HEADER IMAGE Photography by Madison Blair
Fashion has long shown its resilience by responding creatively to societal crises, proving itself as an art form with power beyond appearance. In the wake of Israel’s genocide against Palestine, Palestinian fashion label Trashy Clothing has emerged as a profound symbol of resistance. Founded by Omar Braika and Shukri Lawrence in 2017, the “anti-luxury luxury label” uses fashion to prod at popular culture, Middle Eastern politics, and the occupation of Palestine, in order to challenge the dominance of both anti-Muslim and Israeli-sympathiser perspectives in Western media narratives. “By using satire, we convey the ironies embedded in our harsh realities, using humour and wit to challenge narratives. Our designs also integrate traditional crafts and cultural elements, working closely with artisans who specialise in these techniques to sustain and celebrate our heritage,” the founders explain.
Their poetic collections explore a range of Palestinian issues, from their SS21 collection ‘Pride For Pay’ focusing on the queer Palestinian struggle, to their AW24/SS25 collection ‘Arsenal of Democracy’, which inspects contradictions and corruption in global politics. “Every design choice carries a story or symbolism, weaving together a narrative that reflects our collective experiences. Each collection becomes a documentation of our struggles, resilience, and identity,” Braika and Lawrence continue. Trashy Clothing grounds itself in the harsh reality of Palestinian suffering, offering not just another fashion brand, but a movement that reclaims culture, resists erasure, and proves that creativity and defiance endure even in the darkest of times.
This notion has held true throughout history; after 9/11, designers like John Galliano, Donna Karan, and Hussein Chalayan channelled trauma into collections with military motifs and sombre tones, expressing shared grief. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion embraced more joyful aesthetics – vibrant colours, experimental textures, and playful hemlines – to offer a sense of optimism, despite the world’s underlying anxieties.
As fashion activist Brett Staniland puts it: “The need for resilience stems from a required systems-change from an industry that has been built on and operates in the realms of exclusion, nepotism and privilege.” Fashion, being externally facing, has a unique ability to communicate feelings without words, “Designers like Martine Rose, Katherine Hamnett, and Collina Strada have used their catwalks as platforms for protest, engaging the masses in conversations about the challenges the industry faces,” he adds. “Fashion reflects the struggles of society, from geopolitical to cultural issues. It will reflect everything that people and society are currently experiencing.”
While these shows, collections, and designers have undoubtedly conveyed productive examples of fashion’s ability to act as a vessel for societal strength – the demand for exceptionally high personal resilience remains evident – highlighting an urgent need to address the industry’s systematic failures. One of the industry’s most evident drawbacks being its pervasive racism, caused by the exclusion of marginalised voices in leadership, limited opportunities for non-white designers, and the exploitation of labour in the Global South. These practices, paired with a history of rampant cultural appropriation and a lack of accountability, highlight how the industry often benefits from, rather than dismantles, systems of oppression.
Virgil Abloh’s work stands as a testament to the notion of Black resilience in fashion; from founding Off-White to becoming Louis Vuitton’s first Black artistic director, his career broke barriers in an industry plagued by disparities. The renowned artist was appointed as the artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear line in 2018 – the same Louis Vuitton that was sued four years prior, following racist comments directed towards an African employee; a harsh juxtaposition that exemplifies racial injustice within the industry.
Before his death in 2021, Abloh continuously used fashion as a platform to foster resilience within Black communities. Julian Randall, an expert in Black menswear shares, “Virgil Abloh was a transdisciplinary artist with roots in engineering and architecture, practices which at their best ensure a structure’s ability to withstand and recover. On a material level, that’s pretty much a given. But this idea of resiliency is as much about reimagining the future and acting on those possibilities as anything else.”
Every design choice carries a story or symbolism, weaving together a narrative that reflects our collective experiences. Each collection becomes a documentation of our struggles, resilience, and identity.
