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Read our privacy notice . Fashion has a complex relationship with feminism. The majority of the founders and creative directors of the great fashion designers were men.
Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent celebrated the female form, yet tapped into the historic trend of men dressing women, instead of women designing for themselves. This remained the case until Coco Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Mary Quant entered the scene and became the exception to the male rule. Diane von Fürstenberg was very much part of this stylish set and made the ultimate feminist fashion statement via her interpretation of the wrap dress.
Wrap dresses ooze functionality. They feature an easy-breezy, thrown-on design that is a world away from the conventionally constrictive silhouettes of female garments such as corsets and longline dresses. Rumour has it that wrap dresses were designed for women needing a quick getaway after a one-night stand.
Whether true or not, the silhouettes became closely associated with female sexuality and symbolised 1970s sexual liberation, with von Fürstenberg admitting that her 1972 divorce inspired the now-iconic dress. Wrap dresses witnessed a renaissance in the 1990s after the Belgian.