How the Fashion Industry Responded to This Year’s Most Powerful Political and Social Movements Inline
Photo: Getty Images1/14Opening Ceremony’s “Pageant of The People” Resort 2017 show
Designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon staged their Resort 2017 show for Opening Ceremony inside the Javits Center in New York, where they lined the stage with flags from every nation around the world and gave the microphone to various bold faces including Rashida Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jessica Williams. Instead of music, the models walked to the sounds of their voices discussing issues ranging from the refugee crisis to gender equality and racism in America.
Photo: AP Images2/14Public School’s “We Need Leaders” moment for men’s and women’s Spring 2017
Public School designers Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow presented their men’s and women’s Spring 2017 clothing among masked factory workers pounding at cement blocks near a wall spray-painted with the words “We Need Leaders” (there were also “WNL” patches on a few of the men’s pieces). Osborne also penned an open letter back in July voicing his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, urging his peers to speak out and act on the issue, as much of the industry has stayed relatively quiet concerning the group.
Photo: Courtesy of Pyer Moss3/14Pyer Moss’s Black Lives Matter message during his Fall 2016 show
At his Fall 2016 show, Kerby Jean-Raymond referenced issues of depression and the tragic suicide of Black Lives Matter activist MarShawn McCarrel, which happened that same month. The season prior, the Pyer Moss designer started his show with a video highlighting police brutality in the U.S. and for Spring 2017, he showed a collection meant to reflect the damage that privilege can do to power (ahem, president-elect).
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv4/14Rick Owens Fall 2016 and his commentary on climate change
Rick Owens titled his Fall 2016 show “Mastodon” in an effort to raise awareness about extinction, environmentalism, and the rapidly increasing problem of global warming. The designer summed up his artistic intentions backstage: “Mastodons don’t exist anymore, as we won’t. Maybe there’s an acceptance level we should look for.”
Photo: Indigital.tv5/14Feminism at Dior for Spring 2017
In July of 2016, Maria Grazia Chiuri became the first woman to helm the house of Christian Dior and her debut collection for Spring 2017 underscored this historic appointment. The clothes celebrated feminism and women’s rights—the T-shirt decorated with the words We Should All Be Feminists was inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s inspirational TEDx Talk.
