REIMAGINING FEMININITY
Tue 4 Oct
Words Georgina Evans
'To repaint the image of women.' That's designer Nensi Dojaka's brand ideology. Since her acclaimed AW20 debut collection, Dojaka has been gently tweaking her work as if daubing depth and shadow to her canvas. She captures the many nuances of femininity; her lingerie-inspired form-fitting pieces flout the codes of balance and design. Last season, with noteworthy inclusive casting, linked her ever-evolving designs from the Surrealist to the Baroque masters. "Dojaka has solidified herself as the creator of a look that truly reflects today's woman," reads e-commerce platform MyTheresa.com.
However, 'today's woman' is under tyrannical debate. This year presented some of the most frightening and fatiguing world events for those identifying as a woman. From medical gender and race bias to TERFs gaining traction, it's an overflow of unjust inequality soundbites, with the crowning blow, the overturning of Row vs Wade, which involved a total curtailment of women's rights, stripping away bodily autonomy. Head Curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Andrew Bolton told Vogue.com that "fashion functions as a mirror to our times." So, how will this season's womenswear designers interpret this powder keg?
Will the saccharine be subverted? Will there be an indifference to the effeminate? Or will we see a deluge of political statement T-shirts as in 2017? For brands like Nensi Dojaka - Simone Rocha, and Sarah Burton's Alexander McQueen notable inclusions - there's a strong base of emotional intensity that's already powerful in its sensuality and much needed in today's world. Their femininity already challenges preconceived notions. "Femininity, to me, is the combination of something more delicate, vulnerable and open to emotions versus this feeling of strength and empowerment, which is very important now," explains Dojaka.
With the very idea of women impugned, we can expect to see customers and creators honour archetypes. Some will channel the siren, a subverted sexiness that toys with the fourth-wave feminist idea of sexiness as power, not vulnerability. Dojaka is known for her sensual designs; her sheer textures and exposed flesh provide subtle eroticism. Too often, it's the top note takeaway, but her work brings sexy back with a fresh force. This season, she paints her image of a woman as a formidable entity with bigger strokes. Creative Jean-Paul Goude's riotous work with department store Galeries Lafayette was a staple on the mood board; women astride tigers, bold poses and bright pops of red led to leopard print, sequins and a little lace for SS23.
We may see an embracing of the more typically tender, a return to softness when the world is so harsh. Expect to see hearts, cartoons, flowers, frills, intarsia and the like. Both heart and flower motifs are staples in Dojaka's wheelhouse (Zendaya is a Dojaka hearts fan), and both iconographies are back this season. Photographer Guido Mocafico's floral still-lifes for Numéro magazine served as a reference. "There is always the motif of the flowers,” she notes. “It has a delicate nature but is also a statement and symbol. Its graphic nature can make it more severe, especially in how I use it in the drapes, but there's still this lightness to it."
Of course, others may wish to eschew such typical tropes and call for tailoring; traditional, avant-garde, or with a sophisticated twist - Dojaka offers the latter. What shoppers might find missing from the Dojaka arsenal is fashion for hiding. While there may be longer hemlines, subtleties and delicacies, Dojaka takes advantage of the fact that fashion is a tool to communicate to and celebrate women from all walks of life. "It's about making all women feel empowered," notes Dojaka. "The best way to do this is by making them feel good in their skin and with what they're wearing. That's the first thing, the first push for you to feel confident."
The image of a woman and, indeed, what women want to wear, is diverse, forever in a state of flux, particularly in such climes, and good fashion adapts accordingly. "When we are fitting, we change it up so it reads more like what I, or other women like me, would wear," adds Dojaka. "It's not really about me, personally. It's how I'm seeing these women develop, how they wear it and think from their perspective. That forms the collection based on how women are changing with it." Dojaka works as such a substantial case study as she's succeeded, in just three years, in understanding her client and adapting to them.
What are you doing tomorrow?
Nensi: "Tomorrow we're doing fittings!"
What does tomorrow look like for you?
Nensi: "It's a very abstract question. I don't know, but the future feels exciting."