{"id":1248,"date":"2026-02-05T18:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sandbox\/?p=1248"},"modified":"2026-02-05T18:33:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T18:33:22","slug":"getting-dressed-is-getting-political","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sandbox\/2026\/02\/05\/getting-dressed-is-getting-political\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Dressed is Getting Political"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>From banned headwraps to punk runways, fashion has always been used as a statement for change. Grace Jappy explores if the messaging behind outfits is intentional or ingrained in each of us. As we look in the mirror and prepare for each day, do we even realise we are getting dressed with politics in the seams of every outfit.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"What does fashion mean to you? \" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/obamWDahEyU?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fashion likes to pretend it\u2019s innocent. That it\u2019s about beauty, or comfort, or the thrill of a good outfit. But history tells a different story. Fashion has always been tangled up in power, who has it, who doesn\u2019t, and who gets punished for showing it. Walking down any street you\u2019ll see it. Dress codes masquerading as professionalism. Modesty rules framed as morality. &#8216;Appropriate&#8217; clothing that quietly enforces race, class, gender, and obedience. Before fashion became expression, it was control.<br>\u201cSomeone has got to say something, everyone has conformed to a degree where they are so scared to say anything.\u201d explains Morgan Sidle, the creator and Creative Director of fashion brand &#8216;Atelier&#8217;. His work draws on identity, resistance, and visibility. His designs don\u2019t just dress bodies, they question who exists comfortably within them. Jess Robinson, promoter and assistant at &#8216;Atelier&#8217; continues the brands ethos saying &#8220;capitalism, an ever expanding belly of greed. I think it&#8217;s good to hold the institution accountable through everything, especially fashion, you&#8217;ve got to&#8221;.<br>Fashion has never been separate from politics, it has been one of its most intimate tools. From laws that dictated what women and people of colour were allowed to wear, to designers who used the runway as a site of rebellion, clothing has always carried meaning far beyond the mirror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>When Clothing Became Law<\/strong><br>In 1786, under French colonial rule in Louisiana, the Tignon Law regulated the appearance of Black women. The law required hair to be covered with a headwrap, or tignon, to mark them as socially inferior and limit their visibility within public space. It was fashion weaponised by the state, an effort to control race, gender, and sexuality through fabric.<br>But the tignon did something unexpected. Rather than erase identity, Black women transformed the headwrap into creativity and resistance, using bright colours and elaborate styles that refused the law\u2019s intent. What was meant to humiliate became a declaration of autonomy.                                                                                                                                                                              This pattern of resistance following restriction repeats throughout fashion history. In the early 1900s, hat pin laws emerged, limiting the length hat pins were allowed to be. Ostensibly introduced for public safety, the laws targeted women\u2019s growing independence. Hat pins, often used for self-defense, became symbolic of women\u2019s mobility and independence, something the state was eager to contain.<br>Then the skirt length index, a theory that suggests hemlines rise during times of economic prosperity and fall during periods of recession. While not a law in itself, it reflects how women\u2019s bodies become economic and moral battlegrounds, read as indicators for social stability. Fashion, once again, becomes a canvas onto which political anxiety is projected.<br>What we wear has rarely been left up to us alone.<br>Morgan Sidle says, \u201cEveryone has got a message, I don&#8217;t think anyone can design without thinking about politics. Nothing is ever meaningless, not a single item of clothing\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Designers Who Refused to Stay Silent<\/strong><br>As governments attempted to regulate appearance, designers stepped in to disrupt it. Mason Thomas, the creator and Creative director of MASON KANE THOMAS, believes this was a stark act of rebellion, &#8220;Marie Antoinette was punk, she wore a chemise when she should have been wearing a silk gown, Coco Chanel was punk she wore trousers instead of a dress, there is so many cases where fashion has pushed change in society.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DSpZcETjfpR\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DSpZcETjfpR\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DSpZcETjfpR\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by \u1d0d\u1d00s\u1d0f\u0274 \u1d0b\u1d00\u0274\u1d07 \u1d1b\u029c\u1d0f\u1d0d\u1d00s (@masonkanethomas)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\t\t<div id=\"sbi_mod_error\" >\n\t\t\t<span>This error message is only visible to WordPress admins<\/span><br\/>\n\t\t\t<p><strong>Error: No feed found.<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div id=\"sbi_mod_error\" >\n\t\t\t<span>This error message is only visible to WordPress admins<\/span><br\/>\n\t\t\t<p><strong>Error: No feed found.<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div id=\"sbi_mod_error\" >\n\t\t\t<span>This error message is only visible to WordPress admins<\/span><br\/>\n\t\t\t<p><strong>Error: No feed found.<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\t\t<div id=\"sbi_mod_error\" >\n\t\t\t<span>This error message is only visible to WordPress admins<\/span><br\/>\n\t\t\t<p><strong>Error: No feed found.<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<p>Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>Coco Chanel illustrates these tensions by introducing trousers and relaxed silhouettes into women\u2019s wardrobes. Chanel challenged rigid gender norms and class distinctions. Comfort became a quiet rebellion against the corseted ideals of femininity that dominated the early 20th century.<br>But fashion\u2019s political power cuts both ways. Christian Dior\u2019s 1947 &#8216;New Look&#8217; with its cinched waists and voluminous skirts arrived in the aftermath of World War II, signaling a return to traditional femininity just as women were being pushed out of wartime labour and back into domestic roles. The collection was celebrated as luxurious and romantic, but it also reinforced conservative gender expectations at a moment of social recalibration.