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Beyond the Met Gala’s “Fashion is Art” theme lies a deeper truth: style is a powerful tool for global resistance.
What began as a casual party to raise funds for the newly created Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1948 has become one of the most anticipated events in modern fashion. This is the Met Gala.
The annual event that takes place on the first Monday in May has become a global phenomenon of sorts. Fashion enthusiasts and casual social media users alike stay up through the night dissecting the outfit choices of the evening’s esteemed guests.
From the muses to the designers themselves, everyone has an opinion on each outfit. While the criticism of the fashion of the night comes in different angles, none truly dominate like the question of “Does this follow the dress code?” If it’s a Victoria’s Secret model, then the answer to that question more often than not is no.
Nevertheless, viewers can always trust fashion-loving celebrities like Zendaya, Teyana Taylor, and Lady Gaga to deliver a well-planned on-theme look. The demand for the avant-garde looks of the Met Gala has already kicked in. This antsy energy is largely due to the recent announcement of this year’s Met Gala dress code, “Fashion is Art”.
The dress code was met with both sarcasm and intrigue. Many note that a statement like “Fashion is Art” is parallel to saying “Water is wet”. While there’s a solid argument that the latter sentence is incorrect, there are more layers to the former phrase.
Fashion is art, and in today’s climate, there’s been a lot of discussion about art and the acceptance of politics in the industry. However, like art, fashion is inherently political because the culture directly influences it.
The way we dress reflects our society, its norms, dreams, beliefs and fears. From the theories that explore how we adopt more conservative styles in an economic crisis to black turtleneck uniform every tech hopeful wears to emulate Steve Jobs, even our politicians lean into fashion to convey power.
But over the centuries, one constant has been how much of a political tool fashion is in the face of protest.
Read also: This Women’s History Month, we remember and honour Black women who reshaped the fashion industry
Fashion as a political tool
Members of the Black Panther Party via Pinterest For as long as clothing has existed, it has carried meaning beyond aesthetics. What we wear can signal allegiance, dissent, solidarity, or resistance; sometimes more effectively than speeches or slogans.
Scholars and designers have coined the term “fashion activism,” the use of clothing as a medium for social and political change. This umbrella describes how garments, symbols, and designers can shape public conversation, turning the body into a kind of moving manifesto.
This ploy has been used both by oppressors and the oppressed in history. As seen in the Medieval period, the first estate often imposed sumptuary laws to prevent the lower classes from dressing above their station. After the French Revolution of 1789, we saw the nobility trade these esteemed “garments” for regular clothes out of fear of the guillotine. Fun fact: that’s how men stop wearing heels. Around the same time, we see “San-culottes” become the style du jour and a pride of the “rebelling” working class.
In the 1960s, we see the Black Panther Party (BPP), formed in response to the killing of Matthew Johnson and the assassination of Malcolm X, use leather jackets and berets as signifiers.
Those before us understood that the “revolution will be televised”, and political leaders have carved brand identities through fashion. Winston Churchill invented the “siren suit” (now, jumpsuit) as an easy-to-wear attire during World War II (WWII) air raids.
Additionally, the modern blouse’s direct ancestor was the “Red shirts” worn by the Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and his companions, also called the “Redshirts”. They couldn’t afford a complete uniform, so they opted to wear the same shirts, and they played a key role in freeing Italians from Austrian domination in 1860.
Notably, Martin Luther King Jr. was never without a suit. Each garment chosen by each era mirrors its zeitgeist. It made sense for Civil Rights activists to wear suits as these were seen as formal wear and translated that the cause was to be taken seriously. But what does this look like in a generation that has strayed from corporate norms and practices?
In the last few years, a new generation of cultural figures has leaned into newer ways to highlight their values and take a stance. Their clothes reflect the generations’ itch for moodboarding and niche cultural exploration.
It is no secret that microtrends have been ruling the online world, while experiencing foreign cultures and traditions is a popular way to “touch grass”. So here are some recent moments where fashion quietly doubled as protest.
The politics of heritage: Bella Hadid and the Keffiyeh dress
Bella Hadid in a keffiyeh dress via Pinterest At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, supermodel Bella Hadid stepped out in a vintage dress by Michael and Hushi, made from keffiyeh fabric, the distinctive red-and-white textile associated with Palestinian identity.
The keffiyeh, traditionally worn as a Middle Eastern headscarf, has become a global symbol of Palestinian culture and resistance.
Hadid’s look was fancy but not too formal, suitable for a black tie event. It was a flowing archival dress paired with minimal accessories. It was fun, and her ambience fuelled the mood even more.
