{ "article": { "title" : "Fashion (still) has a Fascism Problem: From Mussolini to Musk, the fashion industry’s troubling alliance with power persists.", "author" : "Louis Pisano", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/fashion-still-has-a-fascism-problem", "date" : "2025-05-06 09:57:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Kim-Kardashians-Perfect-Magazine-shoot.jpg", "excerpt" : "Magazine’s latest cover featuring Kim Kardashian alongside various Tesla wares. Kim on a Cybertruck, Kim in the embrace of a Tesla Optimus robot, hyper-polished, eerily soulless images of two massive brands… seemingly devoid of deeper meaning… except it wasn’t. It felt like a perfect distillation of a troubling ideology: the fusion of fashion, technology, and authoritarian aesthetics, all in service of power.", "content" : "Magazine’s latest cover featuring Kim Kardashian alongside various Tesla wares. Kim on a Cybertruck, Kim in the embrace of a Tesla Optimus robot, hyper-polished, eerily soulless images of two massive brands… seemingly devoid of deeper meaning… except it wasn’t. It felt like a perfect distillation of a troubling ideology: the fusion of fashion, technology, and authoritarian aesthetics, all in service of power.So, I criticized the shoot; it went viral. Some people got it. Others didn’t, insisting it was “just a magazine,” that fashion “isn’t political.” But fashion has always been political, and more importantly, it has always had a little bit of a Nazi problem. This isn’t just about the Perfect Magazine cover, Elon Musk, or Kim Kardashian; it’s about how fashion has historically aligned itself with authoritarianism, and how we’re watching it unfold again today.Fashion’s entanglement with fascism isn’t just a one off chapter in history, it’s foundational to how the industry operates. Nazi Germany understood that power isn’t just about military force but about aesthetics and uniformity. Hitler’s regime meticulously crafted an image of strength and modernity, hiring designers to create some of the most ( unfortunately ) visually striking propaganda of the 20th century. The clean lines, brutal efficiency, and cold futurism of Nazi visual culture became a blueprint for authoritarian aesthetics in the modern age when the war ended.The industry itself was complicit. Hugo Boss manufactured SS uniforms using forced labor from concentration camps. Coco Chanel, now lauded as a feminist icon, was a Nazi informant and anti-Semitic opportunist who used the war to try and steal her company back from its Jewish co-owners. Christian Dior’s postwar success was built in the ruins of Jewish couturiers who were either exiled or erased.Hugo Boss Designed Nazi UniformsCoco Chanel was a Nazi informantBut it wasn’t just Germany. In 1930s Italy, Benito Mussolini’s government exerted control over the fashion industry, establishing the Ente Nazionale della Moda (ENM) in 1935 to coordinate fashion production and promote a distinct Italian style. A tool of nationalist propaganda, the ENM ensured that Italian fashion aligned with fascist ideals. The organization also aimed to eliminate foreign influence (especially French fashion), elevate Italian designers, and reinforce a vision of Italy as a self-sufficient, culturally superior state.Benito MussoliniMussolini understood fashion’s role in shaping national identity. The Italian government dictated styles that embodied the fascist ideal, structured, powerful, yet unmistakably Italian. Women were expected to dress modestly, reflecting their domestic role in Mussolini’s rigid societal order, while men’s fashion leaned into militaristic tailoring, reinforcing ideals of strength and discipline. Fashion magazines under fascist control encouraged women to embrace an elegant but restrained femininity, one that placed the state above personal expression.Even luxury brands played along. Salvatore Ferragamo, for example, outfitted the feet of everyone from Hitler’s wife, Eva Braun, who came to his shop flanked by Nazi guards, and Benito Mussolini.Eva BraunThese are not just footnotes, they are foundational to how fashion rebuilt itself in the 20th century.Back to modern day and fashion’s flirtation with authoritarianism hasn’t vanished, it’s just evolved. Elon Musk has turned X (formerly Twitter) into a breeding ground for far-right extremism and amplifies white nationalist rhetoric under the guise of “free speech.” He treats governance like a personal game, systematically dismantling institutions, gutting regulatory oversight, and positioning himself as the ultimate arbiter of truth.Tesla’s branding borrows from fascist futurism: sleek, cold, obsessed with efficiency at all costs. The Perfect cover is an extension of this, fashion as a sterile, dehumanized dystopia where power is the only currency. The visual language of Musk’s empire, militaristic minimalism and brutalism repackaged as luxury, is absolutely not new. It’s a direct descendant of the aesthetics that defined fascist regimes.The Perfect cover wasn’t just a poorly thought out fashion moment, it was very much a signal of where the industry’s elite allegiances are shifting. The same industry that once dressed SS