11.12.09 (Female) Members Only

After having a rather heated conversation with an acquaintance of mine who works at Dunhill, it struck me that there was something of vital importance missing in the world...

   Prior to our meeting, I had gone onto the company website and discovered something much more delightful than a few exquisite-yet-shockingly-expensive cigarette cases - The Dunhill Homes. Three rather special buildings have been lovingly restored and refurbished: one in London, another in Shanghai, and a third in Tokyo. The Homes aren't just emporia of all things menswear, motoring and modernity - they are exclusive clubs that men can retire to; retreating from the stresses and strains of demanding jobs, claustrophobic commuter traffic, and (most likely) tiresome wives and girlfriends.

   By way of emphasising the last point; on the first webpage of the 'Homes' section there is an introductory sentence that immediately alienates the female browser: 'Committed to advancing the pursuit of male indulgence.' It is never explicitly stated that women are forbidden from entering the premises; but any such behaviour is subtly discouraged throughout the descriptions of each of the Homes. Clearly, women simply don't feature in the Dunhill world. But, rather than feeling alienated or put off by these male institutions, I found it very satisfying to discover that these wonderful places even existed - and it implied that there were men worthy of enjoying them.

   What really struck me in the wake of this discovery was that women don't seem to have anything remotely comparable to these Dunhill male oases. Off the top of my head, I could not think of a single luxury womenswear brand that catered to their core customers in such a distinct and confident way. They all miss the mark by a long shot.

   I mean, Donna Karan is a high-end womenswear label that stands for elegance, practicality, intuition and empowerment; her clothing freed women from restrictive dress and took them into the work place with confidence and self assurance - but where is the celebration beyond that? Didn't we 'make the grade' in terms of achievement to warrant the creation of a DK Club? Did Donna feel like she put it all out there, gave us everything we needed to succeed, but then was so disappointed with the results that she thought it unnecessary to provide us with such a club?! I seriously hope not. Even if the women buying her clothes didn't cut it - didn't she crave a few beautiful rooms to retire to in the company of a few of her equally successful peers? Maybe to discuss supplier/manufacturer issues; customer's changing attitudes; the promising growth of the Asian market; ethical business practices, etc, etc? I guess not.

   There are, infact, some women-only clubs that exist today. For example, The Core Club, The Colony Club and the most famous federation of all-women clubs being the GFWC. But even this last one ended up changing it's initial purpose as a place for women to meet, self-educate and develop, to putting an emphasis on community service and improvement. It's like Jane Cunningham Croly (founder of the GFWC,) started out with all of the best intentions, but then her aims and ideas became diluted and turned into yet another charity project. There's nothing wrong with setting up foundations or charities to give back to the community or to help those less fortunate, (all of the leading female-owned/run fashion brands that I looked into were either actively involved with several charities or ran their own foundation of sorts,) but don't women also need a place to get together just for themselves? Do we naturally always fall back into care-giving roles? There are a few clubs that exists, and are near perfect parallels to that of the Dunhill Homes; the Alexandra Club in Melbourne, Australia, for one. This was a club set up by women for women in 1903, and it's aim was to be a social, non-political club that its 800-or-so members could treat as a second home; offering rooms in which to dine, stay, rest and entertain. It has stayed true to these intentions and is still catering to its valued members today. That must have been an incredibly radical undertaking in the early1900's when women were still very much bound to kitchen counters, cots and prams.

Another more recent example is the Belizean Grove club in New York City, founded in 2001. It’s members are all women who are accomplished leaders in a wide range of fields, and are described by the club as being ‘dedicated to giving back to their communities, have a sense of humor and excitement about life and are willing to mentor and share connections.’

    On the edge of 2010, women are independent, educated, infiltrating places of work at every level, and hold top positions of authority in every industry. But don't we want to get together to celebrate our achievements? I like to think that we do. I can think of a number of high profile women that would find the concept of an all-female version of a Dunhill Home very appealing and appropriate - Ms. Karan, (of course,) Tory Burch, Vivienne Westwood, Lady Gaga, Shami Chakrabati, Margaret Thatcher, Michelle Obama, Angela Ahrendts, Barbra Streisand, Liz Beshel. Even though they may have very different lifestyles and professions, these women are not worlds apart from each other in terms of their drive, ambition and intellect. If you got all of them together in one room, put some liquor on ice and had a lock-in, who the hell knows what they could achieve!? A signed, sealed and delivered Kyoto Treaty? A more sustainable, seasonal fashion cycle? Infallible Financial Regulations? The possibilities are endless.