Sunday, July 6, 2008

Women Vs. Men

One thread that I read at the style.com forums really made we wonder: Who are the better designers: women or men? When I look at it one way, men designers are dominating most of the top fashion houses and if I think of the word designer, Tom Ford or John Galliano usually comes to mind. But does that mean women can't design clothes? Absolutely not.


Most of the spotlight these days might go to Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, or John Galliano, but we must not forget the women designers out there as well. What would we do without Frida Giannini's collections at Gucci, the edgy clothes made by Kate and Laura Mulleavy for Rodarte, or Vera Wang's wedding dresses? And aren't women such as Coco Chanel the founders of some of the biggest fashion houses?

In my opinion, I do feel like men are still on top and will dominate the fashion industry for a long while. I think men are very creative, passionate, and treat their work like a fantasy, which brings out a beautiful end product. Men designers seem to always have loads of imagination and they know for sure how to dress a woman.


Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig's
designs for Marchesa are very popular
on the red carpet.
The majority of women designers on the other hand design clothes more practical and wearable, but still very glamorous. (That doesn't mean that they aren't creative though.) For instance, Donatella Versace might not showcase a dress you've never seen before, but it's still happens to be what so many women want to wear. Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, the designers of Marchesa, have some of Hollywood's biggest stars dressing in their gowns on the red carpet as well.

I guess it really depends on every one's point of view. Some might say men have more insight in fashion, some might disagree. In the end, I think men and women are equal and if you can design beautiful clothes, that means you have a lot of talent, no matter what your sex might be.

30 comments:

AusAnna said...

great piece. :) youve been linked. x

Cadmium said...

interesting posts, i'm linking you too!

Anthea said...

nice post! I've linked u :)

Sharon S said...

Hi there-I think your last sentence sums it up nicely!!

Lust for Fashion said...

That's a very interesting post! I agree, the last sentence sums it up quite well!

Rebecca, A Clothes Horse said...

I think today's arguement is really who makes better garments: women or queens? Historically is was more straight men. And while I love Marc Jacobs and Galliano and countless others, I do wish there was less of slant towards the style fantasies of gay men and more men who loved womens' natural bodies designing clothes...

Hunters Glory said...

Very good read!
Different views and emphasis is good for the fashion indusrty and coming form bioth sexes allows for more chioce.

'Tis a good thing ....

(I agree with 'the clothes horse' last statement in whole)

Anonymous said...

Wowww, I love this blog! very very nice and interesting! Nice to meet you :-))))

yiqin; said...

Awesome post & summed up very nicely! In Asia where girls are mostly not as " important " as guys, we need more of such posts! My grandmother actually told me that I do not need to study anymore & just get married soon! What the hell? :/

A said...

you have been added to my blogroll! =)

A La Femme said...

Great argument, I believe there are great men and woman designers. Although lately it seems as though fashion biggest designer collections are starting to be designed by more and more men, with the exceptions of a few collections like Chloe who recently named Hannah Macgibbon creative director after Paulo failed to impress critic over his two year stint and also Frida Giannini for Gucci although no one will ever do for Gucci what Tom Ford did.

I am rooting for women though, they have more practical pieces like you said but men's lines are definitely more sensual. Great Post!!

Always In Style said...

Wildly interesting post...you've really got me thinking.

T said...

I definitely agree - it really doesn't matter if they've got the talent!

Anonymous said...

sorry i dont really know what that is haha im new to this
is it just exchanging our blog urls?

thesil said...

I know there more men designers but we can´t forget the fantastic women designers as Miuccia Prada, Diane Von Fustemberg or Stella McCartney, those are my favourite.
But, I have to say that my favourite designers are men: Alber Elbaz, Stefano Pilati, John Galliano or even Giorgio Armani.

♥ Marta ♥ said...

I absolutely agree, men do dominate the design world... that is why I was happy that Alessandra Facchinetti was chosen to replace Valentino and the fall collection was very fresh and young and yet very Valentino. P.S definitely I would love to exchange link. I just added you to my favorite blogs :)

Hannah Bee said...

