![]() Padded shoulders, large lapels, sharp and oversized tailoring, thick fabrics and muted colours all became synonymous with the power suit. Driven by designer Giorgio Armani, the power dressing movement disguised the feminine form with an exaggerated masculine silhouette. It wasn’t until the 1980s that the power suit became one of the most iconic silhouettes of 20th century fashion, mostly known for its popularity in America. This three-piece suit revolutionised the idea of androgynous dress and supported the concept of women breaking gender roles through their clothing, which also coincided with the second wave of feminism (early 1960s to mid 1970s). ![]() Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Le Smoking’ Suit, made in 1966, was a man’s tuxedo suit redesigned to better fit a woman’s body. Originally created out of tweed (a material commonly used for men’s sportswear at the time), the collarless button-up jacket and matching skirt created an outfit that was both feminine, masculine and ultimately, comfortable enough for a woman to complete important work. The Chanel Suit, designed in 1923 by Coco Chanel rewrote the expectations for women’s dress after the first World War. Both of these acts challenged society at the time and with Marlene wearing suits on and off screen began the trend of a woman wearing a suit in the public eye to gain authority and break women’s gender and sexuality stereotypes.įor the next 50 years, the power suit primarily resurfaced twice coinciding with an increase in feminist ideologies and women’s need for equality. The first well-known instance of the power suit was worn by German-American actress Marlene Dietrich in the 1930 film Morocco. Marlene enters a nightclub dressed in a man’s tuxedo and proceeds to walk around the venue while embodying masculine characteristics and masquerading her sexuality, even kissing a woman in one scene. Most known in the 1980s, the power suit is an (typically) exaggerated man’s business suit that is worn by a woman, in order to associate masculine traits (such as authority and respect) to the woman wearing it.
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