In the Daily Beast, Robin Givhan discusses how fashion has evolved with the civil right movement.
The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, which will be formally dedicated Aug. 28 — on the 48th anniversary of the civil-rights leader's "I Have a Dream" speech — opens to the public this week.
Of all the individuals and corporations that have given money and lent their influence toward building the memorial, one of the most surprising — yet appropriate — may well be the Tommy Hilfiger Co…
Few fashion brands have been so closely linked to a modern cultural and social revolution as the Tommy Hilfiger Co. Rappers took its preppy polo shirts, dungarees, and boldly printed rugby shirts and made them their own by wearing them three and four sizes too large. They took the sportswear most closely associated with the Mayflower privileged and reappropriated it, creating a rallying cry for the urban, the poor, the feared …
The King Memorial has been created through the largesse of a host of corporate donors — from Disney and Boeing to the NBA and BP. The biggest sponsorship commitment comes from General Motors. But while retailers such as Walmart and Macy’s have offered support, Hilfiger is the project's only major fashion sponsor.
Read Robin Givhan's entire article at the Daily Beast.