She’s the Man

Sometimes trends seem to come from nowhere—ahem, thong jeans—and sometimes they’re part of the seasonal, cyclical swing, like flippy pastel frocks in spring and puffa coats in winter. But, occasionally, one can trace a look’s lineage easily. Case in point: the power suits we saw on spring-summer 2018 catwalks. These can be linked to everything from the the Hillary Clinton effect (she may not have won the 2016 U.S. election, but she could rock a two-piece suit like no other) to the Women’s March and #metoo movement celebrating female empowerment to the 1980s revival that’s been bubbling away for the past few seasons to the rising interest in and awareness of gender fluidity—that we don’t need to identify as just male or female, but can travel along the spectrum and shift identities as we feel.

“We are in an era of many evolutions and revolutions shaking up what we have always accepted to be ‘truths,’ especially in the business world, from finance being shaken up by blockchain and pharma by cannabis to the rising number of female CEOs,” says marketing and image consultant Crystal Carson. “Ultimately, our style is an opportunity to make a statement about who we are. Right now women are taking positions of power and defined voices in their communities, industries and the world. The power suit is a natural trend and statement look that women are wanting to rock with a personal twist to make it their own, rather than a uniform.”

To Carson’s point, spring-summer suits came in virtually every style: classic and business-like at Jil Sander, relaxed and slouchy at Celine, with shorts at Prada and rocking bold beachy prints at Paul Smith. And that’s great for us.

“The trend can be adapted to everyone’s individual style and body type. If you’re not one for something overtly masculine, you can opt for something that is unstructured and feminine. Anything goes,” says stylist Nadia Albano.

The look is already being translated into everyday life—at least in celeb land, where they’ve been a part of the #timesup movement at awards shows and premieres in past months. Famous women styled them in two ways: sexy, with nothing underneath or lingerie peeking through, and casual, with a white tee and sneakers. Albano says another way to make a suit look fresh and feminine is with floral prints, and she cautions that drapy pants, as seen at Celine, can be tough to pull off.

“Show a little skin and add a high heel to elongate the line of the body if you’re opting for a drapy or palazzo pant suit; it can look frumpy otherwise,“ she says. “And, if you’re petite, opt for a cropped trouser.”

Carson, meantime, thinks that power suits are more than just a fashion thing; they’re a mindset.

“A well-tailored suit will show off your feminine shape and curves, but that isn’t really the point this season,” she says. “Whether it’s for a big meeting to close a deal or a speaking engagement to a large audience, it gives you an appearance of strength. Both men and women wearing the same look gives a sense of balance or equality, too."

In some circles, though, a suit really is just a piece of clothing. When Melania Trump wore a white pantsuit to the State of the Union address this year, there was much media suggestion that she was making a covert feminist statement. Not so, according to Teen Vogue, which shut down that piece of press speculation in a sentence: “If you’re not taking action, what you wear doesn’t matter.” —Aileen Lalor