I think the word timeless is so overused, but there are so many things of hers that I would wear today. To do that so long ago and not have it look evocative of an era is hard to achieve.
A word that doesn’t get applied to McCardell enough is inventor. It’s hard to claim an invention in fashion. Everything is so iterative. It’s not like she invented the idea of a wrap dress, but she is credited with inventing separates. She came up with that concept in the 1930s. She brought a modern form-meets-function, elegant approach to her styling, and so much of her DNA exists in clothing today. When I look at Zendaya wearing a bubble dress, I can go back and show you that exact bubble dress in 1940.
In the context of brands today, two camps have emerged: creative directors and designers. Obviously, it’s more important than ever to have a strong brand, but when you look at someone like McCardell, you see that the word designer really means something special.
I think you’re absolutely right, especially now as brands, particularly big global brands, are so driven by consumption. There’s also a marketplace reality that maybe impedes this ability to be a true inventor. I have this storyline in the book about McCardell taking great exception to the New Look because it launched a regressive moment of women being corseted again, women back into being dressed as objects of desire. McCardell was always about the woman’s gaze, about women’s autonomy, about what they felt like in the clothes. Unfortunately, as I researched this book, I was seeing so many parallels to what’s happening today.
I was thinking the same thing, especially with this “tradwife” movement. It’s chilling to see that we have similar cycles coming around.
Honestly, it was part of why I wanted to write this book. I first encountered McCardell’s designs when I was fresh out of college in the late 1990s. I was standing there at this exhibition of her clothing, wearing this ridiculous 1990s suit. It had no pockets. It was so badly designed. I’m looking at the clothes, and I’m like, “If she was doing it in the 1930s, why am I dressed like this in the 1990s?” How did she do it? A woman who couldn’t open her own bank account legally, when women were still being arrested for wearing pants, how did she invent so many of the clothes that we still wear today?