By Lysanne Louter, Digital Strategist/Photographer & Mom

Who knew luxury fashion could promote women's rights? 2018 is the year of the feminist fashion brand. From Stella McCartney and Cynthia Rowley to Diane von Furstenberg, haute couture designers are stepping up to create change for women around the world.

If you watched the Golden Globes, you know it was the night for making political fashion statements. You couldn't have missed all the Hollywood actresses wearing black to support the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund. Actress Connie Britton's outfit also made a statement: her black cashmere sweater displayed a "Poverty is Sexist" slogan written in cursive across the front. The shirt made headlines around the world.

Feminist Fashion Brand

Connie Britton at the Golden Globes (Photo Courtesy: Lingua Franca/Instagram)

Britton's sweater was designed by feminist fashion brand Lingua Franca. Each sweater is sustainably-sourced and made of fair-trade luxury cashmere. A one-hundred dollar donation from each sale is donated to charities like the Women's International Fund for Female Education. So far Lingua Franca has donated more than 160 thousand dollars to charity.

Rachelle Hruska MacPherson, the founder of Lingua Franca and the wife of a famous New York City hotelier, employs a team of fifty people to hand-embroider words taken from trending topics in the news. Popular designs include: "Oprah for Pres," "Science Not Fiction," and "Wonder Woman."

"It all started with a stitch – literally," explains Lingua Franca owner, Rachelle. "One weekend I was just looking to burn off some anxiety and turned to embroidery (a craft my grandma Rita taught me when I was a young girl in Nebraska). I picked up an old cashmere sweater, a needle and thread and started riffing on hip-hop lyrics (the lingua franca of our times, don’t you think?) and LF was born – a subversive underground movement to counteract the forces of mass production, mindless consumerism, and the patriarchy. Just kidding (kind of)."

Reese Witherspoon (Photo Courtesy: Lingua Franca/Instagram)

Lingua Franca sweaters have been spotted on Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Mandy Moore, and Kristen Bell. Witherspoon commissioned a batch of custom sweaters for organizers of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, a movement of 300 Hollywood actresses and 200 volunteer lawyers who are fighting to end sexual harassment.

Poppys Collection x Lingua Franca

Poppys Collection is proud to support this trendsetting new brand and its charities by bringing Lingua Franca to Canada. 

Our new partnership of exclusive designs for women and kids includes the slogans: "The Future is Female" and "I've Got This." 

Each Lingua Franca x Poppys Collection sweater is made of 100% fair trade cashmere and hand-stitched in New York City.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lysanne Louter is a writer, photographer, marketing communications strategist, and mama to Finnley. She is also an Emmy award-winning documentary director and former journalist with almost 15 years experience writing, producing, and reporting for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Image courtesy: Ashley Eve Photography