Dior’s ‘We should all be feminists,’ T-shirt, which references the title of an essay by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and also became inextricably linked with the march, is a slightly more complex case. Created for the debut collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior’s first female creative director, it was intended to emphasise that the esteemed house was now designed by women for women. Retailing at almost US$800 (£612), it was never meant to be a protest T-shirt for the masses.
However, in the run up to the march, several celebrities posted images of themselves wearing it on Instagram. These posts received millions of hits, which effortlessly disseminated the message across the globe. In this way, argues McClendon, “it became a kind of rallying cry for the digital age and not just a commodification”.
There is no denying the impact a brand with the visibility of Dior is going to have, but McClendon acknowledges that “we tend to see more action and activity in the place of resistance from smaller independent labels.”