From protest threads to political statements: The Legacy of Fashion Activism and the current uprising for a Ceasefire

In October of last year, a terror attack took place in Israel. What followed and is still ongoing is the destruction of Gaza and the Palestinians. For many this came as a surprise, for those who have been following the conflict for a long time, it did not. What has been surprising is that it has been ongoing for more then a year and the bombings have not been stopped by international bodies and governments. Despite the International Court of Justice’s verdict of plausible genocide, the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants, and the global student protests, calls for a permanent ceasefire and Palestinian freedom still seem controversial. Influencers & celebrities are regularly shadowbanned on social media and solidarity items such as the Palestinian flag are banned at many international events. And so fashion, art and music are now being used to attract attention. This is nothing new, as art is a reflection of society and has been used by activists for decades to promote their cause. Personal stylistic choices are a powerful tool for resistance movements to show solidarity.

During the French Revolution (1789-1799), the working class, known as the 'sans-culottes' (meaning without riding breeches), wore long trousers instead of aristocratic riding breeches. They used fashion to identify themselves as a group that stood up for their rights. They created a civilian uniform, in which their clothing served as a symbol of their fight for equality and freedom.

In the early1900s, the first wave of feminism began in America and Britain, with suffragettes taking to the streets to demand the right to vote. They transformed women’s clothing from the patriarchally restrictive Victorian dresses to clothes that were easier to move in. They ditched the tight corsets for tailored suits and the loose skirt-and-blouse look. They also wore specific colors to gatherings: yellow for virtue, white for purity, and purple for loyalty and dignity.

The second wave of feminism brought the mini skirt in the 1960s. The skirt was seen as political activism, a form of rebellion and an extension of female sexuality.

In 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panthers Party in America in response to racial discrimination. Their uniform was an all-black look. They also rejected white beauty standards and left their hair natural, in an Afro style. In doing so, they radiated their ethos 'Black is beautiful' and used fashion activism to implement African elements into American culture.

The 60s were a decade of resistance movements. Not only were gender and ethnic equality demanded, the hippie movement took to the streets against the Vietnam War. Their slogan "Make love, not war" has been a widely used slogan throughout the years. The hippies were recognizable by, among other things, tie-dye, paisley, wide legs and peace signs. The movement were spearheaded by students on campuses, which where violently pushed back, but eventually led to the end of the war.

The AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s brought about a new wave of political engagement and activism. Kam Dhillon wrote for notjustalabel.com: "There is no doubt that AIDS paved the way for a defining legacy of activism and philanthropy in the fashion industry, but it also made the 1990s a troubling decade for the young male designer." AIDS claimed the lives of designers, stylists, photographers, creative directors and many others in the fashion industry and beyond. Unlike, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic, AIDS did not receive global recognition or a large-scale, collaborative response. Because it initially mainly affected the queer community and homophobia was widespread, it was often kept quiet and the many victims often died in silence and shame. Phillip Picardi wrote an Oral history of the aids epidemic for Vogue.com. He concluded that it is important to tell about that period that "normal, everyday people came together to really do something." For example, Avram Finkelstein, who lost his partner to aids in 1984, started the SILENCE = DEATH project. They made posters with the pink triangle, a reference to the symbol given by the Nazis to the LGBTQ+ community during the Holocaust. This became the Symbol for AIDS activism, because ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) took it over. T-shirts, AIDS walks and protests followed, all to show that the epidemic was here and that attention needed to be paid. The group continues to try to spur medical and political progress.

Fashion is political and a reflection of what is happening in society. Fashion activists use their clothes & accessories as tools to amplify the voices of the marginalized and advocate for inclusivity & diversity. Personal style is used to disrupt oppressive structures and prove that they do not fit into their normative, homogenous boxes. Zibby Trewartha-Weiner wrote about this for Sustainable Baddie, "When fashion is political, it becomes a risk that the wearers are willing to take to demonstrate their support."

Which is certainly true with the current movement. Students & protesters are regularly forcibly removed and/or arrested. People wearing a keffiyeh on the streets are harassed and Muslim hatred is on the rise. Despite all this, after more then a year, protests are still taking place worldwide and fashion is being used to draw attention, as seen at the recent Men's Paris Fashion week & during CPFW.

