(3) Challenging Gender Norms

Written by Iris Heinonen

My preference for classic and sartorial style originated in my childhood. Family trips to manors, castles, and gardens in Europe made it clear that the luxury familiar from James Bond movies is part of everyday reality for a select few. I became a huge fan of period dramas and the TV productions that captivated me as a child were Pride and Prejudice (starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth), The Count of Monte Cristo (starring Gerard Depardieu), and The Persuaders! (starring Roger Moore & Tony Curtis).

Therefore, it's quite natural that these influences have shaped my childhood dreams of luxurious living, refined etiquette, breathtaking parties, and elegant dressing. An interesting realization, which I've only understood as an adult, is that as a child, I never paid attention to the gender of the characters I admired, nor did I feel it mattered – I simply wanted to emulate characters like Brett Sinclair stepping out of his yellow 1960s Aston Martin wearing a DB suit by Cyril Castle, or the stunning Vesper in her dark violet evening gown in the film Casino Royale. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I admired both Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet equally – gender aside, I wanted to be either one.

Photo of Iris, shot by her dad Ari Heinonen

Growing Up in Southern Finland

I come from a small rural town in Southern Finland with a population of 20,000. In this town, a girl was considered tomboyish if she played soccer, hung out with boys during recess, or in her teenage years, preferred a moped over a scooter. A tomboy was someone who dared to curse and occasionally use a little violence. On the other hand, if a child enjoyed planning her outfit for the next day before going to bed, baking a chocolate cake, picking flowers, and generally being diligent, she was sure to be labeled girly, or even further as "the nice girl next door".

Growing up in the 2000s, being a girl hardly hindered my childhood or adolescence; at least, I never felt that my gender restricted anything I wanted to do. In fact, perhaps being a girl was the key to being left alone to be a studious student, indulge in preppy style, practice modeling and photography, and when I joined Instagram in 2013, to portray myself in as much Ralph Lauren or advertorial style as I desired. Based on my own experience and discussions with friends, I dare say that if I had been born a boy, I would probably have experienced bullying because of these interests.

Self portrait, shot by Iris herself

Rebel with a cause

One of the most surprising aspects of adulthood has been realizing that being a female can be challenging in many respects. In Finland, a woman earns 84 cents to a man's euro, and on average, women are paid less than men for the same work. Women are subject to many assumptions and expectations about how they should and shouldn't behave. A woman's credibility and skill level are still more influenced by appearance and dress than men's. My tolerance for such discriminatory behavior has been exceeded many times, and at certain moments, I've felt compelled to rebel – such as when at the beach, a man can bare his chest and easily slip into swim trunks with a towel around his waist, while a woman has to undress and dress with difficulty, carefully covering her breasts.

This is one of the reasons our company, The Pavonini, was born. My partner Jarkko had been struggling for years to find a brand producing classic Italo-vintage style loose-fit boxer shorts for everyday wear. On my part, I wanted to create a brand focused on classic style that would offer traditional men's clothing to women as well. We launched our own side business online store in the fall of 2022, and The Pavonini made it into the pages of two of Finland's largest newspapers due to its exceptional campaign imagery: in our product photos, everyone appears shirtless, both men and women, and nudity is not lascivious but a concrete example of what equality should look like in the 2020s. A shirtless woman wearing boxers – yes, that's the kind of woman I am, among other things.

The Pavonini launch campaign: The Art of Comfort

The Pavonini boxershorts in emerald silk

I dare say that women in the business world face more harassment than men. In Finland, several women leading startup companies have publicly spoken out about harassment they've faced while trying to secure funding for their companies. An angel investor typically has been an older man who, by virtue of his position, can, for example, suggest or demand an intimate dinner or a shared hotel night in exchange for reaching an agreement. After the launch of The Pavonini, I was approached by an older man who introduced himself as an angel investor and demanded to meet. Previously professional behavior quickly turned into suggestive and sexually charged innuendo in person – fortunately, the man turned out to be a fraud before anything untoward could happen.

Iris in the Pavonini boxershorts in soft pink

Forming a new era with the new generation of sartorialists

However, well over 90% of my experiences in the world of classic and sartorial wear have been positive – especially among younger practitioners and enthusiasts, as well as among women in the field, all of whose acquaintance has largely been made possible through Instagram, Pitti Uomo, and The Sartorial Club. The world of tailoring enthusiasts seems to welcome new members with open arms, at least if the style is right, relevant knowledge is present, and there is a desire to delve into and purchase from the manufacturers in the field.

As a woman, entering a male-dominated industry can sometimes feel challenging. At times, I've experienced that within the realm of sartorial style, there exists a whole set of traditional values, such as the notion that a woman's role is to be beautiful and feminine while walking alongside a man. Traditionally, a woman is in the role of an onlooker, a charming and flirtatious companion, or a maternal caregiver - even if she is part of a family business. I personally experienced this when we visited the factory of a prestigious Italian shoe manufacturer in Tuscany in June 2022, where the men of the family business welcomed us in tailored linen suits and their own company's magnificent leather shoes, while the women wore jersey dresses and foam sandals. Nothing makes it clearer how male dominant the sartorial world still is.

Iris in a white seersucker suit, at TSC summer gala 2023. Shot by Jarkko Luotola

Going back to the roots

While a man in Finland can walk into a store and acquire a splendid made-to-measure suit with a budget of €1500 from dozens of different service providers, no one offers the same for women. In fact, no one in Finland offers made-to-measure suits for women at all. This is something I want to change, and if everything goes as planned, together with Jarkko and the made-to-measure tailoring company Herrainpukimo, we are launching a women's MTM suit collection this year - the first of its kind in Finland.

If in my childhood, a girl was considered tomboyish if she played soccer, now as an adult, a woman can be labeled masculine for wearing a suit. I wish that gender assumptions could be set aside and we could finally open our eyes to the fact that a significant number of women globally are interested in consuming the same high-quality clothing, made from the same fabrics, with the same functionalities, and for the same occasions as men, if only the offerings were available. Each person determines their own gender, not the clothes they wear.

Iris in a blackwatch suit in Paris, shot by Jarkko Luotola

In the upcoming episode, Alev “Fanny” Karaman reveals how she found a connection between herself and the Club in New York during the fall of 2023. Fanny, originally an international tax lawyer transitioned to entrepreneurship and fashion design with a mission to create an inclusive space for all bodies and identities. The finale of "The Sartorial Women" series” is not to be missed.