Editor’s note: This story has been edited since it was first published on September 8, 2021.
What’s more American than apple pie? Old glory. With 13 red and white stripes and 50 stars on a blue ground, the flag of the United States is a powerful symbol used to express patriotism and sometimes to protest.
Fashion designers have used it both ways. The flag has long been part of the design vocabulary of “all-American” designers like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger, both proponents of the preppy Ivy League look. When Belgian designer Raf Simons joined Calvin Klein, he looked at Americana through an outsider’s eyes and incorporated traditional quilt patterns and the work of Andy Warhol into his collections, including an American flag skirt. Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss uses his collections as platforms to explore the black experience in the United States. His fall 2021 couture collection included a look that referenced the red, black and green African-American flag, designed by artist David Hammons.
Below, a look back at the ways designers from around the world have flown the American flag in style.
