This semester, The Hum spoke to students and professors at American University to gain insight on whether they think fashion is political.
Junior Marley Joseph is editor-in-chief of Ego Magazine, a fashion magazine on campus which produces two volumes per semester. He said fashion isn’t necessarily made to be political, but has the opportunity to take a political stance.
“If you look at runway shows, anything, it’s always a stance on something whether it’s culture at the time, or the media, fashion always takes a stance,” Joseph said.
Joseph said he thinks fashion can be used as a form of protest. He said during the Black Lives Matter protests, peoples’ attire, such as the black shirts with text that read “Black Lives Matter,” created a sense of unity.
“It may not have been the most fashionable shirt,” Joseph said, “I mean, it was three words on a black t-shirt and white text, but I think the power stood behind it.”
Senior Anjali Singh said she thinks fashion is a way to both express identity and resistance.
“It feels subtle, but I feel like it’s super strong in a way too,” Singh said. “Because you see protests, and you see what people are wearing, and you see how different shirts can be a powerful form of expression.”
Singh said one can tell where someone stands on the political spectrum based on what they’re wearing – like the Make America Great Again hat. Singh said because fashion is a way for people to express their identities, those identities can be pushed into a political box.
“You see someone wearing a keffiyeh and you know that they support, or they have some relationship to, any Middle Eastern country, because the keffiyeh can be — there’s different ones for Jordan, there’s different ones for Palestine — but it’s primarily been pro-Palestine, and I think that’s very powerful,” Singh said. “And I think it’s a very strong way to express yourself without, you know, vocalizing it.”
To hear what professors and other students have to say about fashion and politics, listen to this episode of The Hum on your favorite podcast-listening platform or visit awolau.org.
