My choice of muse for this season, Agatha Christie, surprised some people. Sure, she was and is the world’s bestselling author – a feminist feat in itself! – but wasn’t this greyhaired lady a bit, well, boring? Far from it! A sensual woman who loved fast cars, slow food and gorgeous men, camera-shy Agatha may not have flaunted her femininity with her public persona, but she sure did so privately. And if you read carefully, it’s all there in her feisty female characters, from the sultry Temptress and the sassy Adventuress to the ruthless Assassin. Identifying with all these different feminine icons actually really shaped me as a young woman. Like Chaka Kahn famously sang: “I’m every woman, it’s all in me.” Making my mark in a man’s world, I drew much power from celebrating my femininity in all its shapes and guises. I still do.

My new collection is an ode to Agatha’s empowering feminine archetypes. I couldn’t think of a better photographer than Queen of Roleplaying Ellen von Unwerth to bring each character to life in such a playful, glamorous way. We also reimagined my Signature collection with a badass ‘girlboss’ vibe, because even though we’ve learned that we don’t have to copy stereotypical masculine behavior to be successful, we sure had fun learning from you boys! Hats off to your badassery!

For this issue, I interviewed many inspiring Feminine Feminists such as Agatha’s sassy successor Camilla Läckberg. This Swedish murder mystery writer who was once photographed heavily pregnant, wearing my Dame de Paris bra, refuses to be pigeonholed as a woman: “We’re not Madonnas, but we’re not whores either. We’re human, we have a bit of both in us.” Novelist Saskia Noort, aka the Dutch Queen of Crime, emphasized the importance of women expressing their anger, even if it earns them the label ‘Angry Woman’. In a similar vein, political scientist Julia Wouters urges women to stop trying to be neutral to blend in. “Stay authentic, because people will judge you anyway.”

The female heart is complex, cardiologist Angela Maas told me, and we’ve only just begun to study it seriously. Similarly, we’ve only just started to explore women’s true potential. After several feminist waves, in the wake of #metoo, we refuse to hide our feelings behind polite smiles any longer. Go ahead, call us ‘hysterical’ or ‘that angry woman’. Like different characters from an Agatha Christie novel, we are starting to show our multi-faceted femininity. Instead of being held down by clichés, we own them. And by doing so, we turn them into superpowers. So, here we are, vulnerable and villainous. Livid and lustful. Loving. Complex, just like our hearts

— Marlies Dekkers