STEAM
Say it with a Top!
Slogan t-shirts are the new language of young culture
Chances are that when you enter the famously artsy Shoreditch area, you’ll see a bearded hipster guy with a t-shirt that reads: “Eat, sleep, videogames, repeat”. And it’s not only in E1 where you can find young folks wearing slogan t-shirts – they’re everywhere in London.
Whether they’re feministic tops, like the one from the SS17 collection by famous designer Dior which reads a quote: “We should all be feminists”, or political statements connected to Trump like “Make America great again”.
The world is obviously in love with expressing itself via slogan tops and clothes.
Markets around the capital, as well as high street retailers, are stacked with slogan t-shirts; which are meant to be empowering and unique. But even though they’re everywhere and people keep on buying them, they often originate in countries where such political statements don’t stand for much. Countries where people earn unfair wages and work in horrible conditions, just to make you feel special with your £10 top.
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Professor Binna Kandola, Diversity, Assessment and Development specialist, works to ensure women are not discriminated in the workplace - and has a lot to say about feminism.
“The fact that companies make money on something that is supposed to be an ethical and economical movement is truly shameful. I believe this type of clothing is supposed to be empowering women, but it comes out as sexist and it’s not based on any research,” he says.
But most of the women don’t realise that by buying them they’re falling into the trap of the “money hungry” fashion industry, and even if they have any feministic values, this way stands for the opposite.
A similar story applies for other statement tops that are trying to express an opinion about politics or world problems. Most of them are manufactured not to get a political message across, but to earn companies a lot of money.
Natalie Weaving, a 35-year old mum and director of PR company The Type Face Group, considers herself a strong feminist. Her opinion on the newest feminism trend is mostly negative.
“Ironic really that adults choose to wear them! If we really think about it, we should all be humanists!” says Natalie.
So, think twice next time you want to put your hands on the GRL POWER top in your favourite store. Who’s going to really benefit from your purchase - your wardrobe or society?
Veronique Makiko, 22, sells t-shirts with various slogans emblazoned on them in Camden Market, which is known for being super cool. “I work for a bigger company which supplies these t-shirts and they make them because they’re trendy and people, mostly tourists buy them here for very cheap,” she says.
Her stall is full of t-shirts and caps with slogans on from movies and TV shows, while some are overtly political. Whether it’s a burgundy hoodie, reading “Keep calm I’m a feminist”, or a dark green t-shirt with Che Guevara’s face on it.
However, Veronique doesn’t wear slogan t-shirts herself. “I don’t like them simply because I think there are other ways to express your opinion than through clothes,” she says, resting on a bar chair near her stall.
Feminist tops and accessories are the newest trend, whether in the form of caps, earrings, stickers and necklaces. GRL PWR, FEMINIST, GIRLS ROCK, GIRL GANG and similar slogans have become the bedrock of popular High Street retailers’ shop windows.
As nice and empowering as they might look, women and young girls in developing countries make these tops in textile industries earning just $1 a day, which is exactly against the concept of feminism.
By Dominika Kubinyova
