My secondary research is based on using fashion as a protest, resistance and empowering tool. I will be using this research to see how relevant my collection will be in the real world.
I began researching on how people in the past have used fashion as a tool of going against the norm and certain beliefs.
One of the first fashion protests was the fashion revolution in France in the 1790s. This was when survivors of the Reign of Terror used fashion as a tool to change the norm dress codes that were implicated by the French directory. Men wore earrings, coloured jackets and wide trousers and women wore thin, silhouette exposing dresses and blonde wigs due to them being banned in order to make a political statement in the form of satire. They were then given the name "Incroyables" and "Marveilleuses" which means unbelievables and marvelous women. In my opinion this was very forward for their era and they were one of the first people to use this protest tool (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.).
Suffragette white was a movement in the beginning of the 20th century which was a protest to allow women to vote. This was a major time for women as they were not allowed to vote hence had no say about anything. These women rebelled by using three colours for their movement. The colours were white which stood for purity, gold to pay homage to Kansas as a campaign site and purple for loyalty. The reason for choosing these colours was in order to allow more women to participate in the movement as the colours were easily accessible (Staff, n.d).
The peace sign was another tool for protest, in the 1970s it was used to protest for antiwar. In the 1960s, it was first introduced and was used to fight nuclear disarmament during the cold war in London. It was used as an antiwar symbol and a civil rights symbol which was also printed on clothes, made into jewellery, flags and many more. In my opinion this is the most peaceful way of protest ever happened as the peace sign is so universal which amazes me to this day (Meier, 2017).
Slogan tees were another form of protest tool as they were used by many designer but Vivienne Westwood created the idea of using a shirt as a canvas to present ideologies and opinions about matters and wearing them more publicly out into the world. This is my favourite form of protest as anyone can participate and express their beliefs without having to be at a specific protest to show support (Klerk, 2021).
In the 1960s to the 1970s black people fought for their civil rights and the racial comments executed towards them along with inequality and other racial slurs. In order to take them seriously they used to wear suits to look business like and denim in order to represent the working class and politics but also because denim was more durable than wearing a suit during protests. It was a way to represent black pride and liberation (Lumen, n.d.).
The women liberation protest was when women raided the 1968 Miss America Pageant in New Jersey and began throwing away things that they believed was unnecessary, like makeup products, bras and stocking in a trash can. The reason was to accentuate the fact that women do not need all of these things in order to be seen as women nor to be seen as beautiful and place emphasis that all women are the same not based on looks (Gay, 2018).
The Pussyhat protest was another protest to promote communicating solidarity but also place emphasis on disturbing comments Donald Trump condoned about the freedom he felt to grab women's genitals. The protest was also used to change the stigma of the word "pussy" into something empowering and something proud to acquire as it had many more meanings than it just being women's genitalia. In addition the women protesting wore specific hat ear shaped pink hats which were knitted. The reason they were knitted was to place emphasis on the old times were women had to do everything around the house including knitting for their husbands along with kids. Additionally they were associated with women and domestic labor. Famous slogans were "My pussy my choice", "#metoo and "No"(Pussyhatproject.com, n.d.). To place even more emphasis on Women liberation and womens rights against assault, at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards celebrities wore black and stood in hands to protest in their own way about being victims of sexual assault and show solidarity towards victims who had to experience it. This action also raised awareness for the Times up movement which was the response about sexual abuse allegations made towards movie producer Harvey Weinstein (Italie, 2018).
The Black Lives Matter was one of the most known and recent protests which began when police killed several innocent black citizens named "George Floyd", "Trayvon Martin", "Eric Garner", "Mike Brown" and many more. Protesters raided the streets holding signs and restraining against the police. The protesters wore Black tshirts with slogans on them, face masks and protective eyewear to protect them against the fight of the police using gases, rubber bullets and beating (Abu, 2018).
Overall from what my study has indicated this form of protest has been here for many years and it is here to stay. This is the reason why I chose this specific movement in my collection Azazel showcasing the Fallen angel. It can be seen that people support all forms of movement and it can be seen that it brings people together. Overall I am satisfied with my research and I find all of the people protesting in their own ways heroes and people to look up to. These actions restore my faith in humanity. In addition, this shows that my collection will sell as it is also a form of protesting more silently and creating a movement. This research I believe supports my collection as people want to support movements hence the collection will sell.
Bibliography
Newman, S. (2020)
A Brief History of Protest Fashion [online] Teen Vogue, Available at: <
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/a-brief-history-of-protest-fashion> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
References
Encyclopedia.com (n.d.)
Fashion During the French Revolution [online] Available at: <
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/culture-magazines/fashion-during-french-revolution> [Accessed 16 May 2021]
Meier, A. (2017)
The 1960s Photographer Who Documented the Peace Sign as a Political Symbol [online] Hyperallergic, Available at: <
https://hyperallergic.com/397021/peace-sign-jim-marshall/> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
Klerk, A. (2021)
The History of the Slogan T-shirt [online] Harper's BAZAAR, Available at: <
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a39193/the-history-of-the-slogan-t-shirt/> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
Lumen.com (n.d.)
The Civil Rights Movement Continues [online] Available at: <
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory2ay/chapter/the-civil-rights-movement-continues-2/> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
Gay, R. (2018)
Fifty Years Ago, Protesters Took on the Miss America Pageant and Electrified the Feminist Movement [online] Smithsonian Magazine, Available at: <
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fifty-years-ago-protestors-took-on-miss-america-pageant-electrified-feminist-movement-180967504/> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
Pussyhatproject.com, (n.d.)
The Pussyhat Story [online] Available at: <
https://www.pussyhatproject.com/our-story> [Accessed 18 May 2021]
Abu, F. (2020)
How Black Lives Matter changed fashion in 2020 [online] Bbc.com, Available at: <
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201215-the-power-of-black-resistance-dressing-and-identity> [Accessed 17 May 2021]
Comprehensive set of research notes and good reflection at the end on how you will use it, well done.
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