Accessorizing: A Powerful Tool for Political Messaging and Social Movements

Fashion has always been political, ; it provides opportunities to take a firm stance in socioeconomic movements, whether subliminally or intentionally. This ranges from the bespoke suiting of the Civil Rights Movement and the revolutionary militant aesthetics of the Black Panther Party to the t-shirts that defined the Black Lives Matter movement. More specifically, the fashion accessory has often been used as a powerful tool for messaging (constructive or destructive), political campaigns, protests and countercultural movements. Think of the hanky code of the ’70s and ’80s, in which members of the LGBTQ+ community used handkerchiefs and bandanas to signify their identity safely. We could never forget Beyoncé’s homage to the Black Panther Party through leather garb and berets at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. Beyonce. Image: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Getty Images. Just recently, representatives Cori Bush, Rashida Tlaib and Summer Lee donned the Palestinian keffiyeh in a show of solidarity with Gaza at the State of the Union earlier this year. The notion that clothing and accessories can serve as vehicles for revolutionary protest may appear insignificant. Yet, it has been a notable and enduring feature of civilization throughout history, pop culture and the zeitgeist.  This year marks a...