Why So Many People Voted for Trump: 5 Things to Understand about MAGA Supporters’ Thinking

Alex Hinton, Rutgers University - Newark

For many people, especially those leaning left, Donald Trump’s disqualifications to be president seem obvious. Why did so many people vote for Trump again, they wonder, and how did he win not just the Electoral College vote this time but the popular vote as well?

Trump’s critics cite his two impeachments, multiple criminal indictments at the state and federal levels and a felony conviction as evidence that he is unfit to be president again. Opponents also say that Trump is a threat to democracy, a misogynist, racist, a serial liar and a rapist.

About 78% of Democrats and Democrat-leaning independent voters say that Trump broke the law when he allegedly tried to overturn the 2020 election results. But less than half of Republicans think he did anything wrong.

I am an anthropologist of peace and conflict, and I have been studying what I call the Trumpiverse since 2015, when Trump descended a golden escalator and announced his candidacy for president. I later wrote a related book in 2021, called “It Can Happen Here.”

More recently, I have been examining toxic polarization – and ways to stop it. Many efforts to reduce people’s polarized views begin with an injunction: Listen and understand.

Why did people vote for Trump?

To this end, I have attended Trump rallies, populist and nonpartisan events and meetings where Democrats and Republicans connect and talk. Along the way, I have spoken with Trump supporters ranging from the Make America Great Again, or MAGA, faithful to moderate “hold the nose and vote for him” conservatives.

And indeed, many on the left fail to understand who Trump voters are and how they vary. Trump’s base cannot simply be dismissed as racist “deplorables,” as Hillary Clinton famously said in 2016, or as country bumpkins in red MAGA hats. Trump voters trend older, white, rural, religious and less educated. But they include other groups, including Latinos and male voters.

Many people have thoughtful reasons for voting for Trump, even if their reasoning – as is also true for those on the left – is often inflamed by populist polarizers and media platforms.

Here are five key lines of reasoning that, in varying combinations, informed the choices of Trump voters.

Donald Trump speaks at a rally on July 31, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

1. Media distortion

Where those on the left see Trump’s many failings, those on the right may see what some political observers call Trump Derangement Syndrome, sometimes simply called TDS.

According to this argument, the left-leaning media dissects Trump’s every word, and the media then distorts what he says. I have found that some Trump supporters think that people who feed too much on this allegedly biased media diet can get TDS and develop a passionate, perhaps illogical dislike of Trump.

I have also heard hardcore Trump supporters argue, with no evidence, that “fake news” media outlets, like CNN, are part of a larger deep state plot of the federal government to upend the will of the people. This plot, according to those who propagate it, includes not just leftists, government bureaucrats and people who claim to be Republicans but really aren’t, but also people in law enforcement.

Some Trump supporters also see merit in his contention that he is being wrongly persecuted, just as some see the Jan. 6 defendants being persecuted.

2. Bread on the table, money in the bank

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

For many Trump voters, the answer to Ronald Reagan’s famous question is clear: “No.”

They accurately remember Trump’s term as one of tax cuts, economic growth and stock market highs.

It is true that overall employment numbers and average pay went up under President Joe Biden. But for some Trump supporters, that economic boost pales in comparison to the massive surge in inflation during Biden’s term, with prices rising almost 20%. While the inflation rate has recently abated, prices remain high – as voters are reminded every day at the grocery store.

At the end of the 2024 campaign, polls showed Trump with a strong lead over Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on how to handle the economy. The economy was a top concern for voters, especially Republicans, and ultimately drove many voters to Trump.

3. A border invasion

Another reason some Americans voted for Trump: immigration.

Like inflation, the number of people illegally crossing the border soared under Biden.

This massive influx of “illegal aliens,” as Trump calls them, dropped to its lowest level in four years in July 2024. This happened after the Biden administration made it harder for immigrants to apply for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, a policy measure that is in line with many Republicans’ approach.

In 2022, a poll found 7 out of 10 Republicans worried that “open borders” were part of a Democratic plot to expand liberals’ power by replacing conservative white people with nonwhite foreigners.

Trump played into some people’s mostly false concerns that immigrants living illegally in the U.S. are freeloaders and won’t assimilate, as illustrated by his untrue September 2024 allegations that immigrants were eating pets in Ohio.

