Last week we talked about the Woman in Arms. The woman more alive than ever, standing tall, fighting for her own survival.
Well, that woman has an antithesis. The dead woman.
I wanted to talk about that not because it is a 2024 trend, but simply because it is a trend that does not want to die (lol). It was true 2000 years ago - and sadly it is true today. Yes, I was walking in the streets last week and I saw that Celine ad. Immediately I thought about how lifeless that woman was. About how it wasn’t a fashion-only problem, but a societal one, reflected in fashion and luxury.
Society might be slow to react, but I believe in the rapid pace of luxury, capable of shaping trends & beauty from season to season.
So please, luxury, hear me out.
Art once, and now fashion, finds beauty in dead women.
I hope you are all right now asking yourself “Why?!!!! Isn’t that a bit… creepy??” Well the problem is that it’s an old story, and the longer stories last, the harder they are to kill.
The story here is quite simple - thanks to the work of history genius Alain Corbin and his phenomenal essay Les Filles de Rêve. Men-written narratives depict “frozen” women. Women dead, in the prime of their youth, crystallized as pure creatures, perfect from every angle, set still in a silent image of beauty. And from these dreamt figures, men create literary pieces. Laure for Petrarque, Beatrice for Dante…
The less alive a woman is, the more of a muse she becomes.
Why are dead women so attractive?
A dead woman is sensual. Sorry if that’s a bit blunt. How many dead - or dying - women were painted lying down? Consent and conscience definitely gone, a sole body without free will.
A dead woman will never grow old. For centuries Ophelia has impersonated the character of the troubled young woman, at peace only in death. Simply because she has no future. No chance of relapse. Her death itself becoming an art performance: lying in water surrounded by flowers. A woman becoming a museum piece, an artwork made to be admired.
A dead woman is not a woman. She’s a fantasy. The perfect repository of men’s imagination & desires. No free will, no future. She is only a literary topic created by a man. That’s the problem with muses in general - and even more so when the muse actually died.
Ok, that was cool for ancient, or medieval writers, but why is it real for fashion designers today?
Apologists of the size-0-ification of models will tell you that models must all look alike, standardized, to facilitate the work of creative directors. Left out of any personality or singularity really. That changed a little over the years, with the advent of supermodels, then with the progressive appearances of atypical looks or a wider range of body types.
Some fashion shows even gave life to their models by creating mini theater-worthy moments on the catwalk. Think of Alexander McQueen or Jean-Paul Gaultier for instance: the women who walked on the latter’s runways had moves, expressions, sometimes even acted. You would see famous women walking for JPG, as he would celebrate their life and actually display their own personality during the show.
But that is a thing of the past. Dead women made a comeback. Let’s take Saint Laurent for instance:
The brand has always depicted women laying down, full of sensuality. If you look at them, you can still feel life in them, they may be dreaming, masturbating, whatever, anyway they are enjoying themselves.
And look at these 2024 Saint Laurent photoshoots:
If not for her opened eyes, I would have thought the first one was a murder scene. Yes, these women are truly lifeless. Not a hint of energy, will, or personality. Nothing. But when you put “SAINT LAURENT” all over the woman you’re shooting, it does not leave much room for personality.
Check these other examples from luxury brands (all published in 2024)
Is there any hope or are we, women of the world, all doomed to be preferred dead rather than alive?
I won’t go deep into societal issues here - but if the Mazan trial taught us something, is that it’s not looking great, as men desiring lifeless women are not isolated cases.
BUT if we go back to the luxury business, my glimpse of hope is actually the beauty category. Ten years ago, when MUA were the new It Girls, their expert knowledge overshadowed completely the models during masterclasses. Brands were obsessed with the product’s result, and by no means they would allow a smile to get in the way.
Today, beauty brands understand better, that, unlike couture, make-up is truly about self-projection in a beauty look. They are better at representing diversity (to be truthful the bar is set very low) and they are not afraid anymore to show faces full of life.
Not la Commedia dell’arte here, but I see progress. Confidence, happiness, hostility even… At least there is life there.
And what could other brands do better?
Here I am simply going to name brands, that, in their DNA have already something to do with dynamic, hyper-lively women:
Hermès: The horserider. What a cool archetype. They are already featuring women in action (Hermès Fit for instance) but I am pretty sure they could push this even further - these photos below are beautiful, but it lacks the ardor of horseriding. Even the horse looks bored
Chloé: The brand always seems to be hesitating between “these clothes are for laying down, feeling comfortably numb and let yourself die” and “these are clothes that will not hinder women’s movements, clothes for freedom”. Don’t hesitate anymore. Think of Kate Bush doing crazy dance moves in a similar dress. And that is very cool.
Thanks for reading me!!! Leaving you with this very telling quote by Edgar Allan Poe: “The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world – and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such a topic are those of a bereaved lover.”
Tchuss