Omar Braika & Shukri Lawrence, Trashy Clothing Founders
Committed to driving industry transformation, Virgil Abloh collaborated with Black queer feminist, Trinice McNally, to raise funds towards building Washington DC’s School for Black Feminist Politics. He also launched The Virgil Abloh “Post-Modern” Scholarship Fund in order to promote equity and inclusion in the fashion industry by awarding scholarships to students of Black, African American, or African descent, on top of designing a special edition Silver ‘Lockit’ bracelet with UNICEF, with the vision to fund essential programs that provide education, healthcare, and emergency relief to vulnerable children across the globe.
“In his audaciousness, Virgil reminds us that what’s on the other side of getting through should positively differ from the previous condition. And radically so,” says Randall. Though Abloh’s career positively illustrates mental vigour, the fact that marginalised designers must bear the burden of both overcoming systemic barriers and driving industry-wide change is deeply problematic. It highlights how the fashion industry often shifts responsibility for progress onto those already excluded, rather than addressing its own structural shortcomings. This not only perpetuates inequality, but also places an undue strain on those working hardest to make the industry a better place.
With the fashion industry being notoriously challenging for emerging designers – presenting a landscape filled with high competition, limited resources, and significant barriers to entry – newcomers often struggle to secure funding to bring their creative visions to life while navigating the high costs of production, marketing, and distribution. As highlighted by Vogue Business, since June 2023, a wave of independent brands have entered administration or filed for bankruptcy, including Dion Lee, Calvin Luo, Christopher Kane, and The Vampire’s Wife, among others. The dominance of established brands can overshadow fresh talent, making it difficult for new designers to gain visibility in an oversaturated market. Despite this, the persistent resilience of independent designers encapsulates fashion’s ability to gorgeously convey resistance, while also addressing the conditions that demand such sturdiness.
In 2023, Hanan Tantush founded the adaptive clothing line Intotum, after witnessing her grandfather’s struggle getting dressed while living with a stoma. “I watched an incredibly outgoing, well-dressed man become reclusive,” Tantush recalls. “That was my first realisation that illness or disability could impact how someone wears clothes.”
Frustrated by limited medical advice that only suggested baggy clothes and joggers, Tantush was driven to take action. “The solutions offered weren’t enough,” she says. As a neurodivergent individual with a hypersensitivity to seams and fabrics, Tantush’s personal challenges further fuelled her passion for adaptive design.
“It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with ADHD while at London College of Fashion that I understood what was going on. That’s when my journey in adaptive design truly began.” Now, Intotum provides accessible tops, trousers, jumpsuits, coats, and even accessories, allowing disabled individuals to express themselves limitlessly through clothing. Reflecting on the challenges that Intotum has faced, Tantush recalls, “Investors have told me that Intotum isn’t worth investing in because it’s too niche. But disabilities are not niche – they affect 24 per cent of the British population.”
To drive an industry-wide shift, she believes that diversity must be embraced at all levels: “Diversity needs to trickle down from the top, but right now, we’re constantly pushing upwards.” Progressing in an industry that is so rooted in exclusivity requires persistent hardiness, something that Tantush deeply values in her team, “Celebrating my team’s resilience while also calling out the circumstances that demand it is challenging, but we focus on the difference we can make.”
Celebrating my team’s resilience while also calling out the circumstances that demand it is challenging, but we focus on the difference we can make.
Hanan Tantush, Intotum founder
Ethan Leyland, a rising talent in fashion design, reflects on the resilience that he has been forced to cultivate due to his social class: “Coming from a working-class background, the fashion industry can be a difficult space. Growing up, fashion didn’t seem like an option. I was completely determined to defy whatever barriers had been put in place to keep people like me out.” Despite the odds, Leyland’s determination led him to Central Saint Martins, where he began his career, “When I moved to London, I had no money. All of my student loans went on rent, which limited my options when needing to buy materials for projects.”
