The ultimate badass in history is probably Rosie the Riveter. History Channel says “Rosie the Riveter was the star of a campaign aimed at recruiting female workers for defence industries in World War II, and she became perhaps the most iconic image of working women.”

Vintage image of Rosie the Riveter by J. Howard Miller. Courtesy National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

 

In the course of the Second World War there was a call for women to join the workforce. This was both a need for more hands on deck for industries in the war effort as well as a need for income in households in a period of greater urbanisation. However, treatment of women in the workforce was less than ideal – with many of them being paid half the wages men were being given, and having to work in dismal working conditions. This then gave rise to the suffragette movement and the beginning of Feminism: the fight for equal rights at work and place in society. Rosie the Riveter is a cultural icon for this moment in history. 

Women of this era played a pivotal role in a time of great change. Class systems were crumbling, industrialisation was in full force and women became a vital member of the workforce. They were no longer just in charge of the home but were indispensable in the flourishing economy. Women were thus no longer seen as one-dimensional beings.

This collection is a homage to women, who are not just one thing; they can be brave and confident yet also feminine and sensitive. Rosie the Riveter is a celebration of women who get their hands dirty and get things done. She’s badass.