This year SHOWstudio are honouring the centenary of women’s suffrage by hosting an exhibition illustrating women in fashion. The exhibition celebrates femininity, body diversity and and empowerment, featuring some of the world’s most influential activist models, including Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Stella Lucia.
SHOWstudio founder and the fashion photographer Nick Knight focused on depicting 100 models in their natural beauty. His exposure of the female body, a subject which is often perceived as taboo and approached with caution, comes on the heels of the #MeToo movement, where women have been speaking out against harassment particularly in the film and fashion industries.
Trying to break the social norms, many of the models prefered to be shown nude. One of the participating models Jessica Miller commented;
“The female body is strong, beautiful, and capable of incredible things and one shouldn’t feel ashamed to be in one’s natural state”
Her words were echoed by her colleague Slick Woods, for whom “being nude is [the] most empowering fashion.”
Jessica Miller
These women show different sides of femininity. Drawn by Sabina Sinko, the young British model Cara Delevingne “realized that beauty has no right or wrong.” Feeling empowered, with a silver Chanel look and shaved hair for the 2017 edition of the Met Gala, she said that beauty has no definition in accordance with the values of the exhibition.
Cara Delevingne
Today, women are revolting for their rights, from fighting for abortion in Ireland to denouncing sexual abuse all around the world. This feminist exhibition allows every woman to define themselves as powerful in different ways.
One of the illustrations recalls the Jean Paul Gaultier Couture Show in 2011, where Andreja Pejić, a transgender woman was the first completely androgynous supermodel to wear a wedding dress.
Andreja Pejić
The exhibition sent a message that beauty is everywhere, the 100 Women exhibition aims to empower women to be true to themselves. The illustrations feature models of different ages, origin or culture. Some of them preferred more sexual illustrations of themselves, others wanted to be portrayed as “strong, content, courageous and determined”, but every woman aimed to be portrayed as confident.
To learn more about femininity in 2018 visit the 100 Women exhibition at the 22D Ebury Street, in Belgravia, the showcase will run until 31st January.