2018 Marissa Petteruti

My work explores the significance of ordinary clothes to re-evaluate fashion’s role in today’s socio-political atmosphere of uncertainty. Since fashion cannot exist without clothes, it is with this collection I question not why fashion matters, but rather what fashion matters? At this particular moment, when terrorist attacks, fake news, race and gender inequality, and presidential tweets saturate the news, fashion is not a priority. Given this level of global unrest, I argue that ordinary clothes become the most powerful form of fashion. The ubiquity of t-shirts, jeans, sweatshirts, track pants, and the like have the ability to unite individuals in solidarity – something we need now more than ever.