featured runway looks

zelda & mary todd - dressed to disrupt

By:  Cherrah Johnson / Designer

Consistently, historical women are inspiring to me. I wonder who I would have been 100 years ago, without the benefits of technology or the real chance at being educated formally. 

Both Zelda and Mary Todd rebelliously broke fashion rules to amplify their big, bold voices. With limited actual power, they used the publicity surrounding their dramatic fashion choices as a tool to gain leverage in an era where they had few ways to speak out. Before  Not being able toZelda, juggled her own fame along with the competing fame of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mary Todd loved fine fabrics, which I do as well. Scrutiny about her spending was nonstop for her entire life.

Zelda, a creative force, sported dramatic bobbed hair and sheer, form-fitting dresses. She punctuated these looks, as I do today in our collections for Beaux Studios, with dramatic layers of pearls and gems.

Mary Todd had over-the-top purchasing and hoarding tendencies, which is something we understand better now as part of how some people process trauma. Without any context, she likely felt tortured by the need to collect and house objects—to the extent that she filled her fine home to the brim, went bankrupt, and was estranged from her son because of her spending in the years after Lincoln was assassinated.

Representative Anna V. Eskamani has used fashion as a similar megaphone for her messages of unity, inclusion, and empowerment. 

Unlike the traditional, over-the-top style of women like Zelda and Mary Todd Lincoln, Anna's fashion choices are more relatable. She's often seen wearing iconic and funny t-shirts, colorful regalia during local parades, or a sharp professional suit.

Her active role in the Orlando community and her strong social media presence have made her a well-known figure. Anna's visibility allows her to connect with people and share her message effectively. 

As modern women, in "Kinship" work, we do the intense emotional work of noticing each other. We're wired by biology to observe each other's appearance, and especially our individual adornments. Noticing the people around you and mentally keeping track of how people are doing is an important social behavior that not only makes us feel seen as individuals but also creates networks that keep us all safer, especially our children.

Noticing fashion, and seeing the signals that other women are sending us about their personal journey, is a huge part of how communities build strong bonds. Fashion isn’t meaningless decoration, it’s one of the most exciting and important parts of being a social creature.  

Through fashion, we signal our unity, transcending divisive media narratives. Historically, women have used fashion to amplify their voice, and we can take their cue to continue to use ours.

Zelda would have been a wildly imaginative friend and her iconic fashion signals to me from the past that she was trying to use her big voice, in any way she could.   

                                          - Cherrah Johnson