In 2022, 82% of Republicans said they viewed immigration as a “very important” issue. Trump continues to tout his proposed solution, which includes shutting the border, building a wall and deporting 11 million immigrants who are living in the U.S. without legal authorization.

A Trump rally in Uniondale, N.Y., on Sept. 18, 2024. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

4. A proven record

Beyond the economy and immigration, some Trump voters simply compared the records of Trump and the Biden-Harris administration and found that the tally tilted firmly toward Trump.

There were no new wars under Trump. Biden-Harris, in contrast, have been saddled with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip. Trump supporters’ perception is that American taxpayers foot a large portion of the bill, even though other countries are also giving money to Ukraine, and Israel is actually buying weapons from the U.S.

I have found that Trump supporters also think he is better suited to deal with the rising power and threat of China. Finally, abortion opponents believe he delivered by appointing Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.

5. The MAGA bull in a china shop

While some Harris supporters lamented Trump’s destruction of democracy and decency in politics, I have found that Trump voters see a charismatic MAGA bull in a china shop.

His supporters wanted Trump elected precisely because he is an unrelenting pugilist, or a fighter – as he showed when he raised a fist after the July assassination attempt against him.

Some in the Trumpiverse even view him as savior who will rescue the U.S. from a “radical left” apocalypse.

For Trump stalwarts, MAGA is not simply a slogan. It is a movement to save an America that is on the brink of failure.

Alex Hinton, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University - Newark

Will it be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? Here’s What Each Needs to Win the US Election

By Bruce Wolpe, University of Sydney

On election eve in the United States, the presidential race is deadlocked. The polls are exceptionally close across the country and in all the swing states – Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin in the industrial midwest; Nevada and Arizona in the west; and Georgia and North Carolina in the south.

The final New York Times/Siena poll shows Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris leading by a very small margin or tied with Republican former President Donald Trump in all the swing states. The exception is Arizona, where Trump leads by a few percentage points.

While there is no clear favourite to win, there are several critical factors that will driving voters’ decisions on Election Day. This is what to watch.

Republicans turning against Trump

Trump’s favourability is stuck around 43% in nationwide polling. In the past two presidential elections, he fell short of taking 50% of the national popular vote. As president, he never achieved over 50% favourability. And he has never topped 50% since leaving office.

This means he has hit a ceiling in his support and is highly unlikely to win the national popular vote on Tuesday.

This also reflects what happened to Trump in the Republican primaries to win the nomination. He dominated the field, defeating Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and several others. But in most of those primaries, 15-20% of Republican voters did not vote for Trump.

Where will these Republican voters ultimately land on Tuesday? Probably half want to vote Republican and will go with Trump. Others will not being able to bring themselves to vote for Harris and will simply not vote for president.

Others will switch their support to Harris. Indeed, there has never been such a swelling of support from members of one party to support the other party’s presidential candidate.

Harris needs those “Republicans for Harris” votes. In addition, she’ll need to replicate the coalition of young voters, voters of colour and women who backed current President Joe Biden against Trump in 2020 in those same swing states and nationally.

Her favourability ratings are higher than Trump, at around 46%. The closer a presidential candidate is to 50% approval ratings, the better their chance of winning the election.

It’s the economy, stupid

At the same time, the country is in a bad mood. There is a classic polling question asked at elections: is the country on the right track, or moving in the wrong direction? Between 60–70% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track.

That is a signal this election is about change. Historically, that sentiment has not favoured the incumbent in the White House. As Biden’s vice president, Harris is directly facing this headwind.

There are four key issues in this election. The most important is the hip pocket issue: household budgets, cost of living pressures and voters’ concerns about their future economic security.

Since Biden and Harris took office nearly four years ago, the cost of groceries, household items, utilities and services such as insurance have risen between 10–40%. Petrol prices have gone up even more.

Though interest rates have fallen, American households are hurting. When asked who is best to manage the economy, voters in swing states say Trump by a 15-point margin.

The next-biggest issue is immigration. Since Trump first became a presidential candidate in 2015, he has relentlessly pushed the immigration button, declaring the border with Mexico is out of control, with crime and pillage rising in its wake.

