Democrazìa from the Greeks δημοκρατία, is formed by the words δῆμος “people” and -κρατία “-cracy”, a form of government in which power resides in the people. A word that contains a concept taken for granted. Used to living in our bubbles made up of mostly superficial and easily solvable problems, we forget about people forced to live in a state of real impossibility and the ability to express even just an opinion.
History teaches us that when one is forced to live in a context that imposes an absolute truth rather than letting confrontation and different opinions free, one of the ways to change things are revolutions. Or at least to try to change them.
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And what role can fashion play in all this?
It can be the vehicle through which this revolution can be spread around the world. A dress or an entire collection thus becomes the megaphone of a person who protests to assert his opinion.
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This is what the pieces of the Vetements brand in its fall / winter 2021 collection have become the spokesmen of a social condition. The blue spray effect in almost every garment in the collection, according to Guram Gvasalia, the CEO of Vetements, represents a reference to the anti-government protests in Hong Kong that took place last year, has caused quite a bit of controversy.
A graphic printed on the garments of the Vetements collection that recalls the splashes of water fired by the police on the crowd of demonstrators and containing blue dye that would have more easily identified the people to be arrested at a later time.
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There was no lack of criticism and many accused the label of trivializing the suffering of protesters and political prisoners for profit.
Away from the fashion world, activists have criticized the brand’s move very severely:
“It is in bad taste to turn political upheaval and people’s grief into an overpriced fashion statement. Stop. ”Hong Kong human rights activist Sophie Mak tweeted.
We do not want to further argue about the choice of Vetements, but here we want to raise a further question and reflection on this matter.
What is fashion if not what happens to us every day?
A way to talk, scream and represent our reality. Criticism aside, the fashion world cannot stop in its mission to denounce what is happening in the world. And if this raises criticism all the better. For better or for worse, being able to talk about a situation is already a great victory for the world of fashion and for our society.
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