Fashion and Self-expression from the Streets
Fashion has long been regarded as a way to express your individuality and self-expression. While most people view fashion as 'frivolous', these days, fashion can turn into a statement, especially when given the right social media platform.
Fashion is ever-evolving, and it is a way for one to create a style movement in many forms, whether it is wearing a monochrome black outfit or a more classic white T-shirt look. To create a true fashion statement, you should not be dictated by the norms of society. Fashion, after all, works best when it is a blank slate, and you are the artist.
The Meat Dress
Remember back in the 2010 MTV Music Awards, when Lady Gaga turned heads with her dress made purely of raw beef? The dress, which would infamously become known as "the meat dress", was recognized by Time Magazine as one of 2010's top fashion statements.
Gaga would later explain at The Ellen DeGeneres Show that the meat dress was a statement about the need for one to fight for what they believe in. She added that if you don't fight for what you believe in, you will have as many rights as the "meat on your bones."
Social Statements, Celebrity Commentary
Celebrities, whether you love them or hate them, can certainly command attention when they enter a room. There's no denying their influence on social media. Because of this, celebrities can indeed make a statement that is perhaps more powerful and more subtle than words.
Fashion icons like Eva Longoria and Jane Fonda, who are staunch supporters of feminism and climate change awareness have shown their support for their causes not just through their words and deeds, but also through the clothes they wear. Because of their vast social media following and the impact the fashion industry has on society, what they wear speaks volumes and draws followers to their cause.
Why does fashion become a social commentary? It's because the rules of fashion apply to no one. You can captivate people by taking ordinary outfits to the next level. You can take sequins, leopard print platforms, leather jeans and a Guess hoodie and turn it into a fashion statement.
People use fashion for social commentary because you can embrace the unknown and the originality. Celebrities like Zendaya, Rihanna, and Gigi Hadid are examples of modern-day style icons, but they don't dress for popularity. They dress in order to convey their mood, personality and confidence. Most of all, fashion in its very sense, shouldn't make you afraid of being your true self, and with that fashion is a way of embracing your flaws, your beliefs, your fears and aspirations.
Fashion Does the Talking
Street style is viewed by the fashion world as an energetic style point, having no duplicity in it because of its unique individuality of expression. The expression, "beauty is only skin deep" goes beyond the surface. While it may be easy to dismiss fashion for all its frivolity and superficiality, there is no denying its impact on modern-day society.
Us Magazine reported that celebrities tend to let their clothes do the talking. Why? When they wear these clothes to the big-ticket events, everyone is going to notice. Think Emmy Award Winner RuPaul when he chose to wear a white Calvin Klein tuxedo that featured Andy Warhol's Statue of Liberty print. The outfit was a subtle nod to the country's history and immigration. Katy Perry chose to wear an all-pink ensemble when she joined the Women's March in Washington, D.C. back in 2017. These are just a few examples of how fashion can be used as a tool for social commentary.;
There is just so much fun and frivolity in a fashion that it becomes a reflection of who we are and what we believe in. It is an art form, free-flowing and with no conformities. With fashion, you can challenge the narrative of how society defines normal. Our life experiences alter the way we think, of how we view the world, and how we see ourselves. Life is everything and nothing at the same time, and it is nothing to be ashamed about.
Society has come a long way in developing itself as a people. It has come to welcome change, inclusiveness and diversity, albeit progress making slow but steady movements. Social media has become such a prevalent part of modern society that it has become hard to remember what life was like without it. Fashion has become such a powerful tool for social commentary, and all the world is eager to take a front seat.