I think fashion is wearable art in many cases, except for all of NYFW, and as such is a perfectly legit medium to express political opinions. There's a long history of it. I can't find the exact quote, but I believe it was Toqueville describing the French court, a jungle of plumes, wigs, and jewelry, the ambassadors in particular dressed to outdo each other. There was just one line, something like, "The American minister (ambassador) was dressed in plain black, as usual."
That was a reminder to the court, the monarch included, of our rejection of elitism and ostentatious displays of wealth and privilege. The French Revolution was inspired by those ideals, albeit misinterpreted by the plebiscite; nonetheless, the way Americans behaved and presented themselves was a constant reminder of the radical notion of liberal democracy in the ultimate authoritarian, caste-based environment.
Supporting a fraught political position about a highly complex situation, however, is abuse of influence, especially in this age when the influence of the fashion world has never been higher, especially among the young whose opinions are informed by groupthink and peer pressure. For example, Michèle Lamy's posts in support of Hamas starting in mid-October are mostly outright antisemitic, which is extremely problematic for a French person, as it is for most of Europe, with the notable exception of the UK.
The rewriting of history about things like the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, now called 'Nakba,' using Islamic fundamentalist propaganda branding of it, has even infected search engines. This is a PR win for terrorism.
This is Israel's problem. It is the only liberal democracy surrounded by textbook fascist states; they know best how to deal with it, even if it means becoming a "pariah," as Senator Schumer called Israel today. My experience of Israelis is they're so used to pariah status that they assume it; his statement today was pure political pandering to young liberals who have been poorly informed by influencers, especially in the fashion world.
In the end, Israel is going to do what it has to do; Schumer is abusing his office by interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation with rhetoric that supports the notion that we're an empire and Israel is one of our colonies.
Sadly, we're in an election year, and Democrats like Schumer remember how Republicans manipulated a similar hostage crisis in 1979, combined with keeping oil prices high, to oust a good president, Jimmy Carter. All Progressives are doing by supporting Hamas is aiding Trump to win reelection, the man who moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem and whose daughter converted to Orthodox Judaism.
Fashion folk are motivated by images and appearances. If they had the full picture of what's going on, they would sit this one out. I grew up on the frontlines of the Cold War immersed in crazy amounts of political intrigue, deep in the heart of the American establishment that was trying to keep France and Italy from slipping into communism. Left-wing terrorism associated with the PLO was a daily occurrence. I've kept abreast of foreign affairs since then.
Much as I despise the atrocities happening in Gaza and war in general, if I don't feel knowledgeable enough to condemn Israel and join most of the creative community outside of Hollywood in support of the Palestinian cause, then I think the "frivolous" denizens of the fashion world should sit this one out, in the back row.
I think fashion is wearable art in many cases, except for all of NYFW, and as such is a perfectly legit medium to express political opinions. There's a long history of it. I can't find the exact quote, but I believe it was Toqueville describing the French court, a jungle of plumes, wigs, and jewelry, the ambassadors in particular dressed to outdo each other. There was just one line, something like, "The American minister (ambassador) was dressed in plain black, as usual."
That was a reminder to the court, the monarch included, of our rejection of elitism and ostentatious displays of wealth and privilege. The French Revolution was inspired by those ideals, albeit misinterpreted by the plebiscite; nonetheless, the way Americans behaved and presented themselves was a constant reminder of the radical notion of liberal democracy in the ultimate authoritarian, caste-based environment.
Supporting a fraught political position about a highly complex situation, however, is abuse of influence, especially in this age when the influence of the fashion world has never been higher, especially among the young whose opinions are informed by groupthink and peer pressure. For example, Michèle Lamy's posts in support of Hamas starting in mid-October are mostly outright antisemitic, which is extremely problematic for a French person, as it is for most of Europe, with the notable exception of the UK.
The rewriting of history about things like the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, now called 'Nakba,' using Islamic fundamentalist propaganda branding of it, has even infected search engines. This is a PR win for terrorism.
This is Israel's problem. It is the only liberal democracy surrounded by textbook fascist states; they know best how to deal with it, even if it means becoming a "pariah," as Senator Schumer called Israel today. My experience of Israelis is they're so used to pariah status that they assume it; his statement today was pure political pandering to young liberals who have been poorly informed by influencers, especially in the fashion world.
In the end, Israel is going to do what it has to do; Schumer is abusing his office by interfering in the affairs of a sovereign nation with rhetoric that supports the notion that we're an empire and Israel is one of our colonies.
Sadly, we're in an election year, and Democrats like Schumer remember how Republicans manipulated a similar hostage crisis in 1979, combined with keeping oil prices high, to oust a good president, Jimmy Carter. All Progressives are doing by supporting Hamas is aiding Trump to win reelection, the man who moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem and whose daughter converted to Orthodox Judaism.
Fashion folk are motivated by images and appearances. If they had the full picture of what's going on, they would sit this one out. I grew up on the frontlines of the Cold War immersed in crazy amounts of political intrigue, deep in the heart of the American establishment that was trying to keep France and Italy from slipping into communism. Left-wing terrorism associated with the PLO was a daily occurrence. I've kept abreast of foreign affairs since then.
Much as I despise the atrocities happening in Gaza and war in general, if I don't feel knowledgeable enough to condemn Israel and join most of the creative community outside of Hollywood in support of the Palestinian cause, then I think the "frivolous" denizens of the fashion world should sit this one out, in the back row.