Top model Rianne Van Rompaey covers the November 27, 2021 M le Magazine du Monde in a fashion story that honors the ‘90s. M’s IG describes the 1990s as a “decade of demanding style, of which the Japanese designers were the masters. A clean style, a little cerebral, overflowing with energy. For uncompromising elegance.”

Former EIC of Vogue Paris Emmanuelle Alt styles Rianne Van Rompaey in sophisticated, strong woman images lensed by Henrik Purienne [IG] . In AOC’s opinion, it’s Alt’s best styling in years./ Hair by Damien Boissinot; makeup by Christelle Coquet

The 1990s Were a Setback on Many Fashion Fronts

Some have pointed out that this decade of demanding style demanded size 0 bodies in fashion magazines. The size 4-6 supermodels were increasingly no longer the body types favored by fashion editors and the fashion business leaders who sought to disempower the supers.

Many of us are digging our feet deeply into the pavement, determined to NOT have any 90s redo in a literal sense.

AOC believes that an entire rollback to size 0 white women models tripping over each other for prime time exposure will not happen in the age of social media. Then again, AOC didn’t believe the January 6 insurrection at the US capitol was possible. And we never believed that Donald Trump would become president.

That’s not the best track record of anticipating worst-case events, speaking frankly. So we are on guard for any and all slippage.

The rise of authoritarianism ALWAYS involves controlling women’s bodies. American women face not only a loss of access to legal abortion at a federal level. Many Trump Republicans, backed by the Catholic Church, have birth control on the chopping block also. Parts of Europe are under similar pressures.

Times Change. Always Look Around You

The fashion industry is capable of creating enormous positive change in societies. AND the industry is capable of cutting women down to size — literally. We saw it happen in the 1990s.

All our hopes for a more racially-balanced fashion culture were dashed as models of color disappeared in droves compared to the 1970s. The size-four supers were suddenly “too fat”. Cindy Crawford is on the record more than once on this topic. Meeker models were in demand in the 1990s ones more inclined to say “yes, daddy”.

Times change and as creatives, we must ALL be watching and make personalized decisions around complicity in or — worse yet — conspiring to make changes happen that suit our own interests and fragile privilege.

Just know that AOC will be watching and we will speak truth to power in these events. Always. This chick is not going down without a BIG fight. And I assume nothing about the future. ~ Anne