Empowered by Design: The Feminine Ethos of Gaâla Paris
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What does feminine empowerment really mean? by Kelly de Gaalon, founder of Gaâla Paris.
When I design a new collection, it always comes back to a simple question: does this sleeve, this fabric, this skirt, give space for a woman to be herself?
When I hear the word empowerment, I have to admit, it doesn’t do much for me. It’s everywhere and everything. We’ve been told what empowerment means, what it should feel like, what it should look like — but rarely are we asked what it means for ourselves. When someone finally asked me, I realized that for me, and for the women who taught me, empowerment has always been the right to exist authentically. To dress, to live, to express ourselves without yielding to trends or traditions, whether new or old. When I began Gaâla, this was the heritage I carried into my work. I call it a heritage because it isn’t only mine. It’s the lives and examples of a lineage of women — mothers, grandmothers, friends, confidantes — whose way of dressing, living, nurturing, being, still shapes how I think about fashion today.
My grandmother, Maïté de Gaalon
I remember my grandmother’s dresses: elegant, dignified, never striving for effect, but always worn with ease. They were not “empowering” because they made her appear stronger. They were empowering because they never distracted from who she already was: a powerful, beautiful woman. That is the ethos I want to carry forward at Gaâla. Not a collection of clichés, whether vintage or ultra-modern, but clothing with a true feminine spirit: built on self-respect, individual expression, and authenticity. So when I design a new collection, it always comes back to a simple question: does this sleeve, this fabric, this skirt, give space for a woman to be herself? Fashion isn’t about lending power from the outside. Real fashion conforms to expression from the inside out. And so, whenever I wear — or design — that right dress, blouse or set, it feels like an extension of myself. Not a borrowed look, not someone else’s idea of empowerment. Simply mine.
This, to me, is what it means to be empowered by design.