VERiFiED MAGAZINE

FASHIONS IMPACT ON POLITICS
Fashion is an art; the way one dresses can
represent different aspects of their personality.
People try to express themselves through the
clothing and accessories that they wear, which
are often a sign of the times, and trends tend to
come back every couple of decades. For example,
look at the recent revamp of 90s fashion.
So how is politics linked to fashion?
First things first, politics doesn’t just consist of
how countries are run, the government it’s made
up of, or the law, etc. Politics: It’s an extremely
broad term that covers things from social issues
to current affairs, from policy to society. Politics is
also known as political science. So, in this case,
movements like Black Lives Matter, Me-too, the
feminist movement, and anti-toxic masculinity,
are all included in the discussion on politics.
The idea that politics and fashion are linked has
been around for decades. It allows individuals,
including celebrities, to show solidarity and support,
as well as bring attention to multiple different
situations/movements. “Fashion functions
as a mirror to our times, so it is inherently political,”
notes Andrew Bolton, Wendy Yu Curator
in Charge of The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art. “It’s been used to express
patriotic, nationalistic, and propagandistic
tendencies as well as complex issues related to
class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.”
In light of the Me-Too movement, the demand
for equal pay, and the growing number of female
politicians, though grassroots activism and
bold statements have always been essential to
feminism, fashion also plays a part in shattering
gender boundaries. From Mary Quant inventing
the revolutionary miniskirt in the 1960s, which
rebelled against the taboo of women not showing
too much skin, to multiple attendees of the 2018
Oscars wearing all black outfits to show solidarity
and support to the victims of sexual assault, highlighted
the movement Me-too. All of which are
extremely powerful protests- those involved are
expressing disapproval of, or objection to, something.
Fashion also allows you to challenge societal
norms, for example, Harry Styles caused a stir
on social media for wearing a dress on the cover of
Vogue, sparking a generational discussion on toxic
masculinity.
As well as, the recent unlawful killings of black
citizens of the USA, George Floyd and Breanna
Taylor, and the Me-too movement brought to light
by the Harvey Weinstein sexual offenses, are two
examples of movements that have influenced
protest dressing. With sports teams such as Manchester
United and the Los Angeles Lakers seen
supporting t-shirts with the slogans ‘Black Lives
Matter’ and ‘Say Their Names’.
However, fashion doesn’t always show support to
the oppressed, but also the oppressor. For instance,
in the 1980s, the aesthetics of skinhead
culture dominated fashion: Fred Perry polo tops
were adopted by the far-right, similarly, contemporary
groups like the 2016 neo-fascist organisation,
Proud Boys, has adopted Fred Perry’s black and
yellow polo top as a type of uniform which signifies
their abhorrent political ideologies, and Donald
Trump’s infamous red ‘MAGA’ (Make America
Great Again) hat.
Believe it or not, fashion is one of the leading
political influences, with it being a medium that
goes across multiple generations and reaches an
extremely wide audience, giving people a way to
voice their opinions- not only through their words,
but the way they dress.
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