DRESS FOR DISSENT

For the silenced and the unheard, clothes can make the loudest noise. In these politically charged times, Kathryn Madden explores the power and potential of protest fashion.

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What will we wear to the revolution? Bodysuits fashioned from mock bubble-wrap, to symbolise the fragility of the environment and of humankind? Jaunty capes and stompy boots fit for this monumental world-saving mission? Gowns made out of Monopoly money in a rallying cry to eat the rich? Navy gilets and black hoodies - because if finance and tech bros run the world, shall we just be damned and co-opt their fashion sense? Or rather, their lack thereof. We could wear all-white, inspired by the suffragettes. Or red like novelist Margaret Atwood's Handmaids. Though maybe not red, because the colour's connotations are complex...

Fashion has long been a potent tool for protest: for making statements and signalling solidarity and standing up for social change. And although a revolution might not officially be nigh, in these turbulent times it's always best to be prepared.

My first foray into sartorial symbolism was in the hallowed stands of the MCG. It was the 1990s, and in lieu of official AFL merch I wore a red Sportsgirl T-shirt and black leggings to tell the world that I supported Essendon, not Collingwood.

It wasn't a political statement - though in Melbourne, football is arguably more political than politics - but it gave me a taste of how it feels to express your allegiance via clothing. To wear your heart, your most defining beliefs and deeply held values on your sleeve - and to be part of something bigger, a wave of unifying colour and a collective of people who think and feel the same as you.