Just a few years ago, my vision to merge fashion with social change felt like a faraway aspiration, one that I did my best to manifest through the creation of the Glamourbaby Diaries. Now, the mergence of fashion and activism are at center stage, at the forefront of all the red carpets, and stunning the paparazzi. More and more, the world’s biggest celebrities are using fashion to express their politics, and it seems, the dream to make social change ‘sexy’ has finally found its time.
If there is a silver lining in Trumpland, you can most likely find it in Ava Duvernay's dress.
Ava Duvernay wears Ashi Studio of Lebanon.
It’s incredible to see how fashion's collaboration with social awareness has arrived, especially when you see it shining at the Oscars, the world’s biggest award show. It is almost the same feeling I get when I see my friends as familiar faces on the world’s biggest stages as they achieve the dreams they’ve worked so hard to complete: a strong sense of awe, pride, and a warm feeling of, “you made it”!
But as social awareness butterflies into the new ‘sexy’, let’s not forget that it takes a lot more than a dress or an accessory to wear a lifelong commitment to making a more just, more inclusive society. Let’s make sure we embody these ideals of justice and inclusion by our participation in the democracy and through our everyday choices to take care and protect one another.
Nevertheless, it was still pretty cool to see all the moments where socio-political statements stood front & center on the Oscars Red Carpet this year.
Irish- Ethiopian actor Ruth Negga, nominated for Best Actress for the film Loving, sports a light blue ACLU ribbon in solidarity with the civil rights organization, paired with a floor-length red, lace Valentino gown.
Lin-manuel Miranda of "Hamilton" and his mother also wear the blue aclu ribbon. He got his tux from the same place he got his high school prom suit.
Best Actress winner Emma Stone sports a small Planned Parenthood pin just under the left strap of her Givenchy Haute Couture Gown.
Emma Roberts Opts for a Sustainable Fashion Choice by choosing a vintage Armani Prive look as part of the Red Dress, Green Carpet Initiative.
Now here's to hoping that these fashion statements are just the beginning.