In our social media driven world, we’re all too often guilty of living for compliments rather than accomplishments. In The Activist Issue of i-D we celebrate Generation Z, the creatives using their platform to promote positive change in the world. We meet the young Londoners who have dedicated their lives to campaigning for a better world, go protesting with the one and only Vivienne Westwood and Skype Pussy Riot, the Russian feminists bravely fighting for equality in their homeland and beyond. “It’s not your duty, it’s your reality,” Nadya and Masha tell i-D. “If you are not thinking about politics, politics will think about you!” It’s 30 years since Katherine Hamnett met Margaret Thatcher wearing her infamous ‘58% Don’t Want Pershing’ T-shirt, but activism in the fashion industry is still very much alive and kicking. We ask the world’s leading designers, including Rick Owens, Olivier Rousteing, Dries Van Noten, ‘Can fashion still have a political ambition?’ The results will surprise you. The winds of change were certainly afoot during the spring/summer 15 shows.
At Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld staged a feminist protest complete with placards and rallying cries, while Meadham Kirchhoff swapped show notes for a statement of intent in what turned out to be their last ever runway show. In our manifesto, Edward Meadham reflects on the state of the fashion industry today, Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing calls for greater diversity on our runways, and Sarah Mower celebrates feminism in fashion, one of the only industries where women rule. We also cross the channel to meet the young men and women who took to the streets to fight for global equality in France’s biggest public demonstration ever after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Wolfgang Tillmans travels to Russia to meet the brave men and women campaigning for LGBT rights. Naomi Klein discusses the impact that she hopes her latest book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, will have on the fashion world, and we invite ten writers to explore the issues that are closest to their hearts, from gay rights to #BlackLivesMatter. We also meet the young London reporters, who are sacrificing their lives to bring you news from around the world, and the ever inspiring British journalist and transgender rights activist Paris Lees, who chats candidly about her ongoing campaign for equality. If this doesn’t inspire you, nothing will! From actors to activists, photographers to philanthropists, and creatives to campaigners, it’s time to fight for a cause, not for applause. What do you stand for?
Holly Shackleton, Editor-in-Chief
Credits
Photography Willy Vanderperre
Styling Alastair McKimm