During a heavy and dark global climate, fashion comes secondary. Luxury and art can lose its relevance. But, that’s also when the best art comes through. When escapism feels prosaic and out-of-touch, fashion takes to realism, and designers are using their designs to speak out.
An array of designers spoke politics with their clothes for FW25. Willy Chavarria, who made his Paris debut this season, led the discussion with his collection “Tarantula”. The collection, which celebrated chicano culture, stood for the protection of civil rights, especially in the current US landscape – closing the show with Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s inauguration speech on the tracks.
“Right now the American Dream is simply to preserve our rights as humans, and to be able to afford to live a decent life,” Chavarria told us in our interview last week. “I hope that my work can touch everybody. I’m not just trying to touch the people that maybe are already on the right side of history,” he said. “I think that sometimes it’s not about talking to someone about beliefs, but showing them emotionally, through art or music or fashion, how we feel.”
Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons Homme Plus collection had an anti-war stance with subverted Japanese military uniforms and distorted combat boots and mourning with flowers on the helmets. And so did Yohji Yamamoto, who showed on a black runway and had “sadness and suffering are the flowers of life” written on a coat.
Rick Owens went down a similar road with his collection “The Concordians”. Named after Concordia, a small town in Italy where he set up his factory 20 years ago, “Concordia” also means harmony and peace in Latin.
Rick’s collection showed a neutral palette of mainly black pieces, and accents of red through accessories, a colour standing for love, luck and passion among different cultures. The red thread-esque body jewellery that wrapped the models’ silhouettes was reminiscent of Mexican “ojo bracelets”, which ward off bad vibes – maybe a nod to keeping his community safe.
Fashion, as a wearable art, is a sign of our times and always mirrors the culture. It’s inherently political, inspiring rebellion, discussion and awareness on topics like racism, war, homophobia, climate change, feminism. And in times like these, when darkness and conflict rises, fashion sometimes speaks better than words do. As our contemporary design philosopher Virgil Abloh put it: “It’s not just fashion for fashion’s sake.”
Featured image Willy Chavarria©
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