Yet, he found that his lack of funds aided creativity. “I had to buy the cheap stuff – I was constantly rooting in the bin outside of university, so in the end, I think it pushed me outside of my comfort zone and made my work better,” he admits. Leyland used his graduate collection at the competitive Central Saint Martins as a platform to convey deeply personal themes in line with resilience, specifically, his mother’s experience with sight loss. “My Mum fell pregnant at 14, which led to her going blind at 45. It’s her story of strength that inspired my final collection,” he shares. The collection, which transitions from being classically beautiful to profoundly decomposed, symbolises his mother’s journey. “The collection shows a flower from blooming and blossoming, to dying, much like my Mum’s journey with her sight.”
Leyland’s collection was also shaped by his own vigour. He notes, “During my time at Central Saint Martins, my Mum was really struggling, so mentally I was in between London and Merseyside. At that point, my love of my work is really what kept me going.” Reflecting on the harsh realities of an industry that demands toughness in exchange for survival, Leyland advises, “To the working-class kids trying to break into fashion, I’d say it will be hard. It will be, but you can achieve it. Resilience is key – it shouldn’t have to be, but it is. Try and stay soft in an industry that constantly celebrates toughness.” Looking ahead, Leyland hopes for a future where the fashion industry “doesn’t demand so much strength from people trying to break into it”.
To the working-class kids trying to break into fashion, I’d say it will be hard. It will be, but you can achieve it. Resilience is key – it shouldn’t have to be, but it is. Try and stay soft in an industry that constantly celebrates toughness.
Ethan Leyland
Refusing to conform to the industry’s discriminatory norms, Emma van Engelen, owner of the sustainable brand Bhumi Clothing, says, “At Bhumi, I am driven by innovation, not by trends or market demands. Instead of creating what consumers might expect, I design from a vision that inspires me, or from a change I want to see in the world.” Over the past decade, sustainable practices have gained significant traction within the industry. According to TheIndustryFashion, 66 per cent of Gen Z shoppers in the United Kingdom now prioritise second-hand shopping, reflecting a clear generational shift towards more sustainable consumption. This shift has prompted regulatory changes, such as the British Fashion Council adopting Copenhagen Fashion Week’s sustainability requirements. While growing consumer demand for sustainability is an achievement in itself, it’s vital to also address the systemic and cultural complexities of achieving true inclusivity.
At Bhumi, the goal is to be both sustainable and inclusive. “As a designer, staying curious while remaining true to my aesthetic is crucial. This curiosity drives my mission to redefine fashion, pushing boundaries with cutting-edge techniques like 3D printing to transform sustainable materials into wearable art.” She goes on to share, “I envision a more healing approach to the fashion industry, one that starts with the belief that your body is beautiful just as it is. We should focus on how we can adorn, decorate, and celebrate it. This is my main message with Bhumi.” Expanding on the industry’s failure to cater for different body types, van Engelen adds, “The fashion industry, in its entirety, fails larger sizes. I believe that high fashion thrives on exclusivity, promoting an unattainable ideal that leads to dissatisfaction among women and a desire to purchase more products. These unrealistic beauty standards are closely tied to capitalism and the constant push for greater sales. They sell an illusion.”
After becoming a model in her teenage years, van Engelen carries a personal understanding of the need for change. “The industry’s standards nearly broke me down,” she reveals. “Struggling to maintain those body ideals makes this mission deeply personal for me.” By focusing on designing for fuller figures and challenging outdated standards, van Engelen is not only reshaping the fashion landscape but also showing that true resilience lies in transforming an industry that has long excluded those who don’t fit its narrow ideals.
At Bhumi, I am driven by innovation, not by trends or market demands. Instead of creating what consumers might expect, I design from a vision that inspires me, or from a change
I want to see in the world.Emma van Engelen, Bhumi Clothing founder
Through the tireless efforts of inspiring independent designers, it’s clear that the fashion industry now has the tools necessary to evolve into a platform that celebrates diverse stories of resilience and creativity; instead of perpetuating unattainable ideals and demanding relentless mental strength, it could become a space where beauty is redefined, inclusivity is the norm, and innovation empowers individuals to express their true selves unapologetically. Ultimately, fashion is art, and art is an opportunity to express experiences of resilience — even when such persistent resilience feels unjust, it presents an opportunity to inspire a shift in the industry’s narrative.
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