RED CAP

It’s crazy how an article of clothing can make you feel. It can make you feel emotionally --- happy, proud, nostalgic, confident. It can make you feel sensually --- warm, comfy, cozy. In the culture of streetwear and merch, clothing tends to make its wearer feel one thing more than most: a part of something.

January 20, 2017, Washington D.C. I’m wearing an Adam Easterling hoodie, a plaid shirt over it, and a light brown overcoat. A bleached denim Supreme cap rests on my head, black jeans, and classic SK8-Hi Vans to round out the outfit. I’m in DC for the inauguration and to put it plainly, my fit doesn’t fit in.

I’m a lone wolf in a sea of red hats and duck camo --- it’s the most duck camo and hunting gear I’ve ever seen. Hunting season had clearly come and gone, but the majority of those present did not care --- today was their day, and they we’re going to wear whatever the hell they wanted.

As my friends and I navigated around the National Mall, the feeling of not belonging became more evident. Red “MAGA” hats were everywhere. All ages donned the Donald’s trademarked slogan. Those with hats smiled at each other. Those with shirts gave each other high fives. Those with portable tables sold alt-versions of the cap for cheap.

These mere pieces of clothing visually unified supporters. Scores of little children no older than 6 wore the cap in droves. They held hands, sang songs in unison, and laughed --- all with the red hat, resting ever so snugly on their heads. I observed the hats on the children’s heads and it made me feel something I still can’t quite comprehend.

It was clear after a day in D.C. that red “MAGA” hats had made their mark on American citizens --- its influence on American culture had been ensured for the next 4 years. This merch, however, is not your typical presidential merch. It’s not the “I Like Ike” button of the 50s, the red, white and blue national convention hats, or the Shepard Fairey-designed Obama “Hope” shirts. This merch is different; its had a much more sweeping effect on its supporters --- and the world.

The hat taps into the heart of Trump’s America. It’s not a New Era fitted. It’s not a Bryson Tiller dad hat. It’s not a Mitchell & Ness snapback. It’s not a Supreme five panel. It’s not a Don C snakeskin --- It’s a good old, hearty American rope hat, linked most closely to the Von Dutch trucker hats of yesteryear, sans the webbing on the backside & Ashton Kutcher. It’s as ‘Merica a hat can get, with a simple and abrasive slogan slapped on it. In other words, Trump merch isn’t winning any LVMH prizes anytime soon. What might be more disconcerting is the rest of conscious America repurposing the phrase over, and over, and over again in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Don’t Pass Trump the Blunt. Make Festivals Great Again. Make America Gay Again. The MAGA-inspired, satire merch has inadvertently fueled the success of the Trump campaign. As Trump’s campaign has proven, any press is good press — therefore, the hat’s that play on the MAGA hats may have given Trump en extra boost.

Why is the hat so effective? The simplicity. By slightly altering President Ronald Reagan’s “Let’s Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, Trump made the phrase more demanding and less inclusive. The 4-word phrase makes it easy for people to understand, to translate into different meanings, to translate into different languages, provide different motivations, and provide endless parodies.

Probably the most frighteningly brilliant aspect of the hat is the absence of Trump’s name or brand anywhere on it --- his name’s absence effectively becoming his brand, or America’s brand. The United States, its policies, economics, citizens, and entire framework has become one big piece of branded content for Trump. The Trump “MAGA” merch, specifically the red hat, further provides the Trump base a way to identify with each other. It’s a way for this community to feel safe. It’s a veil of safety, a shroud of intent, a political uniform, an insightful peek into the ideas of the person wearing it.

It provides more face-value assumption than any other merch has in the past. YEEZUS merch? Oh he’s definitely a fuckboy. Beyonce merch? She’s got to be a feminist. Metallica merch? Much chic, so culture. These one-sided assumptions, however, pale in comparison to the assumptions you make about people wearing “MAGA” merch. With this hat, not judging a book by its cover becomes a much more difficult---nearly impossible---task.

What does “MAGA” merch success mean to merch creators, including streetwear brands and influencers that cultivate their fanbases with merchandise? What does it mean to those who have the ability to create a culture of identity and have a third eye when it comes to being ahead of trends, tapping into feelings through fashion, & providing consumers with a sense of self while rocking their apparel? What does it mean when Donald Trump hits all these markers in resounding fashion, spends more campaign money on apparel than on polling, and in doing so also (in)conveniently obtains the highest power in the free world?

It means Trump trivializes the canvas on which all fashion, style, and merchandise works on --- in other words, by so crudely using fashion for his campaign and self-gain, his success mocks the merch industry and anyone who has anything of worth to say in fashion. To set the record straight, not all fashion should be politically, socially, or environmentally charged. Fashion, as many art forms, is utilized as an escape from all the socioeconomic stresses that plague our day-to-day.

With that being said, the MAGA merch disrupted the world of fashion— the world of clothing and messaging— in a way that SHOULD put fashion houses, streetwear gurus, and participators of the culture in a position of self-reflection. Trump trivialized clothing, using it for his own good and disrespecting the pain-staking process and artistry of well- thought out design and cloth-making. If there is a way to rally racists, alt-right, neo-nazi, and ultra-conservatives behind a hat, there is surely a way to do the same on the opposite side of the spectrum, right? Or Alt-right? We have yet to see.

In the meantime, articles of clothing will continue to make one feel emotions and sensations; articles of clothing will continue to have purpose, so long as those who utilize the canvas have something worth saying.

-CV