Fashion Feature Friday: Fashion & Activism
Fashion and activism might be more intertwined than people think. There are important causes that people have discussed at length that are specifically about fashion. These include topics like the ethics of using fur, to the workplace conditions in production factories. However, fashion has also played a role in broader sociopolitical movements as well. At marches, protests, sit-ins, and other forms of activism, you will often see T-shirts, hats, and the like covered in symbols and slogans. But throughout history, it wasn't always been about bold text and thought-provoking phrases. Protest fashion has evolved over time to set expectations and make statements about who people are and what they stand for.
Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mathew Ahmann in a crowd]. (Photo by Unseen Histories via Unsplash)
Campaigners dressed as suffragettes attend a rally organised by UK Feminista to call for equal rights for men and women. (Photo by Oli Scarff via Getty Images)
FASHION AND ACTIVISM IN HISTORY
Civil Rights and Women's Liberation
During the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, Black people wore their best suits and dresses to marches and sit-ins. This was to fight against the negative stereotypes of being thought of as "poor and primitive" (Teen Vogue, 2020). They wanted to look sensible, professional, and dignified. On the other hand, young Black activists also dressed in denim overalls and jeans. They wanted to reclaim denim, a fabric mostly associated with Black labourers, for Black people of all classes and backgrounds. Lastly, members of the Black Panther Party wore leather jackets, sunglasses, and black berets. This was to "send a message about Black pride and liberation" (Teen Vogue, 2020).
Another prominent activist movement at the time was the push for gender equality and women's rights. The act of "bra burning" started at the Miss America Pageant in 1968, where protestors trashed items associated with femininity. This included bras, stockings, and lipstick. Over time, women began dressing in more masculine silhouettes (see my post on women in menswear). By the 1970s, women had altered workplace dress codes by wearing less restrictive clothing. Instead, they wore pants, denim, and work separates.
Lastly, another example of fashion and activism's intertwined history include the Zoot Suit Riots. The zoot suit was an exaggerated style of suit worn by African and Mexican Americans in the 1940s. Since it was seen as a "rebellion" against typical suits, it was "associated with delinquency" (Who What Wear, 2020). During the riots, servicemen and civilians "attacked and stripped" zoot suit wearers, primarily Mexican Americans.
People gather for the Women's March in Washington, January 21. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton via Reuters)
Color and its Role in Activism
Color plays a significant part in how people make statements through fashion. For example, suffragettes in the 1900s wore sashes during marches and rallies. They were purple for dignity, white for purity, and green for hope. Suffragettes also wore these colors outside of organized events so people would know they were feminists. White is still used today to symbolize support for women's rights. This has been demonstrated by prominent politicians like Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Kamala Harris.
Other examples include the Black Panther Party, whose members dressed in all black to make them appear unified. The rainbow is a prominent symbol for gay pride and the LGBTQ+ community, along with other variants of the flag in different color schemes to represent different sexualities and identities.
Lastly, the color pink has come full circle. It was originally considered masculine in the 18th century. By the late 19th century, people started to associate pink with girls and blue with boys. When women began to reject femininity and embrace unisex fashion, pink became less popular. Finally, women have since reclaimed the color. This was because of the understanding that being feminine and being a feminist were not mutually exclusive concepts. Pink is also the color of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, commonly seen in ribbons and pins.
PROTEST FASHION IN MODERN TIMES
The Protest T-Shirt
When we think of modern activists and how they dress, we often think of T-shirts with slogans and hashtags. They are often worn with hats, flags, pins, and these days, face masks. However, the protest T-shirt has actually been used in activism for decades. Harvard students wore anti-war T-shirts during sit-ins in the 1960s. In the 1970s, the Black Panther Party produced T-shirts with one of their co-founders, Bobby Seale, printed on the front. Designers like Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett started designing protest graphic T-shirts in the 1980s. Hamnett famously wore one during a meeting with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Eventually, T-shirts with political messaging became very popular by the mid-to-late 1980s. They were used for promoting and fundraising for political campaigns, marches and protests, and bringing awareness to different causes. Some examples of brands that have designed T-shirts to help raise funds for causes like disaster relief and fighting AIDS include Maison Margiela and Supreme.
Other Notable Protest Garments
There are multiple examples of garments and/or accessories that are associated with specific events. For example, the Guy Fawkes mask, popularized by the movie V for Vendetta, was worn during Occupy Wall Street protests. The pink "pussy hat" was prominently seen at women's marches in 2017. Lastly, shirts, masks, and other garments with phrases like "We Can't Breathe", "They Have Names", and of course, "Black Lives Matter", are worn in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
REFERENCES
A History of the T-Shirt in Protest, Politics and Activism | Grailed
Dressed to Protest: Can Fashion Help Bring About Change? | British Vogue
Fashion is Dissent - How Style Played a Role in Equality Movements | Who What Wear
How Fashion and Activism Have Evolved Together | The Zoe Report
How Women Have Used Fashion as a Feminist Tool Throughout History | Bustle