The first three years of Biden’s term were also marked by big surges of immigrants crossing the border, though rates have fallen dramatically in 2024.

Voters view Trump as best placed to manage this issue, too, by nearly 15 points.

So, Trump is seen as a more effective leader on the two most important policy issues in this election.

A surge in support from women

Abortion rights and reproductive health services are the third major issue. Many women across America are repelled by the Supreme Court’s decision to take away their long-held constitutional right to an abortion. Now, this policy is decided at the state level. And several conservative Republican states – including Ohio and Kansas – have voted to restore abortion rights.

Harris is seen as the champion of these issues. Multiple polls show voters trust her more than Trump on reproductive rights, by wide margins.

As a result, polling shows Harris is leading Trump with women voters in the swing states, by 15 points or more.

Abortion rights are also on the ballot in two swing states, Nevada and Arizona, which should help Harris in both.

The future of American democracy is the fourth major issue facing voters. According to a new poll, half the country sees Trump as a profound threat to America’s democracy who will wield authoritarian power to enforce his policies and programs.

Harris has pledged to turn the page, heal divisions and get Republicans and Democrats working together again.

In these closing days, Trump continues to make provocative statements with violent imagery. At a rally in Arizona last week, for instance, he again attacked Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman who advocated for the prosecution of Trump over the January 6 insurrection:

She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.

This may have provided Harris with a final cut-through moment on Trump’s fitness for office in the final days of the campaign. She said in response:

Anyone who wants to be president of the United States who uses that kind of violent rhetoric is clearly disqualified and unqualified to be president. […] Trump is increasingly, however, someone who considers his political opponents the enemy, is permanently out for revenge and is increasingly unstable and unhinged.

So, who is going to win?

Trump’s team sees victory in all the polls. His chief pollster wrote late last week:

President Trump’s position nationally and in every single battleground state is significantly better than it was four years ago.

The polls may also be undercounting the full measure of Trump’s support, as was the case in 2016 and 2020. And the polls may not be reflecting the extent of antipathy towards Harris as a Black and south Asian woman.

Jen O’Malley Dillon, Harris’ campaign director, and who headed the 2020 Biden campaign that defeated Trump, has told her troops, meanwhile, that undecided voters are “gettable”, adding:

We have multiple pathways to victory […] Our folks are voting at levels we need them to vote in order for us to win.

Harris has built a US$1 billion (A$1.5 billion) machine designed to reach voters in the swing states – through personal contact. This machine made three million phone calls and door knocks on homes in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin alone on Saturday. If this machine delivers, it could be the boost Harris needs on election night.

Harris’ campaign also signalled over the weekend that late-deciding voters, and especially women, are breaking their way by double digits. There is a sense among Democrats that Harris is now peaking as the campaign concludes.

The final analysis

If Harris wins, it will be because she has successfully sealed the deal with those voters and made the election a referendum on Trump – that on balance the country has had enough of him after eight years. It also means her ground game delivered the votes.

If Trump wins, it will mean voters trusted him to manage inflation and the cost-of-living squeeze on households, as well as what they see as out-of-control immigration and crime. These messages would also have been further embellished by unease about Harris, a Black and south Asian woman, as president.

Bruce Wolpe, Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney

What’s in a Pantsuit? Kamala Harris’ and Donald Trump’s Fashion Choices Say a Lot about their Personalities ~ and Vision for the Future

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have very different policy decisions and political approaches ~ and  fashion choices.

By Therèsa M. Winge, Michigan State University

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican contender Donald Trump could not be more different – and this split between them extends far beyond politics and into their fashion choices.

While Harris tends to wear form-fitting pantsuits and feminine tops, Trump opts for ill-fitting, boxy, navy suits and long red ties.

All American politicians often wear American flag pins on their lapels, as well as red, white and blue clothing. But my research shows how fashion plays an important, symbolic role in politics that goes far beyond patriotism. A person’s appearance reflects their identity and how they want others to perceive them.

It makes sense that political campaigns often work with professional stylists to dress and style their top candidates, as a way to define and reflect politicians’ different personalities, identities and policy positions.

