This is the opening question
in a NYT article covering a recent high-profile “music event” dubbed “Sound of Change Live.” The concert “was organized by the Chime
for Change women’s campaign and underwritten
by Gucci, once known as a brand of soft shoes and hard partying but now aiming
to bring attention to women’s rights to education, justice and health.” The event was promoted
by Salma Hayek, “whose husband,
François-Henri Pinault, has made it a mission for his luxury group, formerly
PPR, but now named ‘Kering,’ to support best practices in his own empire —
and to support Chime for Change, a women’s empowerment initiative.”
So can a fashion empire
become a credible force for female emancipation and empowerment? Salma Hayek,
her husband, and the many female celebrity performers (plus a few activists)
who “chimed in” at the Gucci-sponsored event say so. And the whole fashion
industry would love to get this message across in the aftermath of the recent
garment factory debacle in Bangladesh. The NYT piece itself is rather
sympathetic, and the points it makes seem reasonable. Unless you become
slightly nauseated as you read it – and look at the accompanying images.
