Signature Project

Panther Reign

I chose to base this signature project around the Black Panther Party, as they are a group of people who have always interested me, in both their style, and mentality. Throughout this project, I would like to explore this misunderstood group of activists more, and design clothes informed by what I learn. These clothes will be for the modern people who want to show their disapproval of societal, and political oppression of minority groups. However, I do not want to restrict myself by only looking at the group of Panthers, for I need to gain a deeper understanding into the context in which the Party was able to thrive, and the changes they were able to make. This means that I will also be researching the music, art scene, political campaigns, and the general fashion trends of the time. By gaining a wider understanding into the 1960s, and 1970s, I will be able to create a more developed response shown in my final garments. For if I neglected to look at the context in which the Panthers were able to thrive, my final designs would come across more superficial, and lack true meaning.