Kamala Harris arrives to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, wearing a dark blue pantsuit. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Harris’ professional, feminine look

Harris typically wears an updated version of Hillary Clinton’s famous power pantsuits.

While Clinton’s pantsuits during the 2016 presidential campaign had rigid silhouettes that did not show the shape of her body, Harris’ pantsuits are more relaxed and less formal.

As a senator, Harris, alongside other Democratic female politicians, wore a white pantsuit to commemorate and celebrate the suffragettes.

Harris now typically wears dark, bold hues, almost monochromatic ensembles, with either dark high heels or sneakers.

At the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Harris accepted the presidential nomination wearing a perhaps unsurprising navy blue pantsuit with the standard politician’s American flag pin on the lapel. She topped off the look with medium-heel dress shoes and a dark blue pussycat bow blouse, sometimes also called a lavallière. The pussycat bow blouse, which was popularized in the 1970s among professional women, is a feminine version of a traditional tie.

This type of tie has a soft, floppy bow at the neck that can be tied in numerous ways.

Harris’ decision to regularly wear pussycat bow blouses shows that she has a feminine flair, and it’s also a nod to past feminist icons who wore that type of bow.

When Harris wears sneakers – which are often Chuck Taylors – with a pantsuit, it reminds me of how the actress Helen Hunt’s character wore practical commuter sneakers with business clothing in the 1990s and 2000s “Mad About You” TV series.

The unlikely combination of a pantsuit with sneakers shows that Harris is a busy, professional woman – who is also youthful, energetic and relatable to other women.

Walz’s American dad style

Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally in Volant, Pa., on Oct. 15, 2024, wearing one of his signature flannel shirts. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, has also received public attention for his clothing choices.

At the Democratic National Convention in August, former President Barack Obama remarked about Walz regularly wearing plaid, flannel shirts. “You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don’t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet, and they have been through some stuff,” Obama said.

Walz’s typical outfits, including plaid shirts, jeans and a well-worn suit with the shirt collar unbuttoned and no tie, signals that he is authentic and relatable to the average American.

This unofficial uniform also helps cement the public perception of Walz as an archetypal American coach and dad.

The Harris-Walz campaign has capitalized on Walz’s image by selling merchandise that seems like something out of his closet.

The campaign’s camouflage hat, which spells out “HARRIS WALZ” in a bold, orange font, has become an extremely popular item – selling out and resulting in the manufacturer scrambling to find materials and sewing machines to make more hats.

Donald Trump and JD Vance attend a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York City on Sept. 11, 2024. Adam Gray/AFP via Getty Images

Vance’s and Trump’s aesthetics

Republican politicians also show who they are, or who they want to be, through their fashion choices. Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, for example, has noticeably changed his appearance from when he first became involved in politics a few years ago to when he became a senator in 2023.

In 2017, Vance often wore jeans, a button-down, open-collar shirt and an unbuttoned blazer during his book tour. When he was elected as a senator in 2023, he began wearing suits and ties.

More recently, Vance began dressing in the unofficial Make America Great Again uniform, consisting of a tailored dark blue suit, red tie and white shirt with dark shoes. With this outfit choice, Vance is wrapping himself in red, white and blue, referencing the American flag and signaling his patriotism.

Trump wears a nearly identical political uniform that has become instantly recognizable and closely associated with conservative politicians.

When Trump selected Vance as his running mate in July 2024, Vance also dyed his gray hair to brown to possibly appear more youthful. Perhaps it became more important for Vance to appear younger after 81-year-old President Joe Biden stepped down from the Democratic ticket and 60-year-old Harris became the presidential candidate.

Beyond the campaign, in February 2024, Trump released 1,000 pairs of limited edition high-top sneakers called “Never Surrender.” These shoes, which quickly sold out, were covered in gaudy, gold lamé and had an American flag printed around the collar of the sneakers.

I recently found several examples of pairs of Trump sneakers for sale on eBay and other online shops for thousands of dollars.

People at a Trump rally in Las Vegas hold a pair of his gold sneakers on Sept. 13, 2024. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Fashion on both sides

Harris’ monochromatic blouses and pantsuit with sneakers combination, alongside Walz’s Midwestern dad outfits, will likely help the campaign’s effort for its candidates to appear as relatable to many working class voters and women.

