I'd seen girls walking into work in gym gear; and showing up in the office two minutes later looking so glamorous it would take me hours to match them. They looked stunning in both because they wore it with confidence.
The next morning I was inspired and so grabbed my black trainers to wear on my way to work because God forbid I ruin a heel (or an ankle) on my way down 4 escalators to the tube!
Nightmare struck when I arrive at the office (in a skirt and my sneakers, even more mortifying) and forgot the heels all together!
To my surprise; no one cared. So.. I didn't either? Therefore I pulled it off? Back to work then!

This bejewelled beauty never stayed in our closet for longer than a day! So popular for photoshoots! I see why.

9. If you make a mistake; it's not the end of the world.
I sent out the wrong date on one of the dockets.
I sent the courrier to the wrong place.
I ended up walking 40 minutes to buy cupcakes instead of going to the same brand right next to our building.
Yes they were stupid mistakes. Yes some of them were a big deal. Life goes on.
Rectify your mistakes as best as possible, learn from them so they don't happen again, and a happy bonus is when you do something extra well afterwards to make up for it!
Your pride will heal, your confidence will grow more, and no one will remember it in a day! Chin up!

Once in a while we'd get notes like these. Really truly made my day every time.
Thanks/Dankjewel team Marie Claire Netherlands!

10.  Fashion is the career path for me.
I think about what I did at Ralph Lauren in hindsight often, and it's incredible what I accomplished and did, but of course there were times when I woke up in the morning after a night out swearing blue murder at the fact I had to get out of bed.

But then I wake up just that little bit more and think of all the deliciously coloured, and lavishly designed clothes I'll be sending out or receiving that day. I'll eagerly start to anticipate what might be in the news to do with Ralph Lauren that morning- which celebrities?. I'll squeal at the possibility of having a whole closet to myself to re-organise (it's sad but a true source of joy in my life). I jump out of bed at the idea of getting to work with my team, in my complete and utter element, and do 80 things that day that are more productive and rewarding than a whole weekend all to myself.

My energy and diligence was fuelled by my silly girly giddy feelings for fashion; if you don't get that in whatever profession you are in; then maybe it's not career path for you!

The craftsmanship and materials of some of the clothes were enough to make me want to cry. This yellow leather/suede trench for example!

Or this extravagant dress from this advertising campaign that isn't for sale on a shop floor!

The working world is is so different to anything I've ever known. Academic life doesn't not even remotely prepare you for the responsibilities that are passed on down to you. Every move you make is serious; you are a cog in the machine of something much larger than you.
It's so much more challenging, serious, and demanding as well as rewarding, exciting, and meaningful than academic life it seems to me. But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself; and should do with 3 more years of studying and preparation and not working full time just yet! I'm still 18!
But it's nice to know exactly what I'm looking forward to at the other end...

Vintage RL Shoes.... Dribble Drool....

 Happy quirky outfits while at RL!

The day after RL WW AW15 Collection ran down the runway there was a lot of press to be filed!

Another day at the office; and tough life having to stroll down Burlington Arcade Every Morning to get to work! Ooh La La!

I do hope these shoes fit your feet for the photoshoot Mr. Nicolas P. From Italy ;)

These Jeans went EVERYWHERE! You think you could DIY a pair as pretty as these?

Nights out after work (some school) with my friends! Wonderful routine we picked up! Bowling Tuesdays, Japanese Fridays, and dancing Saturdays!

Learned how to steam a suit (for a special VIP...), fold a pocket square, and care for a dress made of feathers like this!

Overall; I had an amazing and unforgettable experience at Ralph Lauren and hope to work there again someday!
I mean look how happy I am around all these clothes! Who needs friends??