This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Dylan Fraize. Find him on Instagram at @fraize.jpg. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
2024 has been a year full of political tension both domestically and abroad. This tension creates the necessity of self-expression. Fashion, whether cognitively or not, is the most common form of expression. This means an intersection between fashion and politics.
More and more brands are being held accountable for their silence. Maintaining transparency between a brand and consumer is important for building a deeper connection. While some brands value the genuine connection others manufacture their relationships. Well, how do you tell the two apart?
Who Did It First?
First, let’s look at the history of politics in fashion and some key movements. Fashion as protest is nothing new; we can go all the way back to the early 1900s during the Women’s suffrage movement. During this time women were put in a box and expected to dress feminine or for the male gaze. Women who were a part of this movement scrapped the archaic standards and adorned white flowy loose dresses. The choice of color was meant to represent the purity of women.
Moving down the timeline to the late 1970s there is a historic overlap between fashion and protest. An era of Britain riddled with unaligned opinions and economic uncertainty. This made major change inevitable, but who would be at the forefront? None other than Vivienne Westwood. She’s known as the mother of punk for her involvement in the scene. Her clothing became the uniform for anyone representing the counterculture at that time.
In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement was a pivotal movement of solidarity in the U.S. and abroad. After the tragic events that took place with George Floyd America had fragmented creating serious civil unrest. Protests and marches started across the country. While hundreds of miles apart from each other protestors wore the same clothing. Shirts printed that read “Black Lives Matter”. While simple in design the shirts acted as a uniform of the cause building a sense of solidarity.
The Landscape Of Today
Where does that bring us to today in 2024? A time defined by clashing views and lost hope. Unlike the movements of yesterday that were disjointed by slow-traveling news and lack of information, we are ever more connected in the information age. We have the ability to organize and stand together like never before, but where are the fashion faces expressing their disdain?
Fashion has become one of the largest industries in the world. This also means it’s become one of the most corporatized industries in the world. These major conglomerates make it difficult for independent designers to exist. Trying to compete against some of the biggest names in fashion with thousands of employees dedicated to marketing, product development, and finances just isn’t foreseeable for any independent creator. These independent designers were the ones leading the pack and still are although they haven’t earned the same recognition.
Although some major brands have used fashion as protest before like Balenciaga with their Autumn/Winter 2022 collection—a brand owned by Kering one of the world’s largest fashion conglomerates. The creative director Demna made a stand in support of Ukraine. While this otherwise would feel like a scam to turn protest into profit Demna has a genuine connection to the movement.
Demna was only 12 years old when he escaped his home country of Georgia during the civil war. He ran from shelter to shelter avoiding bombs crashing down around him. He is closely connected to the cause that no other designer can manufacture. This is why, unlike other designers, his message resonates. Fashion as protest.
Commodification Of Art
The issue with sincerity in fashion highlights a more overarching theme throughout the world of art. In all mediums of art, the piece is being treated as a commodity rather than art. This creates a paradox where once profound artists are being rewarded for diluting their message.
The commodification of art has impacted the fashion world immensely. Fashion is one of the most common ways humans express themselves. Now that fashion’s integrity has been tarnished how will it get its voice back? The problem lies with the elimination of risk-taking in the industry. When designers weren’t worried about sales but rather the creativity of their work. Now designers must live in a world of profit or loss.
It’s important to highlight the intention of any brand rather than the product. A brand could produce a piece adorned by thousands of protesters all wearing it in solidarity, but why are they producing it? These are the important questions that separate brands from each other.
The relationship between the designer and the movement is important. Without some connection to the movement fashion made for protest may feel disingenuous. Not only disingenuous but conniving. It gives the optics of selling something for personal benefit rather than the intended purpose of the movement.
Acknowledge Your Power As A Consumer
If a brand isn’t headed by someone directly affected doesn’t mean they can’t still support it. Brands may attach themselves to a movement just for recognition and sales. This creates an uncertainty within the consumption of fashion, but how can you make sure a brand is in the right?
Perform a brand audit before you make a purchase. Now this may take the fun out of shopping it’s your responsibility to know where your money is going. A brand audit is exactly what it sounds like going through the details of a company’s operation. Some key things to look for are where they manufacture, where they source materials, charitable efforts, workers’ labor rights, and the use of their platform. If you’d like to browse through brands that have already been audited there are plenty of sites. The program acts as a third party and grades brands like the site good on you.
Where Does That Leave You?
While politics are never going away it will be interesting to see how fashion reacts. Will there be another movement headed by members of the fashion community? How can fashion find its voice again? How do you feel about fashion as protest? Do you think brands really care? Let us know in the comments below!
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