Nevertheless, the symbolism was profound. By wearing a garment constructed from a textile deeply tied to Palestinian history, she turned a film festival’s street-style moment into a political one.
This wasn’t Hadid’s first rodeo, as she is notorious for using fashion to state her views.
Communication without speech: Bella Hadid on Ukraine
Bella Hadid in an all-black ensemble by Bevza via Marie Claire France The industry encourages models to limit their verbal language, as people should see models, not hear them. In some ways, Hadid has abided by this. She doesn’t often literally speak on certain topics, but her beliefs always resonate. .
Following the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, Hadid stepped out in New York wearing a look from Ukrainian label BEVZA — a cropped top and vegan leather trousers pulled from the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection.
The appearance came at a moment when Ukrainian designers were navigating fashion production amid war and global uncertainty. Hadid’s endorsement redirected attention toward Ukraine’s creative community. The gesture echoed a broader movement across fashion weeks and celebrity wardrobes, where supporting designers in war-plagued regions became an act of solidarity.
Read also: Marie Claire Nigeria Trend Report: Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2026
The Gen-Z political muse: Rama Duwaji
Rama Duwaji with husband, and mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, at the 2025 election night via Marie Claire France The Syrian-born illustrator and wife of New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rama Duwaji, has become an unlikely style icon for a new political generation. Duwaji’s wardrobe leans into vintage pieces, emerging designers, and garments rooted in Middle Eastern craftsmanship.
During Mamdani’s election night, she wore a top by Palestinian-Jordanian designer Zeid Hijazi featuring “tatreez embroidery”, a centuries-old Palestinian stitching tradition whose motifs historically encode stories of displacement, homeland, and identity. Duwaji, easily, transformed a political moment into something layered with emotional symbolism.
Diplomatic dressing: Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama in Jason Wu with husband, and then-president of the United States, Barack Obama Before the 2020s and its take on fashion activism, Michelle Obama played with the art of diplomatic dressing.
Throughout her tenure as First Lady, Obama frequently used clothing to signal cultural respect or solidarity. She often wore designers from countries she visited or highlighted emerging talents from diverse backgrounds, including the now-defunct Nigerian brand, Maki Oh.
On one occasion, she wore Italian luxury fashion during an event coinciding with a pivotal moment in Italian politics, a choice interpreted as a subtle gesture of diplomatic support.
Furthermore, Obama’s wardrobe notably featured an array of Asian designers, including Jason Wu, Thakoon Panichgul, and Prabal Gurung.
Artisanal fashion as protest: African designers
Hertunba SS25 via @hertunba on Instagram Some designers make the political nature of fashion impossible to ignore. African brands like Kìléntár, This is Us, Ekí Kéré, Tongoro, MaxHosa, Hertunba, and IAMISIGO have built a brand on the intersection of climate activism, heritage, and commentary. Their collections regularly explore themes of environmental collapse, consumerism, and survival, often using upcycled materials and dystopian imagery to critique the fashion industry itself.
Historically, fashion has been dominated by Western production systems. So the deliberate embrace of local craft is a form of protest. Today, designers across Africa are pushing back against the global system’s reliance on mass production by foregrounding slow, handmade processes.
Streetwear as civic commentary: Garbe
Model at Lagos Fashion Week wearing Garbe SS26 via @lagosfashionweekofficial on Instagram At the Lagos Fashion Week SS26, streetwear label Garbe tapped into fashion’s ability to critique power structures directly. The brand printed select Nigerian political figures on graphic T-shirts, accompanied by playful phrases. Some outfits opted for imagery instead of actual drawings of the political personnel. It was part satire, part protest.
These shirts function like wearable editorial cartoons, circulating political critique through youth culture, and there is something about seeing a Nigerian brand embrace political discourses.
Fashion will always be political
Milan Fashion Week SS18 “pussy hats” via Pinterest Fashion is often dismissed as frivolous. Yet time and again, it proves itself to be one of the most accessible forms of political communication.
A “pussy hat” at the 2017 women’s march rally, a slogan on a dress, a homegrown textile, or even the absence of expected formality can showcase values instantly, and sometimes to millions of viewers.
Today, these kinds of subtle protests are seen in red carpets like the “ICE Out” pins at the GRAMMYs or the “Artists4Ceasefire” ones at the 2024 Oscars in protest of the bombings in Gaza.
What ties together figures as different as Bella Hadid, Rama Duwaji, Michelle Obama, and African designers is care and purpose. Each uses fashion as a translator, a middleman that speaks through textures, woven fabrics, and silhouettes.
Read more: Why is womenswear so male-dominated?
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