Tax the Rich - A Performative Gesture or Actionable Statement?
For the first time in its history, the highly anticipated Met Gala will be presented in two parts under the theme of American Fashion. We witnessed part one of the exhibition 'In America: A Lexicon of Fashion' on 13th September 2021. With the subject matter being quite broad, there was no surprise that before the event this year, speculation about the interpretation of this years theme was endless. Potential references that could have been drawn included references to the star-spangled banner, Hollywood's Golden Age, or the opportunity for political statements to be made. Judging from celebrity appearances, a lot of the anticipated references were made to varying degrees of success. As ever, there was a place for controversy in some of these looks, none more so than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (AOC) 'Tax the Rich' dress.
AOC was dressed by Aurora James, founder of Brother Vellis and the 15 Percent Pledge. An initiative that calls on significant retailers to commit a minimum of 15% of their inventory to Black-owned businesses. So, it's no surprise that the collaboration between the American Politician (with a strong social media presence) and the Canadian designer/activist would result in a look with a political statement.
The custom wool white mermaid dress with an organza flounce featuring 'Tax the Rich' in vibrant red script
The controversy of this dress comes over the significance of this gesture at an event such as the Met Gala. Critics were stressing the irony associated with AOC attending the event for the elite of the elite. A ticket cost $35,000 or $200,000 for a table in a dress with such a statement attached to it. There's also the issue that Aurora James faces allegations of not paying her tax as "according to The Post's report, it has been served 15 tax warrants in total since 2015" (Independent, 2021). These challenges made by critics within the media and on social platforms present a viewpoint that the dress is a performative gesture and doesn't spark action. Although I can see this argument, I can also understand why AOC and James decided to use the Met Gala to make this statement. Google analytics demonstrated an increase in 'tax the rich' searches following AOC's appearance.
This excerpt from a New York Times interview with James gives an insight into how the pair feel about what was achieved with the dress. "So much of what we see sometimes in fashion does feel a little bit performative, but this is a woman who literally does this work day in and day out. Given the last several years that we've had in this country, I think that we all need to be asking ourselves what we're doing with our platform. If we get a seat at the table, what do we want that conversation to be over dinner? Listen, it would be a lot easier to go to the Met Gala and just wear a really beautiful dress and look really beautiful and have a good time. But that was not her intention, right? Her intention was to take a conversation that's largely existing in working-class communities and bring it into rooms where that conversation might be a little bit more uncomfortable. It's not easy to show up in a room like that, with a statement like that. There's a lot of people who gain access to rooms like that and are too afraid to rock the boat."
The overall context of the Met is to make a statement. This dress definitely achieves that. Now it's left to be seen just how far this statement goes in broader society.
Written by SuNom Bawa
Hi, I'm SuNom. Born in Nigeria and raised in the UK. I studied Economics at undergrad and Political Economy at Masters level. My interests vary and I hope you like them as much as I do.
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