officers is now platforming tech billionaires who want to dismantle democracy and replace it with corporate autocracies.And let’s talk about who’s making these decisions. Perfect Magazine is run by Katie Grand, a white woman who has spent decades curating fashion’s biggest moments and styling some of the most influential shoots that shaped public perception. And now, she’s using that power to platform a billionaire who is gutting democracy, stripping labor rights, and amplifying the far right. There’s something eerily familiar about a white woman aligning herself with fascist-adjacent forces. We like to tell ourselves that fascism is a hyper-masculine ideology, that it’s all angry men in uniforms shouting into microphones. But history tells a different story. Women have always played a crucial role in legitimizing and normalizing authoritarian regimes and fashion has been one of their sharpest tools.During the Nazi era, women’s magazines helped push fascist beauty ideals, encouraging women to embody “Aryan femininity” while also supporting the regime in domestic and social roles. The wives of high ranking Nazi officials threw extravagant parties in couture while their husbands orchestrated genocide. Even in fascist Italy, designers like Elsa Schiaparelli played with military aesthetics, blending them elegantly into high fashion.And now, we have Katie Grand curating a new kind of fascist aesthetic with a cover that frames an authoritarian billionaire like Elon Musk as the future. Just like women in the past championed beauty under fascism, Grand is dressing up modern authoritarianism and making it look desirable.Musk isn’t the only one using fashion as a tool for authoritarian branding. His buddy Donald Trump understands the powers of aesthetics. MAGA culture thrives on uniformity and branding, from the red hats to the oversized suits that became a blueprint for power dressing in certain right-wing circles. Trump’s aesthetics, big, loud, excessive, and room dominating are the visual antithesis of Musk’s sterile futurism, but they serve the same purpose: reinforcing hierarchy, separating the elite from the undesirable.The mainstream fashion industry, of course, pretends to stay neutral. But as we’ve seen recently brands are clamoring to dress him and his family. Brioni still tailors his suits. Dior dresses his wife and daughter. The industry loves to perform progressivism, but when it comes to actual power, it’s never been interested in taking a long term stand.Every time fashion’s political ties are pointed out, the response is the same: “Fashion isn’t political.” But it always has been. As the world slides back toward authoritarianism, fashion is once again complicit. We condemn its past alliances with oppressive regimes, yet the present echoes the same patterns.By aligning with figures like Musk and Trump, fashion isn’t just overlooking the issue, it’s making an active decision to side with power built on exploitation and division for their bottom line and if we don’t call it out now, we’ll end up wearing the chains it’s silently designing." } , "relatedposts": [ { "title" : "100+ Years of Genocidal Intent in Palestine", "author" : "Collis Browne", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/100-years-of-genocidal-intent", "date" : "2025-10-07 18:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/1920-jerusalem.jpg", "excerpt" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:", "content" : "Every single Israeli prime minister, president, and major Zionist leader has voiced clear intent to erase the Palestinian people from their lands, either by forced expulsion, or military violence. From Herzl and Chaim Weizmann to Ben-Gurion to Netanyahu, the record is not ambiguous:{% for person in site.data.genocidalquotes %}{{ person.name }}{% if person.title %}<p class=\"title-xs\">{{ person.title }}</p>{% endif %}{% for quote in person.quotes %}“{{ quote.text }}”{% if quote.source %}— {{ quote.source }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endfor %}" } , { "title" : "Dignity Before Stadiums:: Morocco’s Digital Uprising", "author" : "Cheb Gado", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/dignity-before-stadiums", "date" : "2025-10-02 09:08:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_Cover_Morocco_GenZ.jpg", "excerpt" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.", "content" : "No one expected a generation raised on smartphones and TikTok clips to ignite a spark of protest shaking Morocco’s streets. But Gen Z, the children of the internet and speed, have stepped forward to write a new chapter in the history of uprisings, in their own style.The wave of anger began with everyday struggles that cut deep into young people’s lives: soaring prices, lack of social justice, and the silencing of their voices in politics. They didn’t need traditional leaders or party manifestos; the movement was born out of a single hashtag that spread like wildfire, transforming individual frustration into collective momentum.One of the sharpest contradictions fueling the protests was the billions poured into World Cup-related preparations, while ordinary citizens remained marginalized