The story of resistance fashion, from revolutionaries and Suffragettes to pink pussy hats and the \u2018Bushwick Birkin\u2019. Cath Pound explores clothing as rebellion.<\/p>\n
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For centuries, clothing has been armour for those who feel alienated from the mainstream, whether because of their views, gender, class, race or sexuality. From the red \u2018Liberty\u2019 cap worn by the sans-culottes<\/em> in the French Revolution, to the ripped denim and slogan T-shirts of the hippies, and the pink pussy hat of the Women\u2019s March, clothing has been used by marginalised groups as a tool of resistance, and in order to be seen and heard by those in authority.<\/p>\n More like this:<\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Meet the original fashion eco-warrior<\/a><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The trans model breaking boundaries<\/a><\/p>\n –\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The brave new world of China\u2019s Gen Z<\/a><\/p>\n These are looks that have generally developed within popular movements, though in our politically tumultuous times they are increasingly appearing on the catwalk, inevitably leading to accusations of commodification. But a new exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, which explores the manifold ways in which fashion can exert power, suggests the relationship is not always so simple. Resistance clothing can be fashionable, and the runway can be an effective tool of protest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The red \u2018Liberty\u2019 cap was worn as a sign of resistance by the sans-culottes during the French Revolution (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been in the interest of a movement to have a kind of visual cohesion,\u201d says Emma McClendon, curator of Power Mode: The Force of Fashion<\/a>, who cites the Suffragettes as an example. \u201cThey wore white to bring them together and provide a cohesive identity on marches.\u201d<\/p>\n The white would often come in the form of a feminised version of the ultimate symbol of male civility, the suit. It was a sartorial demand for equality tempered by the purity of its colour, which emphasised that the women were still ideal citizens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Suffragettes wore white to create a cohesive identity on marches (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Some more daring campaigners for equality even wore trousers, a practice that was illegal in many parts of the US and Europe. So strong was the association of trousers with patriarchal power that women didn\u2019t truly gain popular acceptance wearing them until the 1960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The archetypal rebel look which still endures today is of course the leather biker jacket, jeans and white T-shirt combination which first gained traction in the 1950s, helped by the fact that \u201cthere was such a crossover between the resistance aspect and the pop culture aspect,\u201d McClendon tells BBC Designed. However, she sees the Woodstock music festival in 1969 as the tipping point for resistance clothing becoming mainstream, and even fashionable, which inevitably produced tensions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The leather jacket has long been a garment of rebellion \u2013 this one by Pyer Moss, autumn\/winter 2015, is displayed at the Power Mode exhibition (Credit: The Museum at FIT)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hippies \u201cwere using clothing very consciously like the Suffragettes or the sans-culottes<\/em> as a tool of resistance,\u201d says McClendon. The second-hand denim they wore which could be patched and embroidered as it wore down was \u201ca political and visual protest against the shiny, plastic, space-age consumerism that was taking hold in the post-war period,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n But, in the aftermath of Woodstock, Levis and Coca Cola began to use the look as a marketing tool. It became a style choice for those who had only a tenuous grasp of the hippies\u2019 original ethos. Those who bought Tom Ford\u2019s ripped and embroidered denim jeans for more than $3,000 in the late 1990s clearly had none. While that is a particularly egregious example of the commodification of resistance clothing it is by no means indictive of the fashion industry as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the 1980s US designer Patrick Kelly, pictured here with models, wore dungarees to make a point about African-American history and identity (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In a pre-digital age, designers such as Katharine Hamnett and Patrick Kelly were clearly aware of the impact of using their collections to promote a message.<\/p>\n Hamnett<\/a> famously wore a 58% Don\u2019t Want Pershing t-shirt to a meeting with then-UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Downing Street in 1984, while in the US Kelly, who died in 1990, used his label to engage with aspects of African-American identity. He designed leggings printed with a pattern resembling the African fabric, kente, and for his personal uniform chose denim dungarees, an allusion to the black sharecroppers of the US South. \u00a0He was, like the Student Nonviolent Co-ordinating Committee<\/a> during the Civil Rights Movement, reclaiming this symbol of subservience as a power statement.