Can This Dress Make America Great Again?
From swan dresses to meat dresses, the red carpet is always full of interesting fashion looks. Celebrities use these coveted events to take fashion risks, and Joy Villa’s “Make America Great Again” Grammys dress is no exception. As she removed her long, white cape to reveal her red, white and blue Trump dress, all eyes were on her.
Singer songwriter Joy Villa is an African American, self-proclaimed feminist and Andre Soriano, the designer of this newsworthy gown, is an immigrant from the Philippines. It may come as a surprise that Soriano would design a Trump dress after the president issued an executive order banning immigration from seven countries. Yet according to Soriano, this dress was created to unite people. He stated: “We need to move this country forward, and we believe it’s time to promote love.”
With an auditorium full of Hillary Clinton supporters including Katy Perry, Chrissy Teigen, and Beyoncé, it is a strange choice to use a pro-Trump dress to unite people. The dress unsurprisingly caused a stir throughout social media. Some praised Villa for supporting our president while others were appalled by the controversial look. Either way, Villa gained thousands of social media followers following the Grammys.
Making political statements through fashion is nothing new, yet this dress was trending all night throughout the Grammys. Villa’s 2014 album, I Make the Static, was the most bought album on iTunes the day after the Grammys, topping Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Adele’s 25. Many questioned why she wore this dress. Was it to simply to gain attention? Villa has made bold fashion choices in the past, including a dress made out of traffic fencing at the 2015 Grammys (which was also designed by Soriano). She stated that she was making a choice to show love and tolerance and to show respect for our nation’s choice to have Trump as president. Either way this dress certainly caught the nation’s attention.
Fashion is such a powerful tool, and with all eyes on the red carpet before prestigious award shows like the Grammys, it is certainly a golden opportunity to make a statement. Ever since the election, designers have been getting political whether it is at award shows or New York Fashion Week. Many designers outwardly promote feminism and equality. Prabal Gurung closed his show with models wearing t-shirts that said “The Future is Female.” With today’s hectic political climate, fashion is such an important form of expression.
Fashion is at times controversial, but every designer deserves the opportunity to express him or herself. Clothes are created to be bold, meaningful and beautiful. Fashion is a form of free speech, and it is a language we can all understand.