According to a recent story from GQ, “woke-wear,” aka clothes made by designers in an effort to help those who are adversely affected by the policies of the Trump administration, is actually doing some real good.
22 brands, by author Cam Wolf’s count, have “put a political message on a piece of clothing” since last September and “that doesn’t include the more than 80 brands involved in various projects” organized by other groups. And reactions to those pieces and initiatives, both from customers and the organizations being promoted alike, have been largely positive, as many feel the “brands and designers flashing their politics are putting their money where their slogan tees are.”
“If you bought one of those many tees that publicly declared the good in your soul, its proceeds likely helped support a nonprofit. The ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and the National Immigration Law Center were the most frequent benefactors of fashion-backed donations,” the article notes. Robert Geller’s “Immigrant” sweatshirts, for instance, raised a reported $20,000 for the ACLU through Grailed, Jonathan Simkhai’s “Feminist AF” tees made $25,285 for Planned Parenthood, and Public School’s “Make America New York” hats are kind of what we all need right now.
So, while the selling of politically charged apparel is theoretically fraught with issues — it commoditizes real world problems, attaches an MSRP to woke-ness, and doesn’t necessarily guarantee financial participation from those selling it — if done right, it can also be a real help to the cause.
You can read more about it at GQ.
