US designer brands Trump a ‘Ku Klux Klan tyrant’

PARIS: A Paris fashion week show has called for the end to the “tyranny” of US President Donald Trump.

American artist Sterling Ruby compared Trump to the racist Ku Klux Klan in his women’s Paris show called “Veil Flag”, in which a black model was draped in a distressed denim version of the Stars and Stripes. Ruby’s streetwear brand, S.R. Studio. LA. CA., made its fashion week debut in the French capital late Monday with a film featuring the flag and a spoken word poem.

“Where are we, and what has happened?” the poem began. “No sovereignty, no empathy. A flag worn down, covered in hardship marching against leaderless leadership. “Tread on me... Light me on fire... End the tyranny of the President Grand Dragon,” it added. The Grand Dragon is one of the most senior members of the KKK, which despite its long history of racist violence is still legal and thought to be active in 41 US states.

Trump has been accused of encouraging the rise of white supremacists in recent years. With coronavirus infections rocketing in France, Paris women’s fashion week has followed Milan and London in going mostly digital, with labels presenting their new looks in short films.

Rising French designer Marine Serre also raised eyebrows Tuesday with an unsettling sci-fi themed film called “Amor Fati”, inspired by Nietzsche, who made embracing fate — bad as it might be — central to his philosophy.

Serre, whose made face masks a fashion item long before the pandemic to summon up her post-apocalyptic universe, said her new collection was “a mirror of the last five months. “The world around us has changed radically” since the world was hit by the virus, she told AFP.

“I started putting anti-pollution masks in my collections a year and a half ago,” the 28-year-old added. “I was going to work on my bike and the air was not great in Paris.”

Serre, who will show her film in the French capital’s biggest cinema later Tuesday, warned that some viewers may find it disturbing. Her dystopian hooded outfits and body hugging designs have touched a nerve with many younger fashionistas, fearful of what is happening to the environment.

Serre’s shows have also featured upcycled dresses made from old bedspreads and curtains. Her clothes have since been championed by US singers Beyonce and Ariana Grande, with her crescent moon motif popping up regularly on the red carpet in outfits worn by actresses such as Chloe Sevigny. She has also become a leading voice for more sustainable fashion.