PANTSUIT STATUS
While I can hardly attribute my recently acquired love of the pantsuit to Hillary Clinton, it actually wouldn't be that much of a stretch to call out the cultural relevance of said pantsuit in today's social and fashion climate. After all, symbolically speaking, it's powerful stuff.
Laden with relevance, it make sense that today's pantsuit is, in many ways, a rendition of the 'powersuit' of the 80's - a time when women were forging new territory and challenging gender roles, all the while pushing back against bigoted ideologies that, in many ways, still exist in today's society.
So can politics affect fashion? Absolutely. Sometimes, it's a subtle trickle, but other times, and I'd argue that the current rise of the pantsuit is one of these times, it's a little more obvious. I would even go so far as to all it a form of empowerment for all of us. It's not 'borrowing from the boys' to wear a pantsuit. In fact, it's not even borrowing from the boys to wear menswear-inspired pieces. It's a reclaiming. It's an assertion that the right to wear tailored pieces, and all of the associated power, is just as much ours as it is the other half of the population's.
And while Hillary may never wear an off-the-shoulder Asilio blazer or pants with grommets, she steps into her pantsuit one foot at a time just like us, swipes on her lipstick, and goes to war against what might be the more pronounced bigot of our time. And for that, I'm with her.
xx,
Tienlyn
MORE FAVORITE PIECES FROM ASILIO:
Photos by Nikko DeTranquilli