Likewise, Trump’s classic MAGA red hat and tie, in addition to Vance’s similar uniform of navy blue suit, white button-down shirt and red tie, evoke their focus on masculine conservatism.

The candidates’ styles don’t tell voters any details about campaign promises or political policies, but they do give an idea of who the candidates think they are.

Therèsa M. Winge, Fashion Professor, Michigan State University

‘Consciousness, Rationality and the Search for Meaning’: How René Magritte Led the Belgian Surrealist Movement

Rene Magritte, Golconda (Golconde), 1953, oil on canvas, 80 x 100.3 x cm. The Menil Collection, Houston, V 414. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Paul Hester  

By Victoria Souliman, University of Sydney

René Magritte is renowned for his humorous yet enigmatic art, foremost of which is the iconic bowler-hatted man. But despite his significant contribution to Surrealism – and the fame of his works – the evolution of his artistic practice isn’t widely known.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales’ Magritte exhibit marks the first major exhibition of the artist’s work in Australia, opening almost exactly 100 years after André Breton published the first Surrealist Manifesto in 1924.

The exhibition unveils four decades of Magritte’s unique artistic vision, with more than 100 works from collections across Australia, Belgium, Japan and the United States.

The man beyond the bowler hat

Magritte was born in 1898 in Lessines, Belgium. He developed a strong passion for painting early on. At just 16, he enrolled in the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he received traditional artistic training. He also worked as a graphic designer in his early career to support himself financially, creating various advertisements for magazine covers and posters.

Magritte was driven to explore and enhance his artistic practice beyond the Belgian art scene’s conservative aesthetics and limited opportunities for experimentation.

He found inspiration in magazines, journals and exhibition catalogues depicting avant-garde works. His earliest known self-portrait exemplifies his early influence by Cubism. It is a double-sided work, with one side featuring a painted portrait of Georgette Berger (who later became Magritte’s wife) playing the piano.

Rene Magritte, Self Portrait, 1923, Collection Sisters 'L'. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Ludion Image Bank

However, it was Magritte’s encounter with surrealist artworks (particularly Italian artist Giorgio De Chirico’s Le Chant d’amour, with its dreamlike atmosphere) which greatly impacted his practice.

From the mid-1920s, Magritte began to develop personal and poetic images featuring familiar objects rendered realistically yet set in unexpected combinations. He also introduced motifs that would appear throughout his career, such as curtains, toys, clouds and boulders. His first solo exhibition at the Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels signalled his allegiance to Surrealism.

Art as a process of reasoning

The Magritte exhibition foregrounds the artist’s work in the context of Belgian Surrealism, emphasising how he was influenced by fellow writers, philosophers and artists in Brussels.

Among these figures was the poet Paul Nougé, the founding figure of Belgian Surrealism in 1926. Nougé introduced a more scientific and rationalist perspective to the Belgian movement, differentiating it from its Parisian counterpart.

Parisian Surrealism was fascinated by psychoanalysis, focusing on the irrational and the unconscious. Belgian Surrealism, meanwhile, directed its attention towards consciousness, rationality and the search for meaning. This methodology clashed with the convictions of Parisian surrealists.

Although Magritte worked with the Parisian surrealists from 1927 to 1930 while living in Paris, he maintained a degree of independence. He considered his artistic practice as a process of reasoning.

While in Paris, Magritte developed his word-pictures, as seen in The Literal Meaning and the famous The Treachery of Images (more familiarly known as Ceci n'est pas une pipe, or This is not a pipe), which today is regarded as a landmark in the history of European modern art.

His approach relied on Nougé’s reflection on the nature and status of words and images, pointing to the arbitrary nature of language. In these works, Magritte invites us to take part in a linguistic game, making us question the relationship between an object, its name and its representative image.

Back in Brussels, Magritte explored what he considered philosophical “problems” through rigorously, almost mathematically, constructed paintings. He sought to reconcile the object represented and “the thing attached to it in the shadow of consciousness” through the mediation of the canvas.

In The Human Condition, he addresses the “problem of the window” as an object to look through and as a metaphor for traditional perspectival painting, revealing the way we perceive external realities through our own internal conceptualisation.

