OPINION - Lifestyle
If not black and white, then what?
A reminder of how fashion should be uplifting in today’s political situation If the idea that humans are capable of effecting change is ever doubted, one can look to the Hong Kong protesters. They have made it onto TIME’s 2019 list of Most Influential People On The Internet. Within roughly six months, the color of what we wear seemingly determines our allegiances. What started off as a choice based on personal preferences quickly turned into a decision grounded in political consciousness. In fact, the extent of its significance in our collective consciousness led to a discussion of what hue my family and I should dress ourselves in as we land in the Hong Kong International Airport. “Yellow? Or green, something more neutral?” is stultified by a “but yellow is reminiscent of the Umbrella Movement in 2014!” As Hong Kong languishes in violence and discord, there did not seem like there could be a reminder of how our city used to champion our communal love for one another. Fashion has always been linked with politics, being a vehicle in its own right to deliver a statement that demands attention. From Hillary Clinton’s adoption of white clothing to pay tribute to the Women’s Suffrage Movement, to Maria Grazia Chuiri’s “We should all be feminists” slogan T-shirt at Dior, it is clear that fashion embodies passion and ambition. But if black and white are two colors that seem to be too suggestive, what can we wear?
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