FASHION AS A POLITICAL VOICE

Abstract

This paper examines the development of fashion as a language and form of communication throughout history into the political voice it has embodied today and in more recent history. Since around the Victorian Age, there is evidence of fashion being used as a form of communication and as a way to send a message. Each decision a person or group makes about what to wear delivers a statement to the world, whether that be about their job, personality, values, likes, political ideals, and much more. This unrelenting power of fashion has been harnessed by those in power and with high status to further their agendas, whether in a negative manner, such as in World War II, or in a positive manner, such as Mary Quant’s quest for liberation for women. Starting in the early twentieth century, this means of communication through fashion continued to evolve into using fashion as a political voice and to make a statement about one’s political beliefs and values. Using fashion in this way has been nothing short of influential, and has helped to effect universal change in so many ways, which are further explored throughout this paper.