Talent is all that matters.

Marc's got it going on.

Fashion-Obsessed! said...

Hey, thanks for your comment, i have added you to my blogroll. Oh and i totally agree with you, it is men dominated at the minute, but there are alot of women designers, not forgetting Erin Fetherston. She is amazing!
Great post
Bye
xx

the assistant said...

i love the way you approched that it is true that the fashion world is male dominated but women make great designers too

loveology said...

Great post, girl! ;)
I'll have to go with the women designers. Thinking Stella, Bruno, Marant etc.

Just my first thought, too sleepy to think longer about it. ;)
Oooh no now Nicolas of Balenciaga is coming in my mind!!!

Ok, both, just both.

City Chic Please said...

Interestingg
but basically, I agree. It doesn't matter what gender you are; it depends upon the talent they bring.

Tricia said...

it's all about who has a calling to design clothes and who doesn't. no one gets into the artistic side of a business without a vision and serious passion for the craft. sometimes it's a woman, sometimes it's a man, and if not yet, someday it'll be a hermaphrodite! Oh, I love a spicy topic.

Ella said...

I was actually thinking about that yesterday. Being a bit of a feminist, it annoys me that so many industries are male-dominated : cooking,for example, even art. And the one industry that women are supposed to have the upper hand in, fashion, is also male dominated.
Confusion is reaching high levels.
x

Da Fashionista said...

men rule the corporate world unfortunately and fashion is corporatized art. but the ladies are definitely making big inroads. especially at the creative level.

great post!

Cheryl Lynn Pastor Romance Author said...

This was a very interesting post, indeed. I find myself in total agreement with the clothes horse. I, too wish more straight men would take advantage of such a creative industry.

My first favorite designer, once I began to develop an eye for fashion, was Diane Von Furstenburg. I loved the simple elegance of her signature wrap dresses. It was the women I noticed first, Diane, Chanel, and Sonia Rykiel. The designs of Donna Karan are fabulous, a woman who knows how to dress both men and women. To me, this is very important.

But you're right, ultimately, talent wins out. This was a very timely topic. Good discussion.

KATLIN said...

Yeah, it's true that a lot of men are top designers... Really don't know if they are truly better, maybe it's because they look at a woman's body and the woman itself differently. But, I really think that it is the talent that makes them great, not their gender.

Liz Lizo said...

I find the work of men designers more appealing and you gave great examples, but some women have their game right too. Enjoyed this piece.

felicity said...

There are more men designers because they love us more than we love ourselves... I think they can let loose with the fantasy of designing for a woman's body because it is more romanticized from their perspective? Just a theory I have.

Desperately Seeking Awesome said...

definately interesting..i think for me, it comes down to the right circumstances at the right time, regardless of gender. coco chanel dressed a woman who was tired of victorian fashions, encased in corsets and ruffles. christian dior dressed a woman longing to feel appealing and romantic after enduring a very un-romantic war and depression.

MARA said...

the reason why men (straight and gay) dominate the fashion industry is the same reason why they dominate any other given field: machism and discrimination against women.

go take a look in a fashion designing school: more than 80% sudents are female, yet when you look at the stars in fashion industry, it's mostly gay men.

the same for photogrpahy: the large majority of photography students in France is girls, still very few make it to the top (Camilla Akrans, Laura Sciacovelli, Ellen von Unwerth...).

I know why - just ask any woman who made it. Most photographers won't hire female assistants, it is very well known and documented (Mario Testino pushes the envelope: he chooses his assistants on casting - no kidding - only cute boys).

I myself have been discriminated against as a girl several times - and I had to leave my country because model agencies would laugh at my book (but then find my pictures "beautiful" when my boyfriend showed them the same pics).
"Magnum" the most important photography agency in the world - refused to have my CV for a stage - although my school selected me as the best student - because "we don't take girls. she'd screw someone in the agency for sure".
So they got a male student instead. The studios as well here in Paris prefer boys, and as for digital Capture it is well know they just hang up on girl who want to be imaging technicians.

So please, we're not even discussing"creativity": it's just plain old sciovinism.