Ensemble
Donna Karan · fall/winter 1986–87
Power dressing
Clothes helped make professional authority visible. Deliberate shoulders and coordinated tailoring became tools for women navigating workplaces with established masculine codes.
Emphatic shouldersConfident, coordinated tailoringProfessional presence
About Power dressing
Power dressing used clothes to project professional confidence and authority. Broad shoulders, tailored jackets and a deliberate, coordinated appearance became familiar signals, especially as women negotiated workplaces that associated leadership with masculine dress. The style ranged from overtly structured suits to Donna Karan’s adaptable wardrobe of confident separates. Bold accessories and a carefully composed silhouette helped complete the impression. Across these different approaches, dressing became a way to claim visibility and communicate a place within the public and professional world.
Explore the designers
- Donna KaranView garment · fall/winter 1986–87
A wardrobe that works together
- Thierry MuglerView garment · 1986
The body as sculpture