Clothes Tell a Story, So Listen: A Brief Look at Fashion Activism

 ‘Fashion’ is a broad term that refers to the fashion industry, cultural aesthetics, clothing trends, styles, manufacturing, self-expression, and group belonging. For centuries, it has been an important outlet for activists to bring about social and political change, using fashion to relay messages and make statements (Campana 2011, 279).

However, recently, many associate fashion with frivolity and elitism due to increasing awareness regarding the consequences of fast fashion and overconsumption. While the fashion industry has a score of dirty laundry, we should not overlook its connection to grassroots movements: fashion as a ‘spectacle’ is not inherently superficial. How clothing influences, evokes emotion, and tells stories is important to history, culture, art, and politics. 

Women’s Rights Movements

Numerous examples are available regarding women’s rights movements across the world. In France during the 1920s, women cutting their hair short sparked widespread fascination and outcries. Following World War I, fashion trends changed drastically, most likely in conflation with the blurring of gender roles during the war (Roberts 1993, 661). Many feminists of the time cited the change to increased convenience and the claiming of personal aesthetics and agency (Roberts 1993, 662).

The trend of ‘suffragette white’ started in the United States and spread to other suffrage movements in other areas of the world. In 1913, thousands of women marched through Washington D.C. dressed in white in the Woman’s Suffrage Parade in order to protest for their right to vote (Ambàs and Sadaba 2021). Current female political figures, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have referenced suffrage movements of the twentieth century by wearing white during their addresses, elections, and magazine shoots (Young 2020). These acts encourage solidarity and highlight the work that still needs to be done for social justice.

Civil Rights Movements

One of the most striking uses of fashion activism during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s was the Black Panthers’ adoption of black leather jackets and berets. The uniform became a symbol of paramilitary action, which communicated the revolutionary aims of the movement (Taylor 2022). The aforementioned uses of fashion are provoking and memorable as they symbolize the political messages of the groups that utilize them. 

Besides ‘uniforms’ of social movements, such as the suffragette white and Black Panther outfit, embracing cultural dress and heritage is also a political statement. Liberation from Eurocentric standards of beauty require bravery and standing against the expected assimilation of marginalized communities. Traditional fabrics, silhouettes, and accessories, such as the Kente cloth or Chinese silk knots, can symbolize and showcase personal identities, familial legacy, and empowerment.
Fashion Today

Who makes trends? Who is credited? What do your clothes say about you? Fashion always has a cultural and social context. Many may not wear clothes for any specific political reason, but it is still important to consciously engage with fashion. Who do we recognize and praise? In what ways do we unethically consume and appropriate without proper consideration of historical contexts and cultural traditions? How many people are inspired by designers that are trending, such as Sandy Liang, who credits her work to her Chinese roots and grandmothers in Chinatown (Chen 2018), while contributing to and supporting the growing gentrification of Chinatowns in the United States and United Kingdom? Fashion affects us constantly, so let us reflect on and read what fashion writes.

Sources:

Ambàs, Gabriela and Teresa Sadaba. 2021. “100 Years of Fashion Activism: From the Women’s Suffrage Movement to the US 2020 Elections.” In Fashion Communication, Proceedings of the Factum 21 Conference, 219-236. Springer.

Campana, Alina. 2011. “Agents of Possibility: Examining the Intersections of Art/Education, and Activism in Communities.” Studies in Art Education 52, 4, 278-291. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41407910?searchText=art+and+activism&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dart%2Band%2Bactivism%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A09bb5ffe2cbd44392cf713f2eff98fca&seq=11

Chen, Vivian. June 19, 2018. “Meet Sandy Liang, the New York Fashion Designer Inspired by Her Chinese Roots.” South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/2150607/get-close-and-personal-sandy-liang-new-york-fashion

Roberts, Mary Louise. 1993. “Samson and Delilah Revisited: The Politics of Women’s Fashion in 1920s France.” The American Historical Review 98, 3, 657-684. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2167545?searchText=fashion+activism&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dfashion%2Bactivism%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A24b4d2590cd4c903728fb761b5ffd1dd&seq=6

Taylor, Nateya. September 16, 2022. “More than a Fashion Statement: The Symbolism behind the Black Panther Party Uniform.” Smithsonian. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-panther-party-uniform

Young, Sarah. October 29, 2020. “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Wears ‘Suffragette White’ Power Suit for Vanity Fair Cover.” The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-aoc-vanity-fair-cover-suffragette-white-suit-meaning-feminist-b1418475.html

Image Source: Vivienne Westwood. “Activism.” Accessed on 13 March 2024. https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-gb/sustainability/activism/