Pop culture has recently become hyperattuned to the word "feminist," reshaping a title that was once taboo into something... stylish. This isn't a bad thing—the more young women hear about feminism, the more they will assess how to navigate the world as a girl, and then as a woman.
Of course, there's a clear distinction between calling oneself a feminist and actually being a feminist. My dear friend Chloë Sevigny (who knows something about entering the pantheon of so-called "stylish" icons) is an excellent example of the latter.
Of course, there's a clear distinction between calling oneself a feminist and actually being a feminist. My dear friend Chloë Sevigny (who knows something about entering the pantheon of so-called "stylish" icons) is an excellent example of the latter.
Yesterday, I attended the Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2015 luncheon, co-hosted by editor Adam Rapoport and the rest of the Bon Appetit gang as part of the magazine's Feast or Fashion series. She's a longtime collaborator of ours (her first collection debuted at Opening Ceremony in 2008), and this time, her inspirations included everything from the film Heathers to Yohji Yamamoto, Harujuku Girls, Rihanna, and Haley Wollens (who styled the show). The biggest influence was the idea of going back to school, and schoolgirl uniforms—specifically those worn by the girls of Grace Church School that played around Chloë's old neighborhood in the East Village. Think a checked suspender-and-pleated mini number, a baby-blue apron dress with polka dot crepe, a slouchy pinstripe cropped overall, and a plaid oversized blazer à la 1988 Shannen Doherty.
For the presentation, Chloë wanted to "celebrate girlhood in all its optimism, discovery, awakening, awkwardness, and absurdity," she later told us. So, she called on two of her favorite artists and practicing feminists, Lizzi Bougatsos and Agathe Snow, to provide the installations that decorated The High Line Hotel—an impressive ice sculpture carved into sharp scissors, blown-up cucumbers and baguettes wrapped in rope and bits of colorful scrap fabric. As guests like Sally Singer, Suzy Menkes, and Kim Gordon nibbled on pork chops and corn succotash whipped up by Roberta's (thank you, Chef Mirarchi, for making us believe in roasted peaches again), a talent-slash-variety show weaved its way into the event—all presented by a carefully selected group of talented young girls from 11 to 22 years old. Performances ranged from original poetry recitations and a masterful operatic star, to a petite baton twirler performing to a duo singing The Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." The pièce de résistance, if we had to choose, was the spelling bee, where our champ handled words like "feminism," "neurotic," "chanterelle," "grosgrain," and "progesterone" with aplomb.
While chatting with Chloë after the show, she cited a statistic from the Geena Davis Institute, recently mentioned in the New York Times piece “Sugar, Spice, and Guts.” The study looked at 5,554 “distinct speaking characters” in over one hundred family movies released betwe
For the presentation, Chloë wanted to "celebrate girlhood in all its optimism, discovery, awakening, awkwardness, and absurdity," she later told us. So, she called on two of her favorite artists and practicing feminists, Lizzi Bougatsos and Agathe Snow, to provide the installations that decorated The High Line Hotel—an impressive ice sculpture carved into sharp scissors, blown-up cucumbers and baguettes wrapped in rope and bits of colorful scrap fabric. As guests like Sally Singer, Suzy Menkes, and Kim Gordon nibbled on pork chops and corn succotash whipped up by Roberta's (thank you, Chef Mirarchi, for making us believe in roasted peaches again), a talent-slash-variety show weaved its way into the event—all presented by a carefully selected group of talented young girls from 11 to 22 years old. Performances ranged from original poetry recitations and a masterful operatic star, to a petite baton twirler performing to a duo singing The Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." The pièce de résistance, if we had to choose, was the spelling bee, where our champ handled words like "feminism," "neurotic," "chanterelle," "grosgrain," and "progesterone" with aplomb.
While chatting with Chloë after the show, she cited a statistic from the Geena Davis Institute, recently mentioned in the New York Times piece “Sugar, Spice, and Guts.” The study looked at 5,554 “distinct speaking characters” in over one hundred family movies released betwe