Vanessa Friedman’s Fashion Politics

Just in recent years, we have seen fashion symbols of ideas and protest, as well as debates of representations of cultures and bodies through clothing. The #metoo movement brought knit pink pussyhats and actors wearing black to the Academy Awards. Rainbow-wear is synonymous with Pride and white vests “<a href="https://philipmartingallery.com/news/463-...and-the-vest-is-history-how-the-white-evening-standard-magazine/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">became a symbol of queer identity.</a>” <a href="https://visiblyblack.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter</a> quickly made T-shirts to celebrate the cause. Then there’s controversy over garments like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkini" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">burkini</a>, <a href="https://www.koreanfashiontrends.com/crop-top-controversy/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">crop tops</a>, and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/07/1109317208/pandemic-workplace-fashion" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">changing nature of office wear since the pandemic</a>. The founder of the mini skirt, Mary Quant, died earlier this year. Her frock <a href="https://www.lampoonmagazine.com/article/2023/04/14/mary-quant/#:~:text=Dame%20Barbara%20Mary%20Quant%20was,the%20inventor%20of%20the%20miniskirt." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">evoked a freedom for women</a>, but one that even decades later is not always acceptable. Others might not consider trends that expose bodies to be freedom at all. Our <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/mary-quant-life-in-photos-miniskirt-twiggy-pattie-boyd/102222502" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">journalist subject today said</a> that Quant “freed the female leg. We owe you.” in her RIP tweet for the designer. <a href="https://medium.com/@tournerlesmots/vanessa-friedmans-fashion-politics-3fe0f48c3de3">Learn More</a>