Tory Burch wearing a tee from the Believe in Better collection in support of Joe Biden
With the US 2020 election less than a month away on November 3, celebrities have taken to social media to encourage fellow American citizens to vote. Stars including Hailey Bieber, Chrissy Teigen, and Karlie Kloss have been endorsing their preferred candidate, with many even pushing fashion merchandise to drive the message home.
While Hollywood has been split into election camps – supporting Republican leader President Donald Trump and vice president Mike Pence or Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and vice president candidate Kamala Harris – Instagram and Twitter have been ablaze with stars supporting the democratic team, with a fashion campaign, #BelieveInBetter, leading the support.
Vera Wang wearing a Vote Joe jumper from the Believe in Better collection in support of Joe Biden
Fashion and politics have often intertwined – think Maria Grazia Chiuri’s We Should All Be Feminist T-shirts for Christian Dior and Kerby Jean-Raymond’s 2016 Pyer Moss collection highlighting Black Lives Matter. So, it’s no surprise that the fashion industry, from models to designers, are taking a stand in the lead up to what has been dubbed as the most important election in modern US history. Making it clear who they will be voting for, 19 of the US’s top designers have collaborated to create clothing in support of Joe Biden’s bid for the presidency. Called Believe in Better, the collection, which was made in the US in unionized factories, includes pieces by Vera Wang, Joseph Altuzarra, Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, and Tory Burch. All pieces cost US $60 or less, making some of the world’s biggest designers more accessible to all consumers.
It’s not just designers stepping forward, however, with models including Chrissy Teigen and Hailey Bieber using their social accounts to speak up. Using Mental Health Day on October 10 as a platform, Bieber posted an image of herself wearing a Biden T-shirt and asked followers to consider the mental state of their country. “It’s world mental health day, and something that has affected my mental health is the state of our country and the future of our country. I have hope, but we need to collectively make the change we want for our future and that means getting out there to VOTE!!!” read the caption.
Teigen and husband John Legend have both posted on social media in support of Biden/Harris. “We are proud to stand behind Biden. We’re not only voting for Biden because it’s not Trump. We’re voting for him because we think he’s going to do an incredible job of bringing a bit of healing to the country,” said Teigen.
Despite marrying the brother of Jared Kushner (Ivanka Trump’s husband), Kloss remains outspoken about her liberal leanings, even appearing at a Democrat campaign event promoting the future of women in STEAM.
Despite Trump testing positive for the coronavirus – which incidentally is one of the most serious known health scares encountered by any sitting American president – the election is still set to go on. With the global pandemic, crashing job markets, and subsequent low economy, and let’s not forget the ongoing racial justice movement, the 2020 election could change history. Whether celebrity endorsement or fashion collection helps or not is unclear, though the Runway to Change collection for Barack Obama and his support from Beyoncé and Oprah certainly didn’t hurt.
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