Here’s what the label had to say about this collection:
>Trashy Clothing’s AW24/SS25 collection, titled Arsenal of Democracy, explores the contradictions, psyops, and corruption present in global politics. As a continuation of the previous Naji Al Ali-inspired collection, this collection shifts focus to world leaders, highlighting their ironies and complicity. The designs range from large, structured shoulder pad silhouettes to draped couture dresses, decorated with the guise of allyship. Key pieces include the Khalifa Corset and the Protection Dress, which study the game of politics and American terrorism. The collection also features an exclusive psyop collaboration with [Barragán](https://shop.barragannnn.com/).
Phew, there’s a lot to parse about this collection, a lot of it is beyond me. But some of it even I get, like photo 4, with the giant dog tag doubling as a chest cover, with the phrases “BRING THEM HOME” and “RIGHT OF RETURN 1948”. The former is the motto of people demanding the return of the hostages abducted by Hamas during its October 7th, 2023 attack in Israel. The latter is the principle that the Palestinians expelled from Israel in 1948, as well as their refugees, have the right to return.
The bra cups in Photo 3 may be a cheeky repurposing of the [arakhchin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arakhchin), an Armenian hat (one of the co-founders of the label, Shukri Lawrence, is part Armenian).
Photos 2, 14 and 16 feature clothing with the burning American flag on it, a common sight in anti-American protests. Putting that image on a men’s swim brief, as seen in photo 2, is definitely new to me. I’ve always thought that putting the US flag on your crotch can be construed to be a bit disrespectful to the country, so does putting a burning US flag on one’s crotch bring it all the way back around to being a sign of respect?
There’s also quite the infusion of the queer male sensibility in this collection, with gender-bending and revealing pieces for men. This brings to mind another fashion label that is informed by a queer and Middle Eastern perspective: Berlin-based [GmbH](https://www.instagram.com/gmbh_official/). In fact, GmbH and Trashy Clothing collaborated in 2022 on a release called “[Free Palestine](https://www.trashyclothing.shop/gmbh-trashy-clothing-free-palestine)”, with proceeds doing to two charities.
Fashion, like anything else that involves more than one person, is political. This collection just happens to be particularly relevant and irreverent.
1 Comment
Because Reddit galleries are limited to 20 pics, I was unable to post these 3 looks from the collection: [1](https://08413697404ce55588a1.cdn6.editmysite.com/uploads/b/08413697404ce55588a162da6c07c146fa7b3a54b3506ce590ddadd41d1d07b5/look4w_1727080151.jpg), [2](https://08413697404ce55588a1.cdn6.editmysite.com/uploads/b/08413697404ce55588a162da6c07c146fa7b3a54b3506ce590ddadd41d1d07b5/look11w_1727079599.jpg), [3](https://08413697404ce55588a1.cdn6.editmysite.com/uploads/b/08413697404ce55588a162da6c07c146fa7b3a54b3506ce590ddadd41d1d07b5/look17w_1727080788.jpg).
The [runway film](https://youtu.be/vaOaumIEwj4) for the collection.
Trashy Clothing’s [website](https://www.trashyclothing.shop/). Their [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/trashyclothing/).
Here’s what the label had to say about this collection:
>Trashy Clothing’s AW24/SS25 collection, titled Arsenal of Democracy, explores the contradictions, psyops, and corruption present in global politics. As a continuation of the previous Naji Al Ali-inspired collection, this collection shifts focus to world leaders, highlighting their ironies and complicity. The designs range from large, structured shoulder pad silhouettes to draped couture dresses, decorated with the guise of allyship. Key pieces include the Khalifa Corset and the Protection Dress, which study the game of politics and American terrorism. The collection also features an exclusive psyop collaboration with [Barragán](https://shop.barragannnn.com/).
Phew, there’s a lot to parse about this collection, a lot of it is beyond me. But some of it even I get, like photo 4, with the giant dog tag doubling as a chest cover, with the phrases “BRING THEM HOME” and “RIGHT OF RETURN 1948”. The former is the motto of people demanding the return of the hostages abducted by Hamas during its October 7th, 2023 attack in Israel. The latter is the principle that the Palestinians expelled from Israel in 1948, as well as their refugees, have the right to return.
The bra cups in Photo 3 may be a cheeky repurposing of the [arakhchin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arakhchin), an Armenian hat (one of the co-founders of the label, Shukri Lawrence, is part Armenian).
Photos 2, 14 and 16 feature clothing with the burning American flag on it, a common sight in anti-American protests. Putting that image on a men’s swim brief, as seen in photo 2, is definitely new to me. I’ve always thought that putting the US flag on your crotch can be construed to be a bit disrespectful to the country, so does putting a burning US flag on one’s crotch bring it all the way back around to being a sign of respect?
There’s also quite the infusion of the queer male sensibility in this collection, with gender-bending and revealing pieces for men. This brings to mind another fashion label that is informed by a queer and Middle Eastern perspective: Berlin-based [GmbH](https://www.instagram.com/gmbh_official/). In fact, GmbH and Trashy Clothing collaborated in 2022 on a release called “[Free Palestine](https://www.trashyclothing.shop/gmbh-trashy-clothing-free-palestine)”, with proceeds doing to two charities.
Fashion, like anything else that involves more than one person, is political. This collection just happens to be particularly relevant and irreverent.