Dressed Fit to Overkill              

Here comes Kiah as Mother Earth Dressed Fit to Overkill.  She’s wearing over 23,000 nuclear warheads on her summery cotton dress.  Each one can destroy a city in a matter of minutes.  96% of them belong to the U.S. and Russia.

And those poofy little mushroom clouds in the oceans?  They’re American and Russian nuclear warheads deployed on ships and submarines.

Is there any hope for Mother Earth to reduce this lethal stockpile?  Absolutely!  Notice the alphabet design along the hemline. 

CTBT is the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Since signing in 1996 the US, Russia, Great Britain, France and China have discontinued all nuclear testing.

NPT is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This has kept the number of nations that possess nuclear weapons to nine, well below the number experts thought would enter this crazy and dangerous arms race.

START is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. In spring of 2010, the US and Russian Presidents signed an updated agreement.  It will reduce each nation’s stockpile by 30%.

Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) has its roots in Nuclear Disarmament.  National WAND and Oregon WAND are working to ratify START and CTBT.  With commitment and negotiation, we can reduce 23,000 nuclear warheads to zero. Model: Kiah Gibian, Designer: Susan Cundiff

Banana Republic

Jasmine is wearing a 2-piece silk Banana Republic outfit, with military accents along the hem, the blouse, the cap, and shopping bag.

For most young adults, “Banana Republic” is the upscale store at the mall.  But the name “Banana Republic” is a derogatory term for poor Latin American countries with unstable governments strongly linked to foreign military and business interests.

Guatemala is one example. Many of Guatemala’s banana plantations were owned by United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation, which controlled the land and paid extremely low wages.

When the democratically elected president Jacobo Arbenz implemented land reform laws in 1951, and demanded fair treatment for workers, lobbyists for United Fruit convinced the C.I.A. that Arbenz posed a threat to the United States.  In 1954, U.S. troops helped to carry out a coup, which installed a military dictator as the new president. United Fruit got “their” land back and banana trade unions were banned.

So, think about where you shop and what you buy into at the mall – you can find military origins in the most unexpected places. Model: Jasmine Gevatosky, Designer: Katherine Gorham

Military Cover-Up             

Terry is wearing this versatile black cape, designed by Gabriela Network. It’s a show-stopper and practical too. It even looks fetching in the rain. It's reversible, so that its underside serves as a military cover. What is the “inside story?” How 'bout the amount of US military aid that goes to the Philippines? Before 9/11, this was 30 million, but now it’s ten times that PLUS military hardware. What a monstrous bulge to hide!

The inside story also includes human rights violations perpetrated by the Philippine Government for years, including more than 800 extra-judicial killings and 127 enforced disappearances since 2001. Thanks to the U.S. global war on terrorism, over 300 political activists have been abducted and killed, including the murder of 11 GABRIELA sisters.

Due to the former colonization of the Philippines by Spain and then by the United States, the national economy has been decimated, and relies on migrant workers sending remittances from abroad. Many activists in the Philippines, together with allies in the US and elsewhere are resisting centuries of colonialism and military oppression to reveal their strength, independence, and traditional mahlong beauty. Model: Terry Bautista, Designers: Joy Duenas and Terry Bautista

Power Suit

Lindsey is modeling the ultimate power suit, the real deal – a deceptively simple cotton tee- shirt and pants ensemble, with combat boots and accessories: a dog leash, cigarette, smirk, and “thumbs up” gesture.  She represents Lynndie England, a guard at Abu Ghraib military prison near Baghdad, and symbol of a terrible new twist on sexualized military violence, usually perpetrated by men against women. Lynndie’s gender was deployed in the sexualized humiliation and oppression of male prisoners – a kinder, gentler torturer?  Her race and nation placed her in the dominator role, with Arab men in the victimized “female” role.

Lynndie England was one of the few lower-ranking individuals apprehended and tried for what the world denounced as war crimes, forbidden under the Geneva Conventions, yet condoned and ordered by higher ups in the US military chain of command. Model and designer: Lindsey Kerr

Box Woman

Katie’s attention-grabbing green box outfit tells the story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who was locked inside a storage-container by her employer, Halliburton/KBR -- a military contractor in Iraq. Ms. Jones was drugged and gang raped by co-workers at a camp in Baghdad. After getting to a clinic for tests she was locked in the container, with no food, and placed under armed guard.

U.S. Embassy officials and State Department folks rescued her after her congressman, Ted Poe, called Washington.

Katie carries a cell phone for the sympathetic guard who gave Jamie Leigh a phone that day to call her parents. Her clipboard represents Senator Al Franken’s initiative to ban contracts to companies, like Halliburton, that restrict employees from taking cases of workplace sexual assault and discrimination to court.

Military men, as well as contractors, also rape or assault women colleagues. Last July, Congresswoman Jane Harman testified, “Women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq.” Model and designer: Katie Hulse

Pink Protest               

Leslie is a member of CODEPINK, a woman-led peace and social justice movement that strives for positive social change through creative protest and nonviolent direct action. Codepink women are skilled thrift shop hunters and experts in layering.  Leslie wears pink yoga pants, teamed with a pink ”Peace with Iran” T-shirt and toning skirt. Her accessories include a Palestinian scarf, political buttons on her father’s Freedom Riders heirloom vest, and a flower garland with hot-pink “Obama Keep Your Promises” ribbons.  Mocking the Bush administration’s fear-based security alerts, CODEPINK is a spirited call to wage peace.  CODEPINK sisters have reclaimed pink as a color of joyful female assertiveness, proud to stand out and speak up. Model and designer: Leslie

Granny Peace Brigade              

Here Beverly is wearing an elegant and ever classic "Basic Black" outfit designed by Laurie Arbeiter from the Critical Voice Collection.  Laurie's inspiration for “We Will Not Be Silent” goes back to the 1938 student movement in Munich, The White Rose Society.  This simple statement of resistance to Fascism and Nazism led a young student Sophie Scholl and several classmates to the guillotine when they would not recant.

Granny Bev dresses up this outfit with photographs of grandchildren, reminding us of our responsibilities to future generations.  Other touches that are particularly useful in Washington circles are the Power of the Purse, the Fan of Peace, and attention-getting black balloons. Model and Designer: Beverly Rice

Let’s Get Moving              

Charlotte’s deep maroon decorated dress represents love and emotion.  It symbolizes the many contradictions in our lives and in the world.  And it suggests harmony, despite complexity, in this coexistence of colors and textures.

This dress cherishes women, respects our bodies, and draws a connection between our hearts, our lives, and the Earth.  Charlotte is wearing her heart on her sleeve – or rather, her arm band -- as a reminder to be motivated and inspired.

Let’s free ourselves and speak out. When people rally together and become a part of something, we are stronger. We learn that people ARE making changes, finding their voices, and doing things! We are creating life and possibility in this very moment.  Model and designer: Charlotte Boesel

Reaching Peace              

Youngju is wearing a gorgeous full-length gown that brings military security together with peace and forgiveness in a fusion of camouflage and color that suggests hope, dynamism, and new possibilities.

The green in her skirt is for harmony, blue offers sanctuary, yellow enlightenment, red for passion and purple for realization and understanding – all needed for peace-making.

The heavy red hand on Youngju’s shoulder suggests destruction and confusion, everything strange, uncomfortable, weakening, and hurtful that is caused by war – including our assumptions, experiences, and memories.

From hem to pleats, to bodice to the final zip, this piece represents the importance of awareness, rediscovery, and forgiveness in reaching peace. Model and designer: Youngju Park