The workplace can sometimes feel like a battlefield for women. So perhaps it’s appropriate that two of the most powerful fictional heroines about to hit our screens — one on celluloid, the other on TV — are decked out in fatigues, khaki and desert jackets.
For the start of the second series of Borgen tomorrow, prime minister Birgitte Nyborg has had a military make-over as Nyborg heads to Afghanistan to visit Danish troops. Perhaps given her impending divorce from her adulterous husband in the last series, she might want to keep that jacket for her trip home too.
A similar style is also adopted in Kathryn Bigelow’s much-anticipated Zero Dark Thirty. In the trailer and movie stills, Jessica Chastain looks very much the action woman in Ray-Bans and a dark, no-nonsense desert jacket.
Both Nyborg and Chastain’s Maya are a different type of heroine from those dominating 2012 (and intended to appeal to pubescents), Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen and Kristen Stewart’s sword-wielding Snow White. This alternate take on power dressing has plenty of fans in the fashion world too. Military regalia is a perpetual influence for designers, with even Victoria Beckham requiring a model to stand to attention for her Autumn/Winter show 2012 in a khaki, military-inspired dress and black leather boots.
Meanwhile, at Edun, the ethical brand founded by Ali Hewson, its leading lady for Spring/Summer 2013 looked like she had escaped the plains of Africa. The clothes came in khaki and midnight blue, with a slouchy silhouette. The models at Costume National were also warzone ready and in head-to-toe green.
And the greatest part about Action Woman chic? Its practicality. The multiple pockets give you somewhere to put the ammunition of everyday life, from the iPhone to credit cards. Proper power dressing never seemed so appealing.
