Saint Sebastian

Sometimes you want to look romantic, feminine, a bit coy, like a damsel in distress. Sebastian Gunawan knows how to bring out the romantic side of a woman.

The designs on the catwalk were beautiful, superfeminine and touched with soft pastels. There was nothing that screamed for attention.

But I realized that Sebastian Gunawan’s recent collection, coming  at a time when the world’s most renowned designers have presented masculine women’s wear for their fall collections (such as Giorgio Armani with his haute couture collection Armani Privé, which encourages women to don manly attire, or Hugo Boss), is a breath of fresh air.

More masculine attire is entirely fitting for women who want to break down gender barriers and stand on an equal footing, because a trend is often set that way — by making the uncommon common — although it would deliver a very different message if the situation was reversed. A female Tomb Rider is hot (if you don’t believe me, rent the movie), but imagine Alexander the Great standing in the middle of the battlefield wearing a pleated skirt and high heels.

Many women friends tell me that they prefer masculine attire because it’s more practical. I have no problem with women who like this look, but I think it’s fun to sometimes to appear to be a regular woman.

In my opinion, most men simply want to see beautiful women. Beautiful, in this sense, does not refer simply to physical beauty, but more about how one chooses to dress oneself. Sebastian’s new collection gives women the opportunity to look and feel like real women. To me, his message is all about returning to the Almighty’s objectives in creating men and women, male and female, with all their similarities and differences.

Equal rights do not necessarily mean both sexes have to mirror each other in how they dress. Celebrate those differences, including in how you dress

+ Samuel Mulia

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