Pick any representative of any fashion group, any brand or label out there and ask them what's one of their main aim for the future. They will all tell you they want to reach out to the younger generations, they want to speak their language and look appealing for cool young consumers.
Yet, judging from what we saw last weekend during the various March For Our Lives events calling for action against gun violence that took place at more than 800 locations around the world, the fashion industry has so far underestimated the fact that the younger generation includes very strong people who may not be that easy to co-opt and brainwash.
Thousands of people joined the rallies and listened to the speeches delivered by the kids and teenagers on stage. It was refreshing as there were no adults in sight delivering the usual fake promises and lies.
In Washington DC Parkland survivor Emma González, paid homage to her school fellows and teachers, naming them, remembering how they would never see their dreams become true.
"My friend Carmen would never complain to me about piano practice, Aaron Feis would never...Joaquin Oliver would never...". She then held the huge crowd to a silence that screamed all her anger and pain. Silently crying and closing her eyes she let six minutes and 20 seconds pass, the same time it took a gunman to kill 17 people on 14th February at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, in Parkland, Florida.
Edna Chavez, from Manual Arts High in south Los Angeles, told the story of how her older brother was shot dead when she was a young child, stating "I have learned to duck from bullets before I learned to read."
Eleve-year-old Naomi Wadler, from Alexandria, Virginia, proudly told the marchers she was representing "African-American girls whose stories don't make the front page of every national newspaper (…) who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls full of potential."
Martin Luther King Jr's granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, 9-years-old, told the crowd: "I have a dream that enough is enough. And that this should be a gun-free world, period." She then led the crowd into repeating after her: "Spread the word, have you heard? All across the nation. We are going to be a great generation."
The March For Our Lives rallies also inspired a new protest item - evil eye gloves - courtesy of Krista Suh, who was also involved in the creation of the Women's March pussy hat. The gloves were inspired by a dream Suh had in which she saw a crowd of protesters with hands stretched, their palms revealing the drawings of eyes. The message was simple: all the eyes of people are on those politicians taking money from the NRA.
While the protests took place, US President Donald Trump was hiding at his members' club in South Florida, probably scared by the revelations that would come out from the TV interview that was going to be aired the next day (yesterday) on CBS' "60 Minutes" with porn star Stormy Daniels in which she went through the details of her affair with Trump.
Art, culture and fashion joined in the protests: The Standard High Line Hotel in New York supported for example the march with the installation "Parkland 17". Curated by artist Calyann Barnett in collaboration with Dwyane Wade, the installation comprised 17 desks and a live mural painting of the phrase "We Demand Change" by artist Manuel Oliver.
Fashion-wise many companies supported the march on Instagram, others joined in a more active way: Gucci donated $500,000 to the Washington rally; Cynthia Rowley and Christian Siriano partnered with Everytown for Gun Control and created the Everytown Fashion Council, focusing on engaging the power of the fashion community to support gun safety and help reduce gun violence. Rowley also created a limited-edition white T-shirt with a gold safety pin on the chest.
Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown made her voice hear on the stage of the 2018 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, clad in a Calvin Klein ensemble, the names of the 17 victims of the Parkland shooting were embroidered on the back of her button-down shirt.
Yet fashion houses thinking they can just jump on a bandwagon (nobody is doubting here the genuine intent of most houses in their anti-gun initiatives, but we all know how fashion has co-opted feminism...) should realise these kids may be on another level.
Many brands, houses and labels have successful co-opted some millennials with a present, a bag here and a pair of shoes there, not to mention the usual invitation to a fashion show, but what they have here is a very different and less superficial human material, a humanity that has been deeply wounded in their hearts and that may not need a logoed handbag to store in their ideas, dreams and strong voices. They aren't indeed here to be co-opted.
You're instantly struck by their young age, their anger and courage, by the way they have created opposition and a unified voice and fiercely address major issues such as equality and violence, while adults and politicians only provide chaos, confusion and divisive messages full of hate and aggression. As a grown-up you just feel ashamed you haven't been able to eradicate gun violence, stop wars or find real solutions to vast global tragedies. If they are going to be the leaders of the 21st century, this may turn into a better world. Bless them, they genuinely deserve it.
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