MIUSE: ISSUE 1

Author: Chloe Evangelista
Page 140
WE MUST KEEP A VIGILANT EYE ON WHETHER BRANDS ARE
ABOUT CAMPAIGNING OR JUST MORE CONSUMERISM.
Beyond ticking boxes in a ballot once every five
years, taking to the streets may be the only way for
people, especially those who are disadvantaged, to
exert influence over politics. Protests are not just
mere gatherings of the aggrieved but are means that
can prompt government actions through expressing
collective concerns. In the bigger picture, clothes
may seem to play a trivial part in a protest, but the
last century witnessed a fascinating development of
fashion as an accessible medium to make political
statements. Fashion at the start of the 1910s became
a powerful instrument for brand building when the
suffragettes adopted the symbolic colours white,
purple, and green in their clothing and accessories
to further their cause. During World War II, French
women wore turbans to passively resist the Nazi
occupation and to sustain the French morale. Hats
became a symbol of liberty for 1940s France until
they won their independence from their oppressors.
Similarly, the 1963 March on Washington saw civil
rights protesters dressed in their Sunday best (women
in skirts and dresses; men in suits and ties), adorned
with respect and dignity, and demanding to be taken
seriously. The LGBTQ+ community has had fashion
as their ally in expressing not just their sexuality,
but also their defiance of oppressive gender norms
and cultural expectations. Since the 70s, annual
Pride events have long served as a place for both
celebration and protest, and fashion has always been
at the forefront of the parades, drag pageantries, dance
parties, and rallies. The use of clothing to convey
political messages became more prevalent than ever.
Fashion’s declarative capacity indeed makes it an
accessible site for public dialogue regarding political
and social issues. This capacity has long been
understood and cultivated by the fashion industry.
In the mid-70s, Vivienne Westwood caught the
attention of British newspapers when she released a
collection of radical designs including punk-themed
pieces, fetish accessories, and shirts with anarchic
prints and Karl Marx patches. Fellow Brit designer
Katharine Hamnett pioneered protest slogan T-shirts
when she wore her infamous ‘58% Don’t Want
Pershing’ shirt to Downing Street, to meet Margaret
Thatcher in 1984. Recently, Hamnett has released
topical designs emblazoned with statements such as
“Cancel Brexit” and “Vote Trump Out.” Westwood has
been consistent with weaving activism into her work,
undertaking a series of campaigns including staged
protests inaction on climate change and consumerism
at her fashion shows. In these intolerable times, more
and more fashion creatives are doing the same – or
at least attempting to. Over the last two decades,
designers including Miuccia Prada, Rick Owens, and
Jeremy Scott have consistently used the runway to
express their views on issues such as gender and
racial equality, diversity, and on the current political
climate. Rising New York-based designers Kerby
Jean-Raymond (Pyer Moss) and Prabal Gurung have
been taking their platform to new heights by making
statements on immigration and police brutality. The
collaboration of fashion and activism has led to
an example of real change when Stella McCartney
educated her audience and influenced the industry
with her environmental advocacy, pioneering the use
of sustainable materials and refusing to work with
brands who don’t do the same. At her latest show,
she sent models in animal costumes down the runway
to make a statement about animal cruelty and fur
usage in fashion. McCartney’s actions disprove the
abstractness of fashion’s capacity in bringing about
change. But for other brands, a question will always
rise as to whether they are about campaigning or just
more consumerism.
Continued on Page 141