How the Fashion Industry Responded to This Year’s Most Powerful Political and Social Movements Inline
Photo: Getty Images1/14Opening Ceremony’s “Pageant of The People” Resort 2017 show
Designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon staged their Resort 2017 show for Opening Ceremony inside the Javits Center in New York, where they lined the stage with flags from every nation around the world and gave the microphone to various bold faces including Rashida Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jessica Williams. Instead of music, the models walked to the sounds of their voices discussing issues ranging from the refugee crisis to gender equality and racism in America.
Photo: AP Images2/14Public School’s “We Need Leaders” moment for men’s and women’s Spring 2017
Public School designers Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow presented their men’s and women’s Spring 2017 clothing among masked factory workers pounding at cement blocks near a wall spray-painted with the words “We Need Leaders” (there were also “WNL” patches on a few of the men’s pieces). Osborne also penned an open letter back in July voicing his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, urging his peers to speak out and act on the issue, as much of the industry has stayed relatively quiet concerning the group.
Photo: Courtesy of Pyer Moss3/14Pyer Moss’s Black Lives Matter message during his Fall 2016 show
At his Fall 2016 show, Kerby Jean-Raymond referenced issues of depression and the tragic suicide of Black Lives Matter activist MarShawn McCarrel, which happened that same month. The season prior, the Pyer Moss designer started his show with a video highlighting police brutality in the U.S. and for Spring 2017, he showed a collectsion meant to reflect the damage that privilege can do to power (ahem, president-elect).
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv4/14Rick Owens Fall 2016 and his commentary on climate change
Rick Owens titled his Fall 2016 show “Mastodon” in an effort to raise awareness about extinction, environmentalism, and the rapidly increasing problem of global warming. The designer summed up his artistic intentions backstage: “Mastodons don’t exist anymore, as we won’t. Maybe there’s an acceptance level we should look for.”
Photo: Indigital.tv5/14Feminism at Dior for Spring 2017
In July of 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri became the first woman to helm the house of Christian Dior and her debut collectsion for Spring 2017 underscored this historic appointment. The clothes celebrated feminism and women’s rights—the T-shirt decorated with the words We Should All Be Feminists was inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s inspirational TEDx Talk.
Photo: Courtesy of Victoria Beckham6/14Victoria Beckham’s World AIDS Day shirts
Last month, Victoria Beckham unveiled her third World AIDS Day T-shirt featuring a drawing by her daughter Harper. The designer is donating profits from the shirts to Born Free Africa and has been a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador since 2014.
Photo: Courtesy of Karlie Kloss / @karliekloss7/14Baja East’s gay pride tees
Designers Scott Studenberg and John Targon responded to the horrific shooting at Pulse nightclub in June by creating a “Be Proud” tee. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts went directly to Equality Florida’s Pulse Victims Fund.
Photo: Courtesy of Heron Preston for DSNY8/14Heron Preston’s DSNY collectsion for Spring 2017
Up-and-coming designer Heron Preston created a ton of buzz around his Spring 2017 collectsion, for which he teamed up with a rather surprising partner: the New York Department of Sanitation. The clothes were made using old trash-collectsor uniforms in an effort to promote sustainability and bring awareness to the lesser-known work of the DSNY, including their involvement in programs like Re-FashioNYC, which makes clothing donation easy and accessible to all city residents.
Photo: Umberto Fratini / Indigital.tv9/14The “Immigrant” shirt worn by Ashish Gupta at the close of his Spring 2017 show
India-born designer Ashish Gupta was proud to put his status as an immigrant on display at the close of his Spring 2017 show during London Fashion Week. He stepped out in a white long-sleeved shirt with Immigrantwritten in bold black letters, making his stance on the post-Brexit hate crimes known to the country and the world.
Photographed by Sean Thomas, Vogue, November 201610/14Vogue’s “Runway to Registration”
It was one of the most tumultuous and emotional election seasons in history, and Replica Handbag Store and the CFDA stepped up to plate when it came time to call on the youth of America to get out there and vote. Major names in fashion like Kendall Jenner, Michael Kors, Liya Kebede, and many more participated in the efforts, filming short videos on registering to vote while wearing the word vote and parading around in plenty of red, white, and blue.
Photo: Getty Images11/14Female Designers pledging to donate to Planned Parenthood
Labels like Apiece Apart, Creatures of Comfort, and Electric Feathers, as well as designers like Rachel Comey, Maria Cornejo, and Maryam Nassir Zadeh took part in the #WomenTogether project last month. Each donated five percent of their sales proceeds over three days to Planned Parenthood and spoke out in support of reproductive health.
Photo: Courtesy of Vivienne Westwood / @viviennewestwoodofficial12/14British designers wearing Anti-Brexit shirts
According to a pre-Brexit survey by the British Fashion Council, 90 percent of British fashion designers said that they would vote to stay in the EU during the June 23 referendum. One of the more outspoken of these designers was Vivienne Westwood, who posted a photo of herself on Instagram wearing a shirt urging people to register to vote and who ultimately signed an open letter opposing England leaving the EU. Additionally, Cozette McCreery and Sid Bryan of Sibling, as well as Christopher Raeburn, all showed solidarity with the word In decorating a few pieces in their Spring 2017 shows.
Photo: Getty Images13/14A fashion design student’s powerful response to the refugee crisis
This spring, Angela Luna presented her graduation collectsion at the annual Parsons benefit and started a conversation in the fashion world surrounding the current refugee crisis (she also won the Womenswear Designer of the Year Award and the Innovation Award). Her clothes were designed to aid the refugees in their travels and everyday struggles—a cape that transformed into a tent for shelter and a jacket that doubles as a lifejacket were two impressive highlights.
Photographed by Alessandra Sanguinetti14/14Fashion labels giving back to those protesting at Standing Rock
Several labels have stepped up to donate supplies and funding to the protestors stationed along the Dakota Access Pipeline. The brand Bliss and Mischief will donate 15 percent of online sales to organizations including the Standing Rock Sioux, Patagonia has given a $25,000 grant to the Indigenous Environmental Network to aid the community there, and Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss actually flew to North Dakota to bring gear to help demonstrators battle the freezing winter ahead.
