BLACK LEATHER JACKET

While fashion and dress have always been central to social and political movements, no political group has understood the power of fashion like the Black Panther party, which formed in the 1960s and 1970s to redefine Blackness outside of the white gaze, to protest police brutality and to agitate against war and capitalism. Their uniform of a black leather jacket, crisp white shirt and denim jeans, paired with dark sunglasses, a black beret and natural hairstyles, helped to unify members while their rallying cry, “Black is beautiful,” was uttered to resist European beauty standards. This iconic and powerful uniform was developed with functionality in mind and was unisex, allowing the female members to also don the look. Along with the beret and sunglasses, the leather jacket became emblematic of what the Black Panther Party stood for.