The Legacy of Fashion as Resistance: From Martin Luther King Jr. to Contemporary Runway

“The stride in our steps. The rhythm in our hips. Dodging oppression in a black leather coat and Sunday best shoes. Racism has never knocked us off our fashion game. And it never will.” 

      Most Black people love to dress up and show out for just about any occasion given the opportunity. We dress up for church, the store, and for some of us, even our porch. It’s a rarity to catch many of us out without our hair laid and our favorite outfit on. The Fashion Struggle bus is not a form of transportation we black folk’ like to take a ride on often. It’s second nature that our fashion styles are often the fabric of our lives

     Though, indeed our shared historical, and cultural experiences (slavery, racism, and oppression) have affected us, equally such is the song of our triumphant unified fashion resistance to the not-so-sweet melody of injustice and equality affecting our freedom and wellbeing in America. During the Jim Crow era and the hostile times of the Black Panther Party Movement, our pain, struggles, and resilience as a people were often subtly displayed in the clothing we wore as we unified and marched on to create a better life. The stride in our steps. The rhythm in our hips. Dodging oppression in a black leather coat and Sunday best shoes. Racism has never knocked us off our fashion game and It never will.

Credits: Al Pucci New York Daily News Archive via People.com

 Civil Rights Movement 

     As we reflect on The King of Civil Rights (Martin Luther King Jr.) it’s important to reflect on his impact and his self-image. His image was not only his legacy, but how he walked, carried himself, and the clothing he wore, (a well-tailored suit, a dapper hat, or a fancy robe here and there). While some may think focusing on his style of clothing reduces Dr. King to a mere runway model,  the fashion persona he chose must not go unnoticed as he stood on the front lines of social justice.  We must remember that fashion can serve as a form of organized revolution against racial injustice.  

  In recent years, such as the Black Lives Matter Movement, fashion worn by black people to protest injustice across the nation is symbolic of a walking battle cry.  The visual representation of black empowerment on t-shirts, hoodies, and jackets makes for a prolific statement before words and world views are ever exchanged.  Historically, fashion has been utilized in black protests as one of our greatest forms of resistance. Whether embracing our blackness during the Naturally 62’ movement or reflecting on a history of being unheard on contemporary runways, fashion has been utilized to tell our triumphs and tragedies. 

Credits: (left) Getty Images, pictured is Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, etc. at the frontlines of the last day of the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965, (right) Getty Images via Hollywood Archive, Pictured: Dr, King, Floyd McKissick, Stokely Carmichael Protestors at the March Against Fear of 1966.

The 50s and 60s saw the Civil Rights Movement most direly, led by leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins, and Pauli Murray (to name a few). Besides fighting for freedom, these forefathers and foremothers have one thing in common… they were sharp! Decked out in suits, pantsuits, and penny loafers. Everywhere they went they intended to step! In the first photo, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, comrades, and protestors at the Selma to Montgomery March, marching 12 miles, Dr. King in his loafers and Coretta in her kitten heels. For 12 miles! A stylish demonstration that would result in the passing of the Voting Act of 1965, legally outlawing discriminatory voting practices in the Southern States.  In the second photo,  Dr. King, other organizers, and 15,000 or so protestors show out for the wounded activist, James Meredith, many wearing all white and patterned straw hats in his likeness, at the March Against Fear, the largest march in Mississippi history. Stokely Carmichael would usher in the Black Power Movement after this event. 

Black is Beautiful Movement

Credits: @https://www.instagram.com/kwamebphoto  Photographer: Kwame Brathwaite, Models: Grandassa Models, (left) 1972, (right 1968)

      African garbs (Accra and Nairobi) and history complimented black skin when the world refused to check for anything associated with the motherland. Captured on the lens of Kwame Brathwaite, The Black is Beautiful Movement has Harlem to thank for its origins. On January 28th of 1962, a fashion show, “Naturally 62: The Original African Coiffure and Fashion Extravaganza Designed to Restore Our Racial Pride and Standards” showcased at The Purple Manor Jazz Club on 125th St. in Harlem,  New York, The fashion show made international waves at a time when many African countries gained independence. Gaveyism largely inspires the “Back to Africa” theme. Master pioneers of this movement are     AJASS (African Jass Art Society and Studio),  The Grandassa  Models, and the people of Harlem. 

