ELLE JAPON celebrated its 25th anniversary this year and held a talk event, "Women in Society," at Roppongi Academyhills on June 14th to commemorate the occasion. The event featured speakers who are demonstrating leadership in the global business world and leaders who are pioneering a new era through social contribution, delivering messages to women. Valérie Tranian, editorial director of the French edition of ELLE, was visiting Japan for the event, and she sat down for a conversation with Kaori Tsukamoto, editor-in-chief of ELLE JAPON. They exchanged frank opinions on the relationship between women's advancement in society and fashion, as well as the future of media. Fashion Headline (FH): I'd like to ask you about fashion and women's advancement in society. Can you tell us how it has changed since 2001? Editor-in-Chief Tsukamoto Kaori (K): In terms of changes since 2001, I think there has been an increase in fashion and career options, leading to greater freedom. During the mini-bubble period from the late 1990s, everyone wanted to own high-end brands, and they could. However, after the 2008 financial crisis (a paradigm shift occurred in the fashion world), people began to freely enjoy fashion of their own choosing, rather than values determined by society. It was around this time that the term "high and low," referring to the mix of expensive and affordable items, was coined. Editorial Director Valerie Tranian (V): Well, first of all, around 2000, luxury brands became big corporations. On the other hand, with the emergence of fast fashion brands like H&M and Topshop, fashion became more democratized. This meant that women had more options and the market expanded. K: Regarding fast fashion, I'd say it made a big contribution to fashion by giving women who previously couldn't enjoy the so-called trendy fashions promoted by luxury brands the opportunity to do so. V: Also, the fashion environment changed dramatically in the 21st century with the spread of the Internet. Through the Internet, bloggers and style hunters known as fashion icons began to speak out individually outside of mass media. I think this has changed the way women's style is perceived. K: In that sense, the media's awareness has also changed. ELLE's pages are no longer limited to designers and brands as fashion icons; non-fashion professionals, or so-called icons (celebrities), have begun to connect fashion with culture and other genres. V: Looking back at history, designers and icons of the 20th century were successful because they had a good understanding of women's needs. For example, Coco Chanel freed women from corsets. She proposed revolutionary fashion by incorporating jersey, which was used as men's underwear, and tweed, which men wore while hunting.
In the 1960s, Yves Saint-Laurent incorporated masculine wardrobe items such as tuxedos and safari jackets into women's clothing, creating a feminine and sexy fashion. In other words, fashion and women's advancement in society are closely linked. That's why I think designers are always keeping an eye on the changing social status of women.
K: The power suit of the 1980s may be one manifestation of this. In an era when women were advancing in society on an equal footing with men, a structured jacket with shoulder pads was a style that symbolized a strong woman.
V: That's the same with Prada today. Miuccia always has a certain image of a woman in mind. That woman is a free, strong, feminine woman.
K: I feel that freedom, not just strength, will become increasingly important in the future. Fashion is no longer driven by one big trend, but is becoming more diverse. We live in an age where we can choose our own style from that, and make our own choices, including how we live our lives.
Continued on 2/4.