Rene Magritte, The Human Condition (La Condition Humaine), 1933, oil on canvas, 100 x 81 cm, National Gallery, Washington DC, Gift of the Collectors Committee, 1987.55.1. Copryright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Phototheque, R Magritte/Adagp Paris, 2024. 

‘Sunlit Surrealism’ and lesser-known works

The Magritte exhibit also highlights some surprising and much lesser-known works. By the mid-1930s, the artist had gained significant recognition in Europe and beyond. However, the onset of World War II prompted him to question the relevance of Surrealism as a response to the war.

He sought new approaches to Surrealism. With “Sunlit Surrealism” he looked at images evocative of happiness, adopting an impressionist style characterised by feathery brushstrokes reminiscent of Auguste Renoir, as depicted in A stroke of luck.

Rene Magritte, A Stroke of Luck (Le Bonne Fortune) 1945, oil on canvas, 60 x 80 cm, Royal Museums of Fine Arts Belgium, Brussels, 11689. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Phototheque, R Magritte/Adagp Images, Paris, 2024. 

In the 1950s and ‘60s, Magritte returned to the realistic style that defines his work. In his art series The Dominion of Light, he creates a paradoxical image. We view the qualities of light from opposite times of day, highlighting the ambiguity created by the coexistence of light and dark.

Rene Magritte, The Dominion of Light (L'Empire des Lumieres). 1954, oil on canvas, 129.9 x 94.6 cm. The Menil Collection, Huston, V 616. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. Photograph: Paul Hester

A continuing legacy

Magritte also influenced the next generation of artists associated with pop art and conceptual art, including those well beyond his time.

Today, his influence is evident in popular visual culture, from Pedro Almodóvar’s 2009 film Broken Embraces, to Beyoncé’s music video for Mine, which references The lovers.

Rene Magritte, The Lovers (Les Amants), oil on canvas, 54 x 73 cm. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, purchased 1990, 90.1583. Copyright Agency, Sydney 2024. 

Magritte’s work continues to be relevant, with its exploration of perception and the porous relationship between images and reality. This theme is highly pertinent in the age of AI, where the line between the artificial and real seems increasingly blurred.

More than 50 years after his death, Magritte continues to encourage us to reflect on how we perceive, experience and describe the world around us.

Victoria Souliman, Lecturer, French and Francophone Studies, University of Sydney

The Magritte exhibition runs from 26th of October 2024 until the 9th of February 2025, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 

New Prada-Designed Spacesuit is a Small Step for Astronaut Style, But Could be a Giant Leap for Sustainable Fashion

Prada’s partnership with Axiom signifies a milestone in fashion’s ability to impact high-tech industries.

By Alyssa Choat, University of Technology Sydney

For its recent Spring/Summer 2025 show, fashion brand Diesel filled a runway with mounds of denim offcuts, making a spectacle of its efforts to reduce waste.

Haunting yet poetic, the “forgotten” byproducts of fashion production were reclaimed and repurposed into something artful. But the irony isn’t lost, given fashion shows like this one demand significant resources.

Diesel’s event is an example of a growing trend towards the “spectacle of sustainability”, wherein performative displays are prioritised over the deeper, structural changes needed to address environmental issues.

Can the fashion industry reconcile its tendency towards spectacle with its environmental responsibilities? The recent spacesuit collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space is one refreshing example of how it can, by leaning into innovation that seeks to advance fashion technology and rewrite fashion norms.

Performance art instead of substantive change

The fashion industry has always relied on some form of spectacle to continue the fashion cycle. Fashion shows mix art, performance and design to create powerful experiences that will grab people’s attention and set the tone for what’s “in”. Promotional material from these shows is shared widely, helping cement new trends.

However, the spectacle of fashion isn’t helpful for communicating the complexity of sustainability. Fashion events tend to focus on surface-level ideas, while ignoring deeper systemic problems such as the popularity of fast fashion, people’s buying habits, and working conditions in garment factories. These problems are connected, so addressing one requires addressing the others.

It’s much easier to host a flashy event that inevitably feeds the problem it purports to fix. International fashion events have a large carbon footprint. This is partly due to how many people they move around the world, as well as their promotion of consumption (whereas sustainability requires buying less).

