Anarchy, communism, trotskism, right wing, left wing, neoliberalism, socialism, conservatism... Politics is a complicated and bumpy subject, to put it softly. You all know that, apart from a couple of subtle references and occasional mockery, I have never discussed politics in this blog. I actually am a rather political person (my university made me that way), but this blog is about the fashion industry, style, movies and whatnot. However, recent events in Spain (what is now called the Spanish Revolution, which is actually a pacific movement) make it imposible for me not to talk about politics. Fear not, this is not a post about political arguments or programmes; it's just that, all through the last week, I've been baffled by the attitude that some Spanish "fashionistas" (and especially some internationally known EGO-celeb-bloggers) have showed towards the Spanish Revolution, constantly making it quite clear that politics has nothing at all to do with them. Their problems are others, like flying first class. The fact that almost 50% of under 30's in Spain are jobless despite having MAs, MBAs or two (or more) BAs doesn't affect them at all, since they are all leading fabulous, luxury-branded, beauty-saloned up lives. In fact, hey, politics are for serious unfierce people, right? Fashion has nothing whatsoever to do with politics, right?Right. Well, I think it's really shallow to think fashion and politics are two completely opposite subjects. With fashion, we inevitably express very many things: what we belong to, what we are different from, what we want to be, what we really are and, of course, the circumstances and time that surround us. And that means politics. I can think of a million examples of politics-influenced fashions and fashions influencing politics: for one, women would never have worn trousers if there hadn't been a war that forced them to work like men. Also, certain goverments once had to establish laws against certain bikinis. And a totally obvious example: those Che Guevara printed T-shirts (oh, the subtle political and fashion statement!). The way we dress is in part political, either because we reflect a political reality or because we want to build one of our own. And it has been this way ever since the first fur bikini worn by a Cromagnon woman.
Philip II of Spain was pretty much the owner of the whole planet in the XVI century. He was emperor to a large part of Europe and all of America. Yet being a strict Catholic (at a time when the Catholic Church was endangered), he chose to wear austere, black clothes devoid of all visible luxury. He didn't want to boast about the immense richness and power of Spain, not out of humility, but to oppose Protestants who had a very different relationship towards money and success than Catholics. You wouldn't know how fast the fashion spread everywhere in the Empire.
On the opposite side, Marie Antoinette wore the most glamourous dresses and the most incredible powdered wigs (remember the one with the miniature boat on top?) as a statement of splendour when in fact France was falling apart. Times of relentless material excess often reflect cultural decadence. But, just like Philip II, she was creating a political statement through her style, and a new fashion trend through her political views.And it has been the same, all the way into the XXth century.
It is pretty obvious that there is a certain connection between Lenin's ideas and the look of the girl in this picture by Rodchenko.
And hey! This chap is a very popular T-shirt logo!We have an even closer example:
Kate Middleton's wedding dress was much more than just "gorgeous". It bore the conviction, in the words of Hilary Alexander, that a royal bridal gown should promote its nation's skills. The lace embroideries featured roses, thristles, daffodils and shamrocks, all symbols of Britain; that, together with the French chantilly lace details and the Victorian-cut corset, made Sarah Burton's dress a homage to the history of Britain. (also, actually, wedding dresses started being white only when Queen Victoria decided so, responding to a whole new set of moral values and ideas about femininity).
Remember the last few years before the crisis? We were all careless and rich and really excited about Sex & the City and Carrie Bradshaw's looks. Carrie wrote one column a week and still lived in Manhattan and could afford to wear 365 different high-end looks a year. Wow!
Now that we are all down and out, that we've lost our faith in the banks (and our life savings too), and our confidence as consumers, and now that Sex & the City is no longer "mega cool" but "downright annoying (please stop making SATC movies)", the newest, coolest, most modern fashions look like this:
Coincidence?
Which leads me to the Spanish Revolution: when a nation's politicians stop looking to their citizens like:
or:
and start being depicted in the collective mentalities like:
Or:
And if whenever politicians (of any established party) speak it sounds as ridiculous, endogamic, incomprehensible and stupid as this,then it's an unmistakeable sign that something is really wrong with the country's politics. And then it doesn't matter if you are conservative or socialist, rich or poor, or if you wear Che Guevara-printed T-shirts or Rick Owens skirts. And it certainly isn't a question of being too fabulously fashionable to be political or too compromisedly political to be a teeny weeny bit fashionable. It's all about rallying round to make things better and fairer for all of us.
