Dear Shaded viewers,
There are many creators today, particularly in fashion, who shy away from referencing politics, afraid of its forces in dividing people and creating a negative outlook. However, Trashy Clothing and Barragán are two independent brands who brave those harsh dialogues with sartorial commentaries aimed at inspiring reflection on unspoken realities and finding the common threads that tie us together. As part of Trashy Clothing’s SS25 “Arsenal of Democracy”, the two brands have released their first collaboration that combines their distinct styles and social critiques.
Trashy Clothing is a Palestinian brand based in Aman, Jordan. Its founders Omar Braika and Shukri Lawrence use modern design techniques to create provocative clothing in satirical vain. Their brand has become a voice for the queer Middle Eastern community and every detail of every garment is carefully considered to represent part of their story. In the spirit of anti-fashion, they make the most out of internet culture and kitsch and have found substantial success making political commentary digestible through fashion, in a time when it is needed most.
Barragán is a Mexican brand founded in 2010 by Victor Barragán in Mexico City and is now based in New York City. Barragán’s bold designs combine common experiences from Mexican culture with hopes of the American Dream, drilling into distinctly post-apocalyptic imagery with humorous memability. Combining taboos such as religious iconography and drug paraphernalia, Victor calls attention to the bloody consequences of American Imperialism.
Omar and Shukri explain that the collaboration with Victor came naturally after they found a tweet drawing similarities between Trashy Clothing and Barragán’s approaches to political critique through fashion. The three designers worked on 6 articles of clothing merging their distinct styles to bring their communities together. As it turns out, they expected the collaboration would happen eventually.
The campaign was shot in Jordan by Omar and Shukri, drawing from the visual expressions of American wartime propaganda. Featuring their close friends as models, the images aim to create dialogue around cultural imperialism and psychological operations, questioning how these are structurally embedded into the world of fashion. The campaign also features exclusive music by Adam Rajab, who’s tracks allow one to enter an immersive experience of chaos between politics and satire that Trashy Clothing and Barragán envisioned.
Later,
Eliya