The pandemic helped deliver some solutions to this problem by forcing fashion shows to go digital. Brands such as Balenciaga, the Congolese brand Hanifa and many more took part in virtual fashion shows with animated avatars – and many pointed to this as a possible solution to the industry’s sustainability issue.

But the industry has now largely returned to live fashion shows. Virtual presentations have been relegated to their own sectors within fashion communication, while live events take centre stage.

Many brands, including Prada, held fashion shows without guests during lockdowns in 2021.

Towards a sustainable fashion future

Technology and innovation clearly have a role to play in helping make fashion more sustainable. The recent Prada-Axiom spacesuit collaboration brings this into focus in a new way.

The AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit) suits will be worn by Artemis III crew members during NASA’s planned 2026 mission to the Moon. The suits have been made using long-lasting and high-performance materials that are designed to withstand the extreme conditions of space.

By joining this collaboration, Prada, known for its high fashion, is shifting into a highly symbolic arena of technological advancement. This will likely help position it at the forefront of sustainability and technology discussions – at least in the minds of consumers.

Prada itself has varying levels of compliance when it comes to meeting sustainability goals. The Standard Ethics Ratings has listed it as “sustainable”, while sustainability scoring site Good on You rated it as “not good enough” – citing a need for improved transparency and better hazardous chemical use.

Recently, the brand has been working on making recycled textiles such as nylon fabrics (nylon is a part of the brand DNA) from fishing nets and plastic bottles. It also launched a high-fashion jewellery line made of recycled gold.

Innovating for a changing world

Prada’s partnership with Axiom signifies a milestone in fashion’s ability to impact on high-tech industries. Beyond boosting Prada’s image, such innovations can also lead to more sustainable fashions.

For instance, advanced materials created for spacesuits could eventually be adapted into everyday heat-resistant clothing. This will become increasingly important in the context of climate change, especially in regions already struggling with drought and heatwaves. The IPCC warns that if global temperatures rise by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, twice as many mega-cities are likely to become heat-stressed.

New innovations are trying to help consumers stay cool despite rising temperatures. Nike’s Aerogami is a performance apparel technology that supposedly increases breathability. Researchers from MIT have also designed garment vents that open and close when they sense sweat to create airflow.

Similarly, researchers from Zhengzhou University and the University of South Australia have created a fabric that reflects sunlight and releases heat to help reduce body temperatures. These kinds of cooling textiles (which could also be used in architecture) could help reduce the need for air conditioning.

One future challenge lies in driving demand for these innovations by making them seem fashionable and “cool”. Collaborations like the one between Prada and Axiom are helpful on this front. A space suit – an item typically seen as a functional, long-lasting piece of engineering – becomes something more with Prada’s name on it.

The collaboration also points to a broader potential for brands to use large attention-grabbing projects to convey their sustainability credentials. In this way they can combine spectacle with sustainability. The key will be in making sure one doesn’t come at the expense of the other.

Alyssa Choat, Lecturer in Fashion and Textiles Design, University of Technology Sydney

Six Ways to Holiday Like an Old-School Travel Journalist ~ Without Using the Internet

The Travelling Companions by Augustus Leopold Egg (1862). Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

By Masood Khodadadi, University of the West of Scotland

We all want to get the most out of our holidays, which is why we so often turn to online “top things to see” lists, or TikTok recommendations of a destination’s best sights and eateries.

But as useful as these strategies can be, using the internet to plan every detail of your travel omits the essence of discovery – the very thing that made pre-internet travel journalism so thrilling to read.

These six tips explain how you can explore a new place like an old-school travel journalist or an explorer from a bygone era. They’ll enable you to look up from your phone, and discover your destination with intuition and curiosity.

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1. Discard the itinerary and trust your gut

Freya Madeline Stark by Herbert Arnould Olivier (1923). National Portrait Gallery

Before smartphones, travel journalists such as Freya Stark and Bruce Chatwin depended on serendipity. They didn’t have TripAdvisor or Google Maps to guide them. Rather, they listened to their instincts and locals’ advice about how to shape their journey.

A famous example is Chatwin walking through Patagonia after conversations with locals advised him of his next stop.

