Words by Eylul Ulug
Fashion is one of the most creative ways to scream without making a sound. Everything you wear — its colour, texture, shape, even its label — can speak for you. But perhaps more importantly, it’s about what you don’t wear, what you silently reject. That’s where silent protest begins: when your body speaks what your mouth cannot.
For me, it started one morning, standing in front of my closet, staring at a pair of high heels. A man had told me, “You walk better in heels.” At first, I thought it was a compliment, but the more it echoed in my head, the more uncomfortable it became. I never wore those shoes again. I didn’t explain it to anyone. I didn’t have to. That was my first silent protest.
There are clothes I refuse to buy because I know how they’re made. If a “Girl Power” shirt was stitched by an underpaid garment worker working 12-hour shifts in unsafe conditions, then it’s not empowerment; it’s hypocrisy. Fashion that only pretends to have a message while hiding exploitation becomes noise. Silence, in that case, speaks louder.
My silent protest isn’t only about what I stand against; it’s also about what I stand for. Wearing my mother’s old denim jacket is both an act of honoring the past and resisting fast fashion. Carrying a handmade bag by a local female artist is a way of making invisible labor visible. In these choices, fashion stops being a display and becomes a message board.
This isn’t new. Feminist fashion has long used clothing as a form of resistance. In the 1960s and 70s, women rejected rigid beauty standards by discarding bras, wearing pants, or choosing androgynous styles — not to reject femininity, but to reclaim agency over how it was defined. Later, designers like Vivienne Westwood and movements like Riot Grrrl turned fashion into a manifesto, merging style with slogans that screamed autonomy. Even today, protests like SlutWalk remind us that clothing isn’t consent, and choice in dress is a political right. Feminist fashion isn’t about dressing a certain way; it’s about dressing with intention — and reclaiming power in a world that often tries to take it away.
In today’s digital world, everyone’s saying something. We post, we tweet, we shout. But sometimes, the most powerful stance is taken in silence. What I choose not to wear speaks just as loudly as what I do. And in a noisy world, that quiet creates an unexpected echo. The goal isn’t to be seen but to be shown. And fashion, when used with intention, becomes one of the most elegant ways to do that.
Let’s be honest — this isn’t just a personal story. It’s a shift.
Gen Z isn’t always out in the streets — they’re protesting with their closets. Eylul, a fashion business student, doesn’t just talk about what she wears. She shows us what it means to reject, to resist, and to reclaim space without saying a word. Her story is quiet — but it hits hard. And she’s not alone.
We’re seeing it everywhere — subtle, smart, unapologetic rebellion.
This is what protest looks like now. And it doesn’t need to be loud to be powerful.
At HYGY Magazine, this is exactly the energy we stand for. We’re here to give space to new voices — raw, sharp, thoughtful, and unafraid to say something real. Stories like this aren’t just content. They’re part of a bigger conversation. And we’re here for it.
This is how a new generation speaks. Not with noise — but with intention.
And we’re listening.
— Gaziza, Editor, HYGY Magazine