A beautiful thing about fashion is that it always finds a way to be a mirror image of our times. As we move into what is sure to be remembered as a tumultuous political era, we are now at the precipice of what feels more like resistance than revolution. Politics can’t help but ooze out onto our fashion choices, and the designers that remind us of the trends in a time when we need them most.
Image courtesy of anothermagazine.com
The Black Power Movement
The Black Panther Party (BPP) emerged out of the1960s, aimed to confront police brutality, racial discrimination, and inequality facing African Americans. Members of the BPP combatted the oppressive systems of the time with self-defense, community empowerment, and activism. The group became known for their uniform; black berets, leather jackets, and carrying firearms.
While the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) tells us that the Black Panther Party Uniform was representative of much “more than a fashion statement,” it undoubtedly had resounding effects. The uniform stood out against past movements, where participants took a more conformist approach. To be taken seriously, participants would often dress in their “Sunday Best,” targeting acceptance. In contrast, The Black Panther Party uniform challenged this very notion. Participants swapped suits and dresses for leather jackets, berets, and firearms, and wore their hair naturally.
“An afro tucked into a black beret, sunglasses over the eyes, a black leather jacket ornamented with pinback buttons, and a gun strapped across the body with a fist in the air,” writes the NMAAHC. “This is the uniform of the Black Panther Party.”
Louis Vuitton and Burberry images courtesy of vogue.com
The resurgence of elements of this uniform indicates a shift in culture. While this season isn’t the first to show berets and leather jackets and certainly won’t be the last, this season stands out among the rest for the civil unrest that has endured in recent years. Wales Bonner’s leather berets sat atop 60s-esque silhouettes and other pieces, like distinct leather-adorned jackets. Louis Vuitton menswear, spearheaded by Pharrell Williams, showed berets in their spring 2025 collection. It also utilized a pattern inspired by luggage created for Air Afrique, the pan-continental airline that began operation in the 60s. Burberry and Jil Sander also showed off their leather jacket iterations this season, evoking a familiar uniform of yesteryear, revitalizing it in a global context.
Images courtesy of styledbyjade.com
Punk Culture
Tracing through recent fashion seasons, taking place during a tumultuous political time, one can identify a similar approach in resistance through clothes. And if there’s one word that is synonymous with the punk age, it is rebellion. The era was defined as a reaction to the capitalist and the gentrification leanings of the Thatcher regime. The people of the punk era were simply reacting to the sociopolitical unrest they were experiencing at that time.
“Punk” became characterized by resistance, rebellion, reaction, and boundless expression, and these attributes ran rampant across the clothes that these “punks” were wearing. Much of the clothing was heavily DIY-ed. Looks were heavily personalized with pins, patches, fabric scraps, and hardware, a further reflection of the sense of individuality and resistance to mainstream culture.
Images of Off-White, Coach, and Luar, respectively courtesy of vogue.com
Many designers took notes on punk this past spring summer season, Luar’s Raul López being the star designer, calling back to the trend in a big and personal way. Vogue’s Laia Garcia-Furtado called his collection “a modern iteration of punk attitudes.” López’s inspiration proves this to be true. “I was all teen angst and trying to figure out who I was, hanging out with the punk girls, the crazy girls, and the art girls downtown but I was still dressing like my family wanted to,” he explained in Vogue. “I was in my punk era, being rebellious … Punk is a feeling, it’s an attitude, it’s how you present yourself out of the norm and stand out and be you,” he said.
To view his collection is to experience a sea of black littered with exquisite detail and a natural hint of punk littered about. A gothy black lip is swiped onto models’ faces as they don textured leather, nipple-baring black taffeta, and studded details.
Image courtesy of hgcapparel.com
Hip-Hop and Rap
The cultural reset that was the introduction of hip-hop and rap dating back to the 1970s. The genre, referred to as “a product of African American, Afro-Caribbean and Latino inner-city communities plagued by poverty, the proliferation of drugs, and gang violence in the 1960s and early 1970s” by carnegiehall.org, started as a reprieve for members or former members of gangs as an alternative to warfare. The rap/hip-hop became an act of rebellion.
As the Hip-hop era took off, the genre started a fashion revolution. With the help of artists like Salt-N-Pepa and LL Cool J in the 80s and 90sto more chart-toppers like Missy Elliott and Kanye West in the early 2000s, the genre became defined by a distinctive style. Soon baggy silhouettes, logos on blast, and maxed-out accessories like gold hoops and chains became synonymous with the rhythmic beats of rap and hip-hop.
Images of Dsquared, Theophilo, and Tommy Hilfiger, respectively courtesy of vogue.com
In the spring summer 2025 season, designers have infused these elements of hip-hop style in their collections. Take Jamaican-born designer and creative director Edvin Thompson, who launched his label Theophilio in 2016. This past spring summer 2025 season, hip-hop was a screaming source of inspiration for the Brooklyn-based designer. Just reference the three graffiti-clad full looks out of the 27 presented, or the oversized newsboy hat atop a gold bikini dappled with smiley faces, and this will be evident.
The runway wasn’t the only place to spot a rebel streak this year. Take Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime performance, for instance, which was riddled with political metaphors, some more subtle than others. “This revolution will be televised. You picked the right time but I’m the wrong guy,” Lamar rapped on our screens. This was a call to action in a time where action is more than necessary. Lamar wore a very Y2K-esque bootcut Celine jeans and a custom leather Martine Rose varsity jacket, perhaps referencing his genre’s roots.
—Marley Gifford
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