Fashion as Resistance: How Oppressed People Use Clothing and Symbols to Maintain Identity and Resist Erasure

Introduction: The Threads That Bind Us

If you’ve ever slipped into a favourite sweater or wrapped yourself in a scarf that felt like home, you know clothing is never just fabric. It’s a story. It’s a memory. It’s a fight.

I’m not here to talk about the latest runway trends or the newest fast fashion hauls. I’m here to talk about what happens when the world tries to erase you, and how people, especially those who have been pushed to the margins, use clothing and symbols to say, I am here. I belong. I resist.

Why Clothing Matters: More Than Just Fabric

Clothing is one of the most powerful tools of self-expression. For those with power, it’s a choice. For the oppressed, it’s often a necessity, a way to assert identity when everything else is under threat.

Don Letts, a DJ and filmmaker, once said, “You’ve got to understand. Black, working-class kid, that’s the only way we had to express ourselves was through the music we listened to and the clothes we wore.” It’s true. When your voice is silenced, your body and what you put on it becomes your megaphone.

Examples: Clothing as Resistance Across Movements

The Keffiyeh and Palestinian Identity

The Keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian headdress, is more than just a piece of cloth. It’s a symbol of resistance, worn for generations to show connection to the land and to defy attempts to erase Palestinian identity. In the face of colonisation and ongoing oppression, the Keffiyeh has become a global emblem of solidarity and defiance. Even today, wearing a Keffiyeh can be dangerous; people have been targeted and attacked for it, but activists keep wearing it, proud and unafraid[4].

The Civil Rights Movement: Dressing for Dignity

During the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, African American activists wore sharp, tailored suits, dresses, and ties. This wasn’t just about looking good. It was a deliberate choice to counter racist stereotypes and demand equality and respect. Their clothing said, We are dignified. We deserve to be seen.

The Women’s Movement and the Pussyhat

The Women’s March popularised the pussyhat, a pink, knitted hat, as a symbol of resistance against sexism and misogyny. Women (and allies) wore them to declare that their rights matter, that their voices matter, and that they refuse to be erased.

The Red Dress Project: Remembering Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

Jaimie Black, a Métis artist, hung hundreds of red dresses in public spaces to represent the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. This act of artistic protest has led to the recognition of Red Dress Day every May 5th. Designer Evan Ducharme created a specialised red dress, using fashion to bring attention to a crisis that has been ignored for too long.

LGBTQ+ Pride: Flags, Colours, and Everyday Wear

The LGBTQ+ community has long used clothing and symbols, rainbow flags, pins, and even everyday wear to signal identity and build community. In places where being out is dangerous, subtle fashion choices can be lifesaving, allowing people to recognise each other and form networks of support.

The Power of Symbols: More Than Meets the Eye

Clothing isn’t the only way oppressed people resist erasure. Symbols, like the Palestinian watermelon, the olive tree, or the rainbow flag, carry deep meaning. When flags are banned, people find new ways to signal their identity. The watermelon, for example, has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance, appearing on taxis and in art when the flag is confiscated.

The Risks and Rewards of Resistance Fashion

Wearing your identity on your sleeve (literally) can be risky. In Iran, women have been arrested, and worse, for refusing to comply with strict dress codes. Mahsa Amini’s death in 2022 sparked a nationwide movement of defiance, with women rejecting the hijab as a form of protest against the regime. In Vermont, students were shot for wearing the Keffiyeh.

But the rewards are profound. When you wear your identity, you tell the world, I exist. My story matters.

Conclusion: The Future of Fashion as Resistance

Fashion will never just be about looking good. For oppressed people, it’s about survival, dignity, and defiance. It’s about saying, You can try to erase me, but I am still here.

As Diane Vreeland, the legendary fashion editor, said, “Fashion is part of the daily air and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes.”

So next time you get dressed, remember: your clothes are your story. And for some, they’re a revolution.

This isn’t just a blog post. It’s a conversation. It’s a confession. It’s a call to pay attention to the stories stitched into every garment, every symbol, every act of defiance. Because sometimes, the most radical thing you can do is simply be seen.