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Fashion and Politics – The two have been in bed together since humans started wearing clothes, now more explicitly than before. A moment I cannot stop thinking about when I think of politics and fashion is when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez aka AOC wore a white mermaid dress by Brother Vellies to the Met Gala 2021, on the back of the dress there were three words were splashed across ‘Tax the Rich’. A message that divided Twitter greatly; she wore that dress to an ultra glamorous fundraiser event that’s worth around 35,000 Dollars a seat but this message isn’t probably even meant for celebrities or millionaires but for individuals and corporations that function at the same level as small scale countries. Of course, this dress will be in the news for a while and soon a new trend will take place but the point to note is that such acts of even performative activism if done regularly can have an impact on the visibility and reach of the message, Which AOC has done successfully. This was happening while the Black Lives Matter Protesters were being arrested right outside the Museum.
Though AOC isn’t the first one to use fashion as a means to convey a Political message and she also isn’t the first one to reignite the fashion-politics discussion. In the Same Met Gala, we also saw Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney wearing a dress created of suffragist colors (purple, white and gold) with the message ‘Equal rights for women’ and a green clutch that read ‘ERA YES’. While this tribute to the 19th Amendment (a great step objectively) convinced many that she had understood the assignment let’s not forget back in 2001 Maloney theatrically wore an Afghan burqa to the United States House of Representatives in support of the Afghanistan invasion and Afghan women rights post 9/11 attacks. Fashion makes a statement everywhere be it Kamala Harris’s white Carolina Herrera suit for her victory speech, Michelle Obama’s sleeveless dresses, or even the ‘MAGA’ hats during Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign.
Various elements of fashion like fabrics, silhouettes or structures can play an integral part in defining political events and beliefs. In India Khadi wasn’t just a fabric but a significant player in Indian independence; it stood for self-reliance and is a representation of Indian heritage and culture for many. Whereas Zhongshan or Mao suit regularly worn by Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong or the Nehru jacket named after the Indian freedom fighter and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are so closely associated with these political leaders, countries and ideologies.
A century ago women wearing trousers was controversial enough; World War 2 gradually helped challenge patriarchal values and was a move towards giving women power and authority. And now Men wearing dresses is perceived as a step to De-Gender fashion and promote a gender-neutral environment. These are not merely situational changes that just happen with time but are a representation of the growth and progressiveness of society and its mindsets using Clothes as a medium.
Fashion designers multiple times have demonstrated their political views through their runway setups, clothes and references among other elements. For his Fall 1995 Alexander McQueen explored the turbulent relationship between Scotland and England, for the ‘Mao Collection’ in 1995 Vivienne Tam featured images of Communist revolutionary Mao which caused quite a controversy, Pyer Moss’s constant commentary about African Americans in the US or Maria Grazia’s Feminism at Dior. Vivienne Westwood and her contribution to the Punk phenomenon or Stella McCartney’s strides toward sustainable fashion are some examples of how fashion is deeply instrumental in movements across the globe.
Statements like ‘We should all be Feminists’ printed on an overpriced t-shirt aim to be political but also are the essence of performative activism and marketing strategies. Many brands fail to understand the nuances and depth (sometimes origin) of the statements they put out. Yet again this might help to bring certain ideas to the mainstream. But hold on, don’t revere the industry just yet, most of the time it’s all talk and no trousers. When there’s a real issue the easy way out is to post a couple of black squares on Instagram that’s if they even bother to do that. For Fashion, Convenience is Key. The Fashion industry itself unquestionably contributes to environmental damage, labor exploitation, cultural appropriation, promotion of stereotypes, racism, unrealistic beauty-body standards to name a few. So with countless social-cultural-political issues at the helm, it is inevitable that fashion as a whole is to be entangled in serious discussions, Discussions that don’t happen enough.
The increasingly political nature of clothes is also an extension of consumers demanding answers about who, why, where, when and how – about the clothes, brands, designers, representatives or any associate. Customers expect brands to take stands on happenings all across the world be it any context (political, social, cultural, etc). A conscious customer not only cares about the aesthetic perception of the clothes but wants to be informed of the end-to-end process of the product. A concept that is gradually being absorbed into the majority of the industries.
Clothes are a representation of the times we live in; they are intrinsically political. The way we dress has historically been a representation of gender, wealth, social class and beauty among many dated concepts. Something as tiny as a brooch can communicate about their belief systems across multiple aspects. Now in 2021 when fashion and politics are deeply intertwined with each other everything we wear is a statement of some sort. It’s often a choice of the person and not social constructs; the brands we wear, the colors we wear, the perceived modesty of clothes, or the conventional silhouettes everything represents a part of us and that’s what’s makes in ‘Political’. Fashion has always been Political for ages and thankfully it’s getting explicit with each day. An H&M shirt is probably a product of not just a fast fashion brand but of an organization that functions on inhumane labor conditions and severe environmental damage or a Dolce and Gabbana dress which reasonably is a symbol of a wide spectrum of social and cultural problems. The soft power of fashion pierces through us.
Everything we wear is associated with a certain context, subculture or belief. Let’s say you wear a pair of flared jeans; maybe you are referencing 70s fashion or the comeback of flared jeans via TikTok trends or maybe you were simply gifted them or you didn’t even know they were called flared jeans. In an increasingly global and aware environment where fashion has the power to communicate (directly and indirectly) what we feel and believe in it’s quite simple, What we wear is a choice. Every choice is a statement even if it’s the choice to not reject the idea of the importance of clothes. Be it a thrifted shirt or a Couture Gown, clothes are no longer just an addition to us but represent our value systems. Earlier clothes were used as a medium to carry the message, now clothes are the message. In fact, it is a tool for us to wield when necessary; we get to make a statement with just what we wear. What’s more powerful than that?
We do not own the rights to any of these images and they have been used in good faith. Every effort has been made to ensure that all images are used with proper credits. If you are the rightful owner of any image used on our site and wish to have it removed, please contact us at ayerhsmagazine@gmail.com and we will promptly remove it. We are a non-commercial, passion-driven, independent fashion blog and do not intend to infringe any copyright. Thank you for your understanding.
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