when it came to healthcare and education.This awareness quickly turned into chants and slogans echoing through the streets: “Dignity begins with schools and hospitals, not with putting on a show for the world.”What set this movement apart was not only its presence on the streets, but also the way it reinvented protest itself:Live filming: Phone cameras revealed events moment by moment, exposing abuses instantly.Memes and satire: A powerful weapon to dismantle authority’s aura, turning complex political discourse into viral, shareable content.Decentralized networks: No leader, no party, just small, fast-moving groups connected online, able to appear and disappear with agility.This generation doesn’t believe in grand speeches or delayed promises. They demand change here and now. Moving seamlessly between the physical and digital realms, they turn the street into a stage of revolt, and Instagram Live into an alternative media outlet.What’s happening in Morocco strongly recalls the Arab Spring of 2011, when young people flooded the streets with the same passion and spontaneity, armed only with belief in their power to spark change. But Gen Z added their own twist, digital tools, meme culture, and the pace of a hyper-connected world.Morocco’s Gen Z uprising is not just another protest, but a living experiment in how a digital generation can redefine politics itself. The spark may fade, but the mark it leaves on young people’s collective consciousness cannot be erased.Photo credits: Mosa’ab Elshamy, Zacaria Garcia, Abdel Majid Bizouat, Marouane Beslem" } , { "title" : "A Shutdown Exposes How Fragile U.S. Governance Really Is", "author" : "EIP Editors", "category" : "", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/a-shutdown-exposes-how-fragile-us-governance-really-is", "date" : "2025-10-01 22:13:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/EIP_Cover_Gov_ShutDown.jpg", "excerpt" : "Each time the federal government shutters its doors, we hear the same reassurances: essential services will continue, Social Security checks will still arrive, planes won’t fall from the sky. This isn’t the first Governmental shutdown, they’ve happened 22 times since 1976, and their toll is real.", "content" : "Each time the federal government shutters its doors, we hear the same reassurances: essential services will continue, Social Security checks will still arrive, planes won’t fall from the sky. This isn’t the first Governmental shutdown, they’ve happened 22 times since 1976, and their toll is real.Shutdowns don’t mean the government stops functioning. They mean millions of federal workers are asked to keep the system running without pay. Air traffic controllers, border patrol agents, food inspectors — people whose jobs underpin both public safety and economic life — are told their labor matters, but their livelihoods don’t. People have to pay the price of bad bureaucracy in the world’s most powerful country, if governance is stalled, workers must pay with their salaries and their groceries.In 1995 and 1996, clashes between President Bill Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich triggered two shutdowns totaling 27 days. In 2013, a 16-day standoff over the Affordable Care Act furloughed 850,000 workers. And in 2018–2019, the longest shutdown in U.S. history stretched 35 days, as President Trump refused to reopen the government without funding for a border wall. That impasse left 800,000 federal employees without paychecks and cost the U.S. economy an estimated $11 billion — $3 billion of it permanently lost.More troubling is what happens when crises strike during shutdowns. The United States is living in an age of accelerating climate disasters: historic floods in Vermont, wildfire smoke choking New York, hurricanes pounding Florida. These emergencies do not pause while Congress fights over budgets. Yet a shutdown means furloughed NOAA meteorologists, suspended EPA enforcement, and delayed FEMA programs. In the most climate-vulnerable decade of our lifetimes, we are choosing paralysis over preparedness.This vulnerability didn’t emerge overnight. For decades, the American state has been hollowed out under the logic of austerity and privatization, while military spending has remained sacrosanct. That imbalance is why budgets collapse under the weight of endless resources for war abroad, too few for resilience at home.Shutdowns send a dangerous message. They normalize instability. They tell workers they are disposable. They make clear that in our system, climate resilience and public health aren’t pillars of our democracy but rather insignificant in the face of power and greed. And each time the government closes, it becomes easier to imagine a future where this isn’t the exception but the rule.The United States cannot afford to keep running on shutdown politics. The climate crisis, economic inequality, and the challenges of sustaining democracy itself demand continuity, not collapse. We need a politics that treats stability and resilience not as partisan victories, but as basic commitments to one another. Otherwise, the real shutdown isn’t just of the government — it’s of democracy itself." } ] }