Fashion has, for all of history, been an art form used to make a statement. While the basic function of clothing is to keep us warm, covered, and protected; the human desire to express oneself has found it’s medium in fashion. The clothing we elect to wear as we go about our daily business tells the people around us, advertently or inadvertently, our social class, how we identify around gender, our beliefs and religious affiliations, and any subcultures we may associate with. Even things as simple as what bands we like when we wear a Rolling Stones t-shirt, or what movies we enjoy when we accessorise with a Star Wars bag. I know that many people know I love Criminal Minds because I have two tee’s and many character badges that litter my Jemily tote bag. I choose to portray that part of myself because I see it as a part of my identity, despite how little it may appear significant to others.
That little example of how I choose to express myself through my style is just one tiny way that fashion can be used to make a statement. Fashion is, at it’s core, an art form, and art inspires revolution.
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Vivienne Westwood herself said, ‘I just use fashion as an excuse to talk about politics.’ Explaining, ‘Because I’m a fashion designer, it gives me a voice, which is really good.’ Westwood led the seventies punk fashion revolution, designing for the disillusioned youth and breaking social, economic, and class barriers. From then on, she never stopped using her platform as a renowned fashion designer and artist to speak for the causes she supported and revolt against the UK government. Most prominently, those causes for her included animal rights, climate change, and civil rights movements.
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Vivienne Westwood is just one of many haute-couture designers who use their platform to cause a political stir, and she certainly wasn’t first. Marie Antoinette, most famous perhaps for a quote she never said or well-known to any Sofia Coppola fans, relied on the designs of Rose Birtin to style her in a manner that built her status as Queen despite being an outsider to the French court. Wearing riding breeches or simple muslin shift dresses, contrasted sharply with elaborate gowns allowed her to curate an image that the French people could relate to whilst admiring her as they were expected to a Queen. Through shaping her style in this manner, Antoinette set a new precedent for royal attire, moving the tide of fashion and causing revolution within the monarchy by breaking historic ‘rules’ and challenging the expected.
Through the works of Westwood and others such as Christian Lacroix, we can see how Birten’s influence lives on today, highlighting how one person can cause a fashion revolution.
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In today’s political climate, people are afraid to speak up for fear of retribution. Fashion can help shift the narrative and open people’s eyes to the occurances in the world that many may try to ignore. Something as little as a ‘Free Palestine’ badge, like many Emmy attendee’s were wearing at the Emmy’s earlier this month, can be enough to start a conversation, as proven by Best Supporting Actress winner Hannah Einbinder. The top stories from the Emmy’s were about her, and others, wearing the badge, or like Javier Bardem, a Keffiyeh, to raise awareness of the current genocide in Gaza and reach all audiences, particularly ones such as those in Hollywood with a lot of influence and power.
Again, this is just one example of how a platform in fashion can get conversation started and cause a revolution. The power of the arts cannot be underestimated when it comes to making a change in the world, and fashion has proven time and time again to be at the forefront of that change.