Black Power Movement

Credits: (left) Photographer: Kenneth Green, Sr, 1968
(right) Photographer: Howard Bingham https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2009/oct/25/black-panthers-photographs-howard-bingham, 1968, pictured is Katleen Cleaver, Elridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, etc. 

Black skin, black leather jacket, black leather pants, a big black afro veiled by a big black beret. All black everything. The Black Panther Party practically invented the word fly!  Even in contemporary conversations, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense is a standout amongst international resistance groups image-wise. The no-nonsense bad mamma shut yo mouth’ superhero-esque look would come to be just as essential to The Black Panther program as their 10-points. Founded in 1966, The Black Panther Party’s image still lives in the contemporary world inspiring movies, merch, and the revolutionaries of today. The Black Panther Party’s uniform was inspired by the La Resistance; French protestors, and activists against the Nazi Occupation in France in WW2. A detail that goes unnoticed by many but is pertinent in understanding the parallels of how fashion can be used to leverage oppression.

The memorial of Little Bobby Hutton Park in Oakland, California circa 1968. Little Bobby Hutton was the first recruit to The Black Panther Party, murdered in a police incident.

 Black Panther Movement members at a Free Huey Rally in Oakland, California. Huey P. Newton was the founder and chairman of the Black Panther Party and was sentenced to prison for the murder of a police officer. The Party claimed it was self-defense and unified around Huey in solidarity and swank.  

Black Lives Matter Movement

Credits: Designers: Frida Kiza (left) Joy Meribe (right), Photographer: Miguel Medina at Milan Fashion Week 2021 “Black Lives Matter in Italian Fashion” Collection 

In 2021 Milan Fashion Week was called out by five African designers for being a little behind its international fashion counterparts when it came to diversity and inclusion on the runway.  The Fab Five, Gisèle Claudia Ntsama, Frida Kiza, Mokodu Fall, Karim Daoudi, and Joy Meribe – all African-born designers who now reside in Italy and produce stylish pieces all  “Made in Italy” felt unwelcomed at the platform At the opening of Milan Fashion Week that notion was disrupted when the five designers put matters into their own threads. The change of heart happened with a question posed by artist Stella Jean, “Do Black Lives Matter in Italian Fashion?” succeeding the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed after that. These designers prove that fashion can be resistance but it can also be a disruptance. These Black Italian designers let it be known that they and their fashions are the moment! Black people need to remember that we are the culture. We can’t be left out of the conversation when we invented it. 

Credits: Via www.jermikko.com, Fashion Designer, Manufacturer/Inventor: JERMIKKO, pictured is Beyonce Knowles in Lemonade Music Video (2016) © Beyonce

Beyonce is wearing the Jermikko Swap Out Hoodie. Jermikko is a trailblazing designer, manufacturer/Inventor based in Chicago, inspired to create the Swap Out Hoodie after she overheard a storekeeper tell a group of black kids that they couldn’t wear hoodies in the store. Why? According to the storekeeper, The hoodies were a danger due to the risk they raised racially, as highlighted by the Trayvon Martin incident in 2012. To fix this issue Jermikko created an innovative hoodie you can unzip and swap. As an antithesis of the “hoodie problem,” Jermikko’s Swap Out Hoodie can unzip down to the collar and be changed for a different color. No wonder Beyonce featured the iconic hoodie in her iconic Lemonade video “Pray You Catch Me.”

Credits: https://www.pyermoss.com, Designer, and Creative Direction: Kerby Jean Raymond

Pyer Moss showcased their Fall Couture line of 2021 at the Irvington Mansion, the former 34 room 24,000 sq foot dwelling of self-made millionaire Madame CJ Walker. The location fit their theme of black inventors and inventions. Pyer Moss highlighted the most influential and lucrative businesses of Black Americans. Utilizing the runway to tell the story of not only black inventors but revolutions, the show featured former Black Panther Chairwoman Elaine Brown and Harlem Drill pioneer 22Gz. At the Fall Couture show Kerby was invited by France’s Chambre Syndicale to show on the Haute Couture Week schedule, the first black designer to do so.