<br>Where Dior softened politics, Alexander McQueen sharpened it. His collections were visceral, addressing nationalism and violence. McQueen\u2019s runways didn\u2019t ask for comfort, they demanded confrontation. He made fashion an emotional and political reckoning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mason Thomas&#8217;s inspirations from out-spoken designers continues with Vivienne Westwood, &#8220;she knew what she was doing was shocking, she didn&#8217;t just do things to be offensive she did things to convey a message, to make fun of something, and reclaim power through fashion.&#8221;<br>Vivienne Westwood made rebellion her brand. Rooted in punk, her work rejected authority, using clothing as a billboard for anti-establishment messages. Westwood didn\u2019t just design garments, she designed dissent.<br>Together, these designers prove that fashion is never passive.<br>However, this can be argued as the money capital of fashion distorts the genuineness of their ingenuity.<br>Morgan Sidle believes &#8220;high fashion brands cannot be political, absolutely not, not at all. As soon as money gets involved, the soul gets ripped out, they want to play it too safe.&#8221; Whether reinforcing or resisting power, art always takes a side. &#8220;Only the very wealthy can afford high end brands, so a message or intention of societal change can be lost&#8221;, explains Caroline Young, author of fashion and pop-culture styles, whose work examines the intersection of designers, power, and history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Politics of Personal Fashion<\/strong><br>Today, the power of style is still important, but has become more diffuse. Control often appears through dress codes, workplace policies, social media scrutiny. What\u2019s deemed &#8216;professional&#8217; continues to disproportionately affect women, queer people, and people of colour.<br>\u201cWhen you wake up, you choose what you want to wear, that&#8217;s a preference. But I think it&#8217;s intertwined, preference and politics,\u201d says Morgan Sidle. Whose designs speak to the idea that visibility itself can be radical. His work challenges the idea that clothing can ever be neutral within systems built on exploitation. Jess Robinson continues that &#8220;all clothing is political.&#8221;<br>Fast fashion adds another layer to the politics of dress. Global supply chains rely on underpaid labour, environmental degradation, and a cycle of overconsumption that disproportionately harms marginalised communities. What we wear isn\u2019t just a personal choice, it\u2019s an economic one.<br>\u201cEveryday you are selecting items of clothing that have a meaning, a personal meaning, a political meaning.\u201d notes Caroline Young. In this sense, fashion becomes a daily political act, one repeated every time we get dressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQcgB8qDs0S\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQcgB8qDs0S\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQcgB8qDs0S\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by MADEBYATELIER \u00a9 (@madebyatelier)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Style as Survival, Style as Protest<\/strong><br>For many, fashion has never been optional, it has been a strategy. From queer signalling through coded dress, to cultural styles that preserve heritage in the face of erasure, clothing often operates as both shield and signal.<br>For Mason Thomas, whose practice centres on sustainability and social justice, fashion is inseparable from these structures. \u201cI like to be political with fashion, I think fashion has been political for a very long time. The punk movement was a way for people to say I&#8217;m not going to do what society expects of me. If we offend you then at least you are paying attention to us\u201d.<br>This is where fashion\u2019s political power is most potent, not on the runway, but in everyday life. In the choices people make to dress loudly, defiantly, or joyfully in systems that attempt to regulate them.<br>Caroline Young adds that, &#8220;creatives are fuelled by politics and by what&#8217;s meaningful to them, you couldn&#8217;t be a creative person if you didn&#8217;t have ideas that come from politics, that come from society.&#8221; She continues &#8220;I think fashion is political, I think it can be used to communicate opinions, ideas, to show a membership of a certain belief.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><strong>Nothing We Wear Is Neutral<\/strong><br>Fashion may sell itself as fantasy, but it lives firmly in reality. It absorbs our fears, our values, our hierarchies, and our hopes. From runways to streets, clothing has always been a reflection of who is allowed to exist freely and who wants to challenge this.<br>As Mason Thomas puts it, \u201cDon&#8217;t dream it be it, if you want to dye your hair, shave off your eyebrows, wear a pearl earring, a dress, a suit, an elaborate hat, do it, and be proud to be yourself. That&#8217;s being political because it&#8217;s being you, it&#8217;s not conforming.\u201d Every outfit is a choice shaped by history. Every silhouette carries a legacy. And every morning, whether we realise it or not, we get dressed inside a political system that\u2019s been stitched together long before us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From banned headwraps to punk runways, fashion has always been used as a statement for change. Grace Jappy explores if the messaging behind outfits is intentional or ingrained in each of us. As we look in the mirror and prepare for each day, do we even realise we are getting dressed with politics in the seams of every outfit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":367,"featured_media":1254,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[182,181,17,20],"class_list":["post-1248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-culture","tag-fashion","tag-politics","tag-sheffield"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Getting Dressed is Getting Political - Sandbox<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/sandbox\/2026\/02\/05\/getting-dressed-is-getting-political\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Dressed is Getting Political - Sandbox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From banned headwraps to punk runways, fashion has always been used as a statement for change. 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