Fashion Week in Milan was almost as political as the Oscars. Italian designer Angela Missoni took to the runway with an army of models to make a fuzzy pink statement. After debuting a new line of cozy Missoni sweaters, the models paraded down the runway donning identical pink-knit hats reminiscent of those worn by protesters at the Women’s March last month. Missoni herself joined her models — and her mom — in wearing the custom pink hats, and invited audience members to grab the matching hats, which had been placed on their seats, and join her in “(showing) the world the fashion community is united and fearless,” according to Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times.
The appearance of the pink fuzzy hat on the high-fashion runway is huge. What started as one woman’s simple idea to knit a hat and make a difference at the Women’s March erupted into an international movement of knitters and activists dedicated to using a small fashion statement to make a much larger political one. The Pussyhat Project was founded by Krista Suh and Jayna Zweiman, two knitting-newbies and Women’s March protesters who, prior to the event, organized a knitting initiative to make and send thousands of pink “Pussyhats” to marches around the country. The hats took inspiration from President Trump’s leaked comments about grabbing women “by the pussy,” and the project caught on quickly. Those who tuned into televised coverage of the marches could clearly see how many marchers boarded the pink-hat bandwagon.
Fashion is neither a stranger to politics nor activism. If you’ve ever seen a t-shirt with a political statement across its chest, then you know that clothes are a sure-fire way to send a message or show support for an issue. What makes these hats significant, however, is the ease of accessibility the internet afforded to the activists who made them. On the project’s website, on YouTube and on social media, women and girls around the world could find patterns and tutorials to help them knit, crochet or sew a hat of their own. Not only was the hat made easy-to-make for people of various skill-levels, the project provided an opportunity for those who could not directly participate in the marches to show support by making and donating hats.
By both creating and gifting the Pussyhats, project participants allowed the hats to transcend a singular purpose. These hats weren’t just a means of making a political statement — they were, and still are, a show of solidarity with women all over the globe. Knitters sent encouraging notes and personal contact information with the hats they donated, connecting with women around the country. Additionally, since the hats do not typically have words or symbols, the hat itself has become a symbol of feminine resistance. Their pink color, which is traditionally feminine, and their cat-ear shape (symbolic of a pussycat, and suggestive of the reclaimed insult) make them almost iconic. Like any good fashion statement, brand or political symbol: the hat is simple, easily identifiable and stylish, making it a perfect way for like-minded people to unite.
This perfection wasn’t lost on Missoni in Milan and, by bringing Pussyhats to the runway, the designer has snatched them from the realm of grassroots activism to that of high-profile fashion activism. Personally, I’d love to walk around in my own set of cute pink cat ears. But the fact that a hat is cute is just a bonus when your reason for wearing it is in support of women’s rights and equality. On Jan. 21, women around the world showed their support for one another by showing up to the Women’s Marches. And on that day, simultaneously, those women forged an international bond that can be remembered and revived with one pink knit hat: further proof that fashion has a unique way of uniting.
Kayla Beard is a senior studying journalism with a focus in web design at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you have a Pussyhat? Let Kayla know by tweeting her @QKayK.
