Political Fashion Designs: Should Fashion Speak Out?

July 22, 2012 by Sahajja Categories: Fashion, Politics.Tags: Beyonce & Tina Knowles, Fashion & Politics, Fashion designers, Marc Jacob, Michelle Obama, Obama, President Barack Obama, Runway to Win, Sahajja Harris, T-Shirts, Yes We CanBookmark the permalink

(T-shirts from the Runway to Win Campaign collection by Marc Jacob, Beyonce & Tina Knowles)

As this year’s election vastly approaches, the growth of fashion is transforming for many fashion designers. These days more and more designers are expressing their political views in their clothing attire. President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign already has fashion designers going to work! Famous faces like Jay-Z, Sean Combs, and Marc Jacob have all been known for expressing their political outlook through their clothing in the past. Is this necessarily a good idea? Are designers speaking out too much in their clothing where it can affect their consumer market?

One thing is for sure, unless you are a strong political individual it doesn’t normally make your checklist when you go shopping. But if you are into politics this year, let’s just say that shoppers are more and more concerned about whether their labels embodies red or blue. Fashion heavy-hitters like Anna Wintour, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren, brands have all express their endorsement in Barack Obama more often than Romney. It is hard to figure out whether a designer’s candidate of choice truly affects a consumer’s decision to buy or not to buy.

Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs, thinks otherwise. As in the past, Jacob used the windows of his boutiques and the after parties of his runway shows to raise funds for politicians like Hillary Clinton and Al Gore. He has also been a part of nonprofit organizations such as Cancer Cares, and the Greenwich Village Historical Society to just name a few. During the last presidential election, Marc by Marc Jacobs stores carried voter registration forms to make it easy for customers to sign up to vote just like they would shop. This time around Jacob has also shown his support for gay rights as well as President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.

Needless to say that the nation’s most stylist first lady, Michelle Obama, along with 22 fashion designers are coming together to help the Obama-Biden campaign raise money and put a unique look on the 2012 election. “Runway to Win” , is a part of a collaborative effort of America’s top designers who have came together to create design items including T-shirts, tote bags, scarves, and wristlets, in support of the president’s re-election campaign. Some of the campaign’s designers that will contribute designs include Marc Jacobs, Narciso Rodriguez, Jason Wu, Alexander Wang, Rachel Roy, and Tracy Reese.