19thJune

  Yves Saint Laurent’s Women’s Tuxedo and Women’s Rights: Is the Way We Dress a Human Rights Issue? By Joana Capaz Coelho In 1966, the French designer Yves Saint Laurent presented the women’s tuxedo for the first time: a set consisting of a sheer blouse and masculine-cut trousers. At the time, the gesture was bold and deeply symbolic! More than an aesthetic proposal, the women’s tuxedo represented a cultural and social shift — a clear sign that women no longer had to follow the codes imposed on them, including those related to the way they dressed. Until then, wearing trousers was, for many women, a reason for censorship, discrimination, and even prohibition from entering certain spaces, such as restaurants and hotels that restricted entry to women dressed “outside the standard”. As Emma Baxter-Wright explains: “Designed to make women feel powerful, Saint Laurent provided a modern alternative to a traditional evening gown when he first presented his black tuxedo jacket know...

  Environmental Education as a Tool for a Sustainable Future        By: Joana Capaz Coelho   The fight for the sustainability of the planet is undoubtedly one of the biggest environmental challenges we face. The responsibility to ensure that future generations have a habitable planet lies with each and every one of us. According to the 1987 Brundtland Report “Our Common Future” of the World Commission on Environment and Development, the concept of sustainable development can be defined as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to mee t their own needs” [1] This definition emphasizes the importance of finding a balance between the current needs of society and the preservation of natural resources, in order to ensure that future generations can also meet their own needs. Sustainable development seeks to reconcile economic progress, social equity, and environmental protection, recognizing that t...

          “(Girl) Boss” and gender equality: on the relevance of female CEOs                                                              By: Joana Capaz Coelho In 2017, Netflix released a series called “Girl Boss”. Broadly speaking, the series is based on Sophia Amoruso´s autobiography, titled #Girl Boss. Sophia Amoruso is an American businesswoman of Portuguese, Greek, and Italian descent who 2006 founded Nasty Gal  [1] – a company whose initial purpose was to resell second-hand vintage clothes. However, step by step, Amoruso created an empire. According to that Netflix series, the first piece to be sold on Nasty Gal would have been a “biker-style” jacket that Sophia had bought for US$ 9 and resold, on eBay, for around US$ 600. It is not known precisely whether these facts are entirely realit...