Saturday, April 12, 2025
Throughout history, our fashion choices have reflected political times, whether that be rebellion or assimilation. At a surface level, fashion choices such as texture, color, fabric, and structure may seem inconsequential but through a political lens, people can convey rhetoric without uttering a word.
With the rise of political extremist rhetoric and racial tensions as well as extreme conservative ideology, many turn to fashion and makeup as a form of expression.
For example, in the transition between the 1930s and 40s the start of WWII emerged. WWII had a profound impact on fashion in the first half of the 1940s and even had a prolonging impact on the silhouettes of clothes and fabrics after its closure.
By the dawn of the 1940s, France had been solidified as the center of women’s fashion design. However, just six months into 1940, German occupied Paris, an occupation that would last until late 1944. While some designers fled many stayed and continued to design, although these designs were not seen out of France and diverged drastically from what other countries were wearing as France was cut off from the rest of the world.
In the UK, fashion during this period was dominated by rationing. Utility clothing and uniforms were the most ubiquitous forms of “fashion” during the war. Utility clothing could be bought with ration coupons.
Both Utility dresses and uniforms adopted similar design elements: The look was simple but stylish, with good proportion and line, incorporating padded shoulders a nipped-in waist, and hems to just below the knee. An intentionally practical flowy garment that would prevent the restriction of movement in case of disaster but always could be identified with British Nationalism.
In the US by contrast, clothes rationing never became quite as severe as it was in the UK. Two designers emerged on the American scene developing simple, casual styles that proved trendy and popular: Norman Norell and Claire McCardell.
Norell’s high-quality designs filled the void created by France’s absence. By using unrationed sequins on his sheath dresses starting in 1942, he added sparkle to the otherwise bleak atmosphere brought by the war, McCardell’s designs were sporty, casual, and practical.
In 1940, McCardell introduced her “Popover” dress–a denim-wrap front dress- it was simple, chic, and even came with an oven mitt. McCardell’s easy to wear, fun, comfortable clothing, like the 1945 stripped sundress and the roomy dress and coat ensemble from 1947 continued to be successful into the 1950s, laying the foundation for modern-day women’s wear.
The end of WWII shifted attentions from international to domestic with the emergence of the Civil rights Movement after many African American soldiers returned from the war front fed up with racial discrimination and segregation after fighting in Europe. The NAACP-emboldened by the record of black servicemen in the war, a new corps of brilliant young lawyers, and steady financial support from white philanthropists-initiated major attacks against discrimination and segregation, even in Jim Crow South.
Through this emerged two distinct styles in African American fashion, one pioneered by the Black Panther Part, and the other encouraged by MLK’s Civil Disobedience.
The top to bottom uniform worn by many members of the Black Panther Party was strategic and symbolic. Intentionally unique to differentiate themselves from the passive Civil Disobedience of the Civil Rights Movements with their professional, classy “Sunday’s best” suits, dresses, skirts, and “well-groomed” hair, the Black Panther Party’s unisex appearance and afro hair texture represented their aim not to conform but challenge white American society and respectability politics.
Afros have always been a symbol of Black Pride and were heavily associated by the Black Panther Party. The afro defied Eurocentric beauty standards that were imposed onto African Americans. Straight hair was more societally acceptable and were necessary to infiltrate white spaces and professions. A direct result of this was an increase in texturism, which is discrimination based on hair texture and curl pattern, and internalized racism as many AA’s manipulated and dissociated from their black features for survival. As a result, Black Panther Party members coined the slogan “Black is Beautiful.” An affirmation to themselves and to people in the word that denied the beauty in Blackness, celebrating the variety of skin shades, hair textures, and physical features that make up the African Diaspora.
An iconic fashion statement was the militaristic berets adorned on the top of their afros. The beret, a symbol of revolution, represented non-conformism, resistance, and militance. Panther leaders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale were inspired by French Resistance Fighters during World War II. The revolutionary ideologies and resistance against police brutality that the party was originally founded on complemented the militaristic attire perfectly.
Another example of political expression through fashion is zoot suits which were a response from the Mexican American community to anti-immigrant sentiments. The zoot suit was born in the bustling streets of Harlem in the 1930s by Black musicians with their distinguished oversized jackets, outlandishly broad shoulder pads, and balloon trousers. As the suits surged in popularity among Black communities in New York and beyond, they were perceived as visual markers of gang activity and deception.
The zoot suit continued to symbolize dissent as the fashion trend spread across working-class communities at large. In Los Angeles, when Mexican American men called pachucos adopted the zoot suit, they were constantly victimized to violent, racist attacks reaching their climax in 1943 during the Zoot Suits Riots. White American servicemen and civilians stripped and beat Latino men for wearing the suits during the stress and rationing of a major World War.
More recently, with the 2024 presidential election, there has been further evidence of fashion intertwining with politics. Trump supporters wore their bright-red MAGA caps like badges of honor, while Kamala Harris was viewed as a style icon for corporate professional women because of her unique tailored suits and subtle nods to sustainable fashion.
It is with subtle fashion choices like these that we can identify political messages and target audiences. It has never been clear that fashion can be used as a political weapon. In situations where oral communication is naught, clothes tell stories and can convey political statements on socio-political issues; it is most unwise to underestimate the impact of fashion.
Fashion itself is and always will be an act of rebellion, since every day we rebel from societal or parental expectations with our outfit choices.