<\/p>\n Fight the power<\/strong><\/p>\n Today, in a world where protestors are consciously aware that visual information is instantly sharable via social media \u201cthere is a gravitation towards these highly visible symbols much quicker than we saw in past movements,\u201d says McClendon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The highly visible pink pussy hat has become a symbol for feminist resistance, and was worn by models at a Missoni catwalk show (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n She references the black T-shirts of protesters in Hong Kong, the \u2018gilets jaunes\u2019 in France and, of course, the pink pussy hat, which has become one of the most potent symbols of resistance in the post-2016 landscape.<\/p>\n A month after the Women\u2019s March, Missoni sent models wearing a version of the hat down the runway at the finale of their Milan Fashion Week show. Angela Missoni is known for being a long-term supporter of women\u2019s rights and was undoubtedly aware that the image would have a huge impact. And as the hats were never produced commercially, there was no case of cashing in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dior\u2019s \u2018We should all be feminists\u2019 T-shirt was created by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the brand\u2019s first woman creative director (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dior\u2019s \u2018We should all be feminists,\u2019 T-shirt, which references the title of an essay by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and also became inextricably linked with the march, is a slightly more complex case. Created for the debut collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior\u2019s first female creative director, it was intended to emphasise that the esteemed house was now designed by women for women. Retailing at almost US$800 (\u00a3612), it was never meant to be a protest T-shirt for the masses.<\/p>\n However, in the run up to the march, several celebrities posted images of themselves wearing it on Instagram. These posts received millions of hits, which effortlessly disseminated the message across the globe. In this way, argues McClendon, \u201cit became a kind of rallying cry for the digital age and not just a commodification\u201d.<\/p>\n There is no denying the impact a brand with the visibility of Dior is going to have, but McClendon acknowledges that \u201cwe tend to see more action and activity in the place of resistance from smaller independent labels.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Pyer Moss brand, autumn\/winter 2018 shown here, makes statements through its designs about racial prejudice in the fashion industry (Credit: Maria Valentino\/ Pyer Moss)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Kerby Jean-Raymond\u2019s brand Pyer Moss makes powerful statements about the racial prejudice evident even in his own industry. A black leather jacket with \u201cWe already have a black designer,\u201d sprawled across it is a biting comment on tokenism. Elsewhere he references the forgotten history of the black cowboy by merging details like chaps with sneakers and tracksuits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Telfar is another \u201creally outspoken brand,\u201d that consciously targets a \u201cconsumer base that is queer, of colour and just typically very marginalised and excluded from fashion,\u201d says McClendon. Prices are also deliberately kept at an affordable level. A leather shopper bag nicknamed the Bushwick Birkin<\/a>, after an area of Brooklyn, has gained huge popularity among queer and black consumers who are delighted that a brand actively recognises and celebrates them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The so-called \u2018Bushwick Birkin\u2019 bag by conscious and outspoken brand Telfar has become a must-have item (Credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Even more affordable is the jewellery created by British designers Tatty Devine<\/a>. As active supporters of women\u2019s and LGBTQ+ rights, the company has designed collections for anti-homophobia campaigns and in tandem with the Fawcett Society, Britain\u2019s leading charity for gender equality.<\/p>\n It is clear people will continue to want to express their opposition to the status quo via what they wear. And while smaller brands are stepping up to the mark, McClendon says that the larger corporate-driven houses are going to have to acknowledge this new environment too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry can\u2019t stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n Power Mode: The Force of Fashion<\/a> is on at The Museum at FIT, New York, until 9 May. <\/em><\/p>\n If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0page or message us on<\/em>\u00a0Twitter<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n And if you liked this story,\u00a0<\/em>sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter<\/strong><\/a>, called The Essential List, a handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/ychef.files.bbci.co.uk\/976x549\/p081tm0r.jpg\" "\\"The")
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