Try this on your next adventure: walk without a plan. Follow your instincts towards any of the local cafes, quiet parks, or bustling markets. And if all else fails and you are not quite sure where to start, just stop and ask someone near you what it is that they love about the area. Many times, people’s stories will take you to places you would never have found online.

2. Use analogue maps and guides

Before GPS, maps weren’t just functional – they were part of the adventure. Travel writers like Jan Morris and Paul Theroux (father of documentary presenter, Louis) wrote about how their unfolding maps forced them to interact with the landscape in a tactile way.

Pick up a local map in a bookshop or visitor centre and unfold it in a cafe. Mark where you have been and circle the areas you are curious about.

In their early editions, guidebooks like The Rough Guide and Lonely Planet didn’t give a thorough list, but instead pushed cultural immersion travel, which is concerned with authentic activities. Think local traditions, history, language and customs of the place you’re visiting. Cultural immersion travel involves mingling with the residents to get an in-depth feel of how they live.

Although carrying a printed guidebook seems vintage, this act plunges you back to the time when the discovery of hidden corners of a city was about turning pages, not scrolling.

Chatting with locals is a great way to discover gems in a new place. English Tourists in Campagna by Carl Spitzweg (1845). Alte Nationalgalerie

3. Speak to local people

Pre-smartphone travellers had one irreplaceable resource at their disposal – people. On his long walks across Europe, for example, travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor relied on the people he met for insight into local customs, history and hidden gems.

Do exactly the same thing. Go to a typical bar, a bazaar, a local event, or attend a course on the language or the cooking of the place. Engage a bartender, shop owner, or street vendor in a chat. These tips will steer you off the beaten path of algorithms.

4. Immerse yourself in slow travel

Travel journalists of the past were in no hurry. Rather than zipping from one attraction to the next, they stayed put for long enough to pull back the layers of a place. Writer Rebecca West’s trek through the Balkans (which she described in her 1941 book, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon) took months. Her long stays in villages allowed her to really get to know the place and its complexities.

You should slow down on your next trip, too. Stay on in a small town or neighbourhood a little longer than you planned to. Stroll its streets and soak in the rhythms of daily life.

5. Read travel literature

The writers of travel history books, be it Robert Byron’s travels among the architecture and culture of Persia, or Isabella Bird entering unknown 19th-century Japan, articulate how their predecessors perceived the lands they visited.

Read books written by local authors to get deeper into the cultural context of the place you’re visiting. You’ll find their reflections on their hometown or region often give you a more insightful, nuanced perspective than any modern day “top ten” list could.

6. Research the history of every place you visit

Writers like Colin Thubron included historical and cultural details to make their travel stories richer and more meaningful.

Whether you find yourself at a local museum, reading up on the past of a place, or simply walking its streets with an eye for historical markers, learning the background of where you are can infuse your visit with added meaning.

Masood Khodadadi, Reader (Associate Professor) in Tourism, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland

The Poetry of Paper: Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2025 Collection in Paris

The delicate folds of the Eau series featured in the new Issey Miyake collection shown in Paris. Cover picture and main photograph by Elli Ioannou for DAM 

In the midst of Paris' Parc Floral, Issey Miyake's Spring/Summer 2025 collection titled The Beauty of Paper was a quiet yet rather profound exploration of one of the world’s simplest materials. Artistic director Satoshi Kondo's captivating design and craftsmanship took paper, something so commonplace it fades into the background of our daily lives, and transformed it into a conduit for creativity and reflection, writes Anna Nguyen. Photography by Elli Ioannou

The seats at the show made

from cylinders of paper 

with the show notes on top.

SATOSHI KONDO'S latest collection is embedded in a centuries-old Japanese tradition: the art of making washi, a traditional Japanese paper that carries with it both cultural significance and a sensory, tactile experience. 

The storied Japanese fashion house's research into this omnipresent material delves into not only its technical properties but also the emotions and sensations it can bring. What makes paper ~ something so simple ~ evoke feelings of purity, comfort, and even nostalgia? Kondo’s exploration begins from this question, evolving into a poetic meditation on the significance of paper in human life.

The set design featured stools made from compressed paper sheet cylinders, once used in the brand’s famous pleating process, and recycled into functional seats for