Late april, student encampments for Palestine, demanding their school to divest from Israel, started popping up in America and cities around the world. An important part of a democracy is the right to protest. Western governments are often quick to cast judgement when this right is not upheld in other countries. But the encampments and other pro-Palestine demonstrations have shown that the West is no different. Schools and cities deployed riot police on their students and staff members, which threatened their safety and escalated the situation. I believe police should protect the people and yet we have clearly seen that they are there to protect the interests of those in power.

Early May students at Columbia University’s occupied Hamilton Hall and renamed it Hinds Hall, after Hind Rajab, the six-year-old Palstinian girl who called emergency services to come rescue her, after everybody in the car with her had already been killed. A week later she was found dead, icluding the ambulance workers coming to rescue her. Independant investigation found she was killed by the IDF, whom left 355 bullet holes in her car. This in return inspired Macklemore to come out with his song Hinds Hall, which has gained popularity across the globe.

Now that the schools have started again, so have the encampments and so has the oppression of our right to demonstrate. NYU, for the new school year, added zionists & zionism as a protected class, as a supplement to the university’s nondiscrimination and non-harassment policy. NYU spokesperson John Beckman has stated this is to shield Jewish and Israeli students, where Zionist would be use as a substitute to discriminate them. But it puts students who are speaking against a state and its political ideology at risk.

Trewartha-Weiner - "Resistance is rarely safe or comfortable and it takes courage, but our style choices can be an excellent way to begin taking those risks in small ways."

The keffiyeh (Palestinian scarf) has been worn since the 1940s in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for freedom. And during the current aggression against Gaza, it is increasingly seen on the streets. Its politicization endangers its wearers, and yet it is worn with pride.

A less flashy but still grand gesture is the “Artists for a Ceasefire” pins worn by celebrities on the red carpet. Like Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlin, who wore the pin to every interview during the promotion. When asked about it by USA Today, she said, “It’s really important to me because I feel like I’m a very privileged person. I have my dream job and I get to travel the world, but I’m also hyper-aware of what’s happening in Rafah. I have a global platform now, so I’m hoping to raise money for aid organizations.” And she’s certainly succeeded in doing the latter. So far, she’s raised over $2 million for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

Nicola told Teen Vogue that she was initially discouraged from advocating for a ceasefire. She said: "You do get told, 'You're not going to get any work, you're not going to do that.' But I also think, deep down, if you know you're coming from a place of 'I don't want innocent people to suffer,' then I don't worry about people's reactions."

At the Met Gala in May, while protests were taking place just blocks away and the Israeli-declared safe zone of Rafah was being invaded, the event itself remained free of political expression. And that didn’t sit well with many people. The next day, images of the red carpet and the destruction in Rafah alternated on social media. People called it dystopian and compared it to the Hunger Games. What followed was Blockout 2024, an online movement that called for people to block certain celebrities and influencers on social media who had remained silent on Palestine. The idea behind it is that you can’t force them to choose a side, but you can choose who you spend your time on.

Can you force someone to choose a side, or does this create polarization? Lisa Bouyeure wrote about this in the Jan/Feb 2024 edition of Dutch Vogue. One of the conclusions she drew was that “it makes sense that we have come to expect public figures to concern themselves with world suffering." This is because we no longer use social media just for the beautiful, perfect aspects of life, but also as a source of news. "Since the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, it has become more difficult to get the benefit of the doubt. You cannot silently be against racism. If you do not take action, you perpetuate the system."

And so public figures are not only speaking out, but using fashion to draw attention. At the Cannes Film Festival, Palestinian supermodel Bella Hadid wore a 2001 Michael & Hushi archive dress made of Keffiyehs. Cate Blanchett stood out in a Haider Ackermann ✗ Jean Paul Gaultier dress, which combined with the red carpet strongly hinted at the Palestinian flag. Despite global solidarity, the established fashion world seems to be largely staying out of it. The difference with the way the war in Ukraine was responded to is palpable. And yet, you see the resistance growing and fashion people continue to unite by wearing Keffiyehs, symbols such as the flag & watermelon and t-shirts with slogans for Palestine.

And while dozens of pages could be filled on this topic, for now we will end with a few sentences from the speech by designers Serhat Işık and Benjamin Huseby of the brand GmbH. They closed Men's Paris Fashion Week in January 2024 with a collection inspired by the keffiyeh. Huseby: "Now that the far right and real Nazis and fascists are coming back to power in Europe and many other parts of the world, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are also on the rise. How convenient it is to distract us, to make us believe that there really is a struggle between two already marginalized groups of people, when in fact the struggle is more between power and justice; exclusive nationalism vs. true universal humanity; oppression vs. freedom."