Weekend Review: Dressing the Resistance

 

Dressing the Resistance: the visual language of 
protest through history / Camille Benda
NY: Princeton Architectural Press, c2021.
208 p.

I've been meaning to read this for quite a while; now is a good time for it. This is a wide ranging book of social protest via clothing and the signification of a piece of clothing (or lack of it). Benda explores many movements from across cultures, from 1970s anti-war protests to revolutionary France to farmer protests in India and much more. She's focused on style - how a look was chosen, what was the significance, and why a dress-oriented protest stood out. 

There are fascinating sections on the use of colour in various protests, from orange in Ukraine to pink in India. There are discussions of the use of gender expectations in clothing and how that could be subverted to make a point, as with the male protesters in India who donned women's saris during sit-ins or gatherings. Or of the use of a 'uniform' for protestors, to easily identify a stance and to create mass impact. I wasn't thrilled by the inclusion of far right protestors alongside those who try to make life better; there were a couple that slipped in, and although their visual impact is also notable, it's not what I think of as 'protest'. 

Colours and thematic dressing were in full force for UK suffragists in the last century, as they had white, purple and green as shared colours, and some wore dresses printed with newspaper articles to highlight their cause. I found the connection of craft with protest particularly interesting; Benda links handcraft like knitting and crochet, millinery or banner making, to various movements. 

This is a colourful book in itself, with many photos to illustrate her points. It's a pleasure to look through, with such a visual record of different protests over so many different issues. Overall I found it a good read with so much of interest to those who believe that clothing can be a key signifier of identity or communication. Benda also refers to many other fashion historians and their work throughout, so this could lead you to many more books to explore. Definitely worth picking this one up.