Why New York Fashion Week 2017 Wasn't Just About Fashion
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

Why New York Fashion Week 2017 Wasn't Just About Fashion

Who knew politics and fashion could collide?

64
Why New York Fashion Week 2017 Wasn't Just About Fashion
3dinsider.opititex.com

New York Fashion Week just ended this past Thursday, February 16th. We all know that every season of fashion week looks a little like this,

filled with beautiful collections and the hottest new trends,

creative designers and gorgeous models slaying our lives,

legs longer than runways,

beautiful clothes we could never afford,

every Hollywood celebrity ever,

and of course, Yeezy.

Overall, we can agree that fashion week is pretty much everything fashion related...right? During this season of New York Fashion Week, it wasn't. Thanks to the current political atmosphere, this season's fashion week wasn't just "fashion." With all of the commotion regarding political and social issues like immigration currently going on in the world, fashion designers and models posed against the government. Who knew politics and fashion could collide? 2017 is changing things.

This season's New York Fashion Week was filled with designers throwing major shade against Trump by making daring statements through their innovative collections. Here are 5 amazing designers that established bold fashion week moments that can never be forgotten:

Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow

These designers of the Public School collection deserve the award for Most Shade-Throwing because of their tee shirts and hats saying, "Make America New York" in the same design and color as Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." This was shown on the runway as a fierce statement against the president.

Prabal Gurung

This designer boldly shone a light on the feminist movement during New York Fashion Week. His designs stood out due to their representation of positive, inspirational messages of female empowerment through various simple, minimal tee shirts. The shirts had statements such as, "The future is female," "Girls just want to have fundamental rights," "Our minds our bodies our power," "Feminist AF," "We should all be feminists," and many more.

Hillary Taymour

Taymour's designs not only stood out for their feminist and androgynist approach, but also for the models that symbolized them. Her idea behind her Fall/Winter '17 collection, Collina Strada, was to cast models from all seven countries that Trump put on his travel/immigration ban. She admitted the difficulty of her idea, but managed to pull it off for most of the models she cast. Her pro-choice, LGBT rights, women's rights and immigration rights views (which are completely against Trump's) inspired her to produce her unique and significant collection.

Christian Siriano

Personally, I believe this designer's collection has broken the biggest wall in the fashion industry in terms of diversity. The fashion industry has had an issue with a shortage of diversity for far too long. It's notoriously known for mainly using extremely thin white women as models. Soriano confronted this issue by including models of not only all races, cultures and religions, but also of all shapes and sizes, into his collection. He is one of very few designers that has incorporated so many plus size models – specifically, 27 – into his work. He is a sincere supporter of women's empowerment and wanted to display that support through his models and designs. He also presented compelling sayings, like "People are people," on his designs, in opposition to the women's values praised by Trump.

(Curves are beautiful ladies!)

Anniesa Hasibuan

This Indonesian designer made history at NYFW in 2016 as the first designer to present his/her collection with all hijab-wearing models at NYFW. So this 2017 season, she specifically featured all hijab-wearing immigrant models to present her Fall/Winter 2017 collection at last week's Fashion Week in New York. Her simple, elegant and modest designs make a statement against stereotypes against immigrants and Muslims both. She is breaking barriers against Trump's policies and giving modest fashion a voice in the fashion industry.


This season's NYFW was not what we expected, and that is not a bad thing. Models, fashion designers, celebrities, fans, reporters and everyone else a part of NYFW personally challenged Trump's laws and ideas in their own ways this season. It is so refreshing to see that huge events like the Grammy Awards and NYFW are standing up for what they believe in through their art. Especially since the fashion industry has not expressed much diversity in the past, seeing this change is a big step for the industry and society in general. This NYFW was truly like no other. Clearly, politics and fashion can collide, just with an interesting twist. Continue to slay your OOTD's, always with your values on your sleeve!

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
​a woman sitting at a table having a coffee
nappy.co

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

84963
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

51138
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

986677
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments