The era of rebellions
Empowering planet protesters, artists of variousness, breaking the barriers of sexism, and being climate warriors. Last couple of years we have witnessed many rebellions in the form of art, fashion, design, and products that are sustainable enough to recycle. It has predominantly changed the spectrum of asserting one's preferences. From the logos to hash tag campaigns, chaotic colors, and climate healing workshops, or ready-to-wear lines of clothing with slogans and digital overload. In this article, we scrutinize the art and fashion that intertwined with this attitude of rebellions with a spur and purpose.
Lately, fashion has been the center of revolution through various wizards, it remains a momentous vehicle for expressing many concerns and emotions such as the loss of loved ones, planet protection, and protesting through collections for environmental health, climate and animal rights or empowering gen-next fabrics or zero carbon emission.
Guo Lei’s A/W 2020 couture shows “Alternate Universe” collection reflects life and death as never just religious propositions or philosophical thoughts. It is also a domain that artists never stop exploring and expressing, they are not just poetry chants, with the loss of beloved ones, one wonders what it will be like when the journey ends. Death is inevitable so the designers preferred the embodiment of imagination and it's a dream, an alternate universe parallel to this world. Where everything returns to its original state of true pureness and beauty.
Balenciaga’s creative director Demna put on an A/W 2022 runway show meant to celebrate resistance in times of war, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this month. While Balenciaga's Insta handle remains empty, Demna shared a post as a symbol of visually speaking against the war, he stated that we make clothes, so it makes sense, in a way. The only thing we can do is offer the option of speaking up; we've taken a stance, symbolically. Because the people over there, where the war is taking place see the message of support, through the show and its intensity and its emotional baggage.
French activist Marie Cohuet protested with shocking disruption last October, as a member of an environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, crashed the “Louis Vuitton spring 2022 show carrying a sign that read” overconsumption Extinction “ later that day she wrote on Twitter “we marched to demand that fashion realize that the world is burning.”
Recently partnering with PETA to launch their collaboration, H&M dropped a collection of vegan products, featuring materials like “flower down” - made from dried wildflowers -instead of the usual goose down. And vegan knits to replace sheep’s wool all of that accomplishes from the history of communicating with them and letting them know how important it was to bring their consumers ethical, sustainable, cruelty-free, and organic options. Many brands are working towards the same through assorted choices of vegan colors, impactful slogans, and earthy textures.
This kind of artistic protest has been known to be working throughout the history of mankind. At the moment people do hold suspicion but ultimately they realize the necessity of transition. Fashion is made on the consumption and the buying of extensively fashionable clothing every season. Whether it's about stopping the current cycle of overconsumption for good by bringing out slogans like “there is no fashion on a dead planet” or as the fashion establishment one sought to capitalize on the activist spirit through protest-inspired runways shows and political messages. This renewed activist vision is a far cry from hard-edged rebellions. It's about reminding human potential all over again to preserve and honor peace and the planet.
