In a new collaboration, Kenneth Cole Productions and Lingua Franca have launched a capsule collection where cashmere and cotton serve as canvases for free speech. The line features hand-embroidered slogans like “Speak Even If Your Voice Shakes,” transforming sweaters and tees into wearable manifestos. A portion of proceeds supports the Committee to Protect Journalists.
This fusion of fashion and protest has deep roots in lingerie history. For decades, undergarments have carried covert messages, from the suffragettes’ symbolic white dresses to the provocative phrases stitched into 1980s-era Vivienne Westwood corsets. Kenneth Cole himself, a brand built on social commentary since its 1982 debut, follows a tradition of using apparel as a platform. The collection’s hand-embroidery, Lingua Franca’s signature technique, mirrors the intimate craftsmanship of a custom-made corset—where every stitch is a deliberate act.
It suggests that the most personal layers we wear, whether a slogan sweater or a silk camisole, have long been vehicles for personal and political expression. The collection is available exclusively on the brands’ websites.
Originally reported by WWD