Angela Merkel's viral confession: "Yes, I am a feminist"
When clothes are the key to your success (or your misfortune) in a job interview, in court ... or in the ER
Angela Merkel,
who has practiced the policy of
austerity in the European Union
and maintained the common German values of sobriety, discipline,
dedication and pragmatism
in her decisions, has transferred her values to fashion, displaying
a very particular style.
Named up to 14 times
the most powerful woman in the world
according to
Forbes
(the last one in 2020), and with
75% of Germans
approving her management according to the latest polls, Merkel is no stranger to the fact that
her way of dressing
has always been, rightly or wrongly, in
the spotlight.
This was admitted in the German newspaper
'Die Welt'
in 2019. "Wearing a dark blue suit 100 days in a row is not a problem for a man, but if a woman wears
the same jacket
four times in two weeks, citizens write letters to the respect".
Thus, not attracting attention but standing out on the 'uniforms' of male politics has been his workhorse during these 16 years.
Sober suits with a concession to color ... and with a hidden political message
Two leaders who bet on color as a communication weapon: the Queen of England and Merkel (at Windsor Castle in 2012).
Angela Merkel's style of dress has penetrated so deep that it has become one of her personal and political hallmarks.
It even has an assigned name,
'The Merkel hip cut'
(which would be translated as 'the cut to the hip'), which refers to
the square-cut jackets
and three buttons that fall to the hips, which it has shown during his 16 years as chancellor, as
Cynthia Green, a
historian and expert writer on cultural identity, points out in The Voice of Fashion.
And it is that fashion at Merkel is built on these pillars:
black pants, jacket, flat shoes and short hair.
But it was not always like this.
Account
Patrycia Centeno,
expert in non-verbal political communication and author, among others, of
'Politics and Fashion, the image of power'
(Peninsula), which in its beginnings was freer when it came to wearing
more associated
garments, shapes and fabrics
to a feminine style.
But the media gave too much importance to its aesthetics.
"She quickly understood that power only tolerated one pattern, the male, so she
opted for the sobriety
of the male uniform to be heard," declares Centeno.
Faced with the risk
of being boring,
repetitive or manly compared to the aesthetics of other leaders, Merkel made a decision that made the men's uniform the
'Merkel outfit'
and has accompanied her for more than a decade: she
brought color
when everything was
in black and white .
The square three-button jackets, in some of the colors you have in your closet.
Merkel knows well, as does the Queen of England, that a colored garment, dress or hat (in the case of the German, her everlasting jacket) makes her image
stand out from the crowd
and is perfectly distinguished in any group photography.
Your wardrobe welcomes jackets
in all possible colors, as
well as to stand out, to communicate.
Silvia Regnitter-Prehn,
German artist and expert in communication through colors, has commented on more than one occasion that Merkel uses
green
when she has to make difficult communications; the
pinks and oranges
when you want to
give it
a more open and informal meetings to their air and
blue
serves as color to convey objectivity and balance, so often use in
international visits.
In short, the happy tones help her when
the citizens or herself need a shot of energy;
the most sober when the situation requires
seriousness and discretion.
"He has even expressed with the color of his jacket
who he preferred as a government partner,"
says Patrycia Centeno.
In the eye of the hurricane ... for a cleavage
The 'famous' cleavage of the Oslo Opera House in 2009. One and no more.
When Merkel commented that her aesthetics are something to talk about, she did it with knowledge of the facts.
In 2009,
for the opening of the
Oslo Opera House,
her low-cut dress made more headlines than her political measures:
'Merkel shows her breast' or 'Merkel' shows cleavage. '
More surprised than offended (the tables and the position oblige), even the deputy government spokesman at the time,
Thomas Steg,
had to declare that she did not expect to cause such a furor with the evening dress, it was nothing but an attempt to
get out of the rigidity of the costumes of a head of government
on an opera night.
If the stylistic choice was right or wrong, if the comments were out of place, it is up to the consumer;
What it did demonstrate, without a doubt, for Patrycia Centeno, was the Chancellor's 'desire'
to get out of the rules of
the post for once.
Never again has Merkel 'dared' such a daring styling, but she did leave a reflection on German television ZDF: "There would have been no discussion like this
if it had been about a man."
When accessories speak ...
In 2011, with his acid orange 300 Euro Longchamp on his shoulder.
If Christine Lagarde has turned her
Hermés
silk scarves
into a hallmark or, in the masculine field, the Greek minister
Yanis Varoufakis
transformed the leather 'jacket' into hers, Angela Merkel has done the same with her
Longchamp
bags
.
He uses a large model and has it in different colors, but it was one of
a fluorine orange
(valued
at 310 euros at the
time) that attracted attention in a speech
in 2011 in defense of the euro.
And everything had a meaning: "The bag was XL,
where everything fits,
and 'coincidentally' it was talking about the market and the euro. And it was from a
classic French firm,
in a speech where it
was about Europe."
... and European fashion brands too
In Berlin in 2014, in red to receive the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
Without a doubt, the choice
of brands that she has exhibited
in her career has also spoken for Merkel.
He has opted for German firms for his eternal jackets
(Bettina Schoenback or Anna von Griesheim,
Cynthia Green points out in The Voice of Fashion) but he has also 'supported' the rest of Europe with French firms, such as Longchamp,
or Italians -
there are moccasins. by
Calzaturificio Brunate
that wore on the 60th anniversary of the
Treaty of Europe in Rome in 2017-.
Far from being seen as
an unpatriotic act, it
must be emphasized, Centeno points out, that "Merkel has also become
the great European leader."
If we will remember forever the jacket suits with which
Margaret Thatcher was 'armed',
Angela Markel's look is not far behind as a
symbol of an era and a way of doing politics.
"She has her own style, which expresses maturity and security. She is conservative - she has not revolutionized female political dress - but she tolerates plurality, that is why she dresses in all colors; practical, because she does not invest too much in thinking about what she will wear, he only considers chromatic psychology, and sober ", sums up Patrycia Centeno.
With her colored jackets and black trousers, "Merkel
has not wanted to overshadow her political career
with her image but she has created her
own style
and only leaders who go down to posterity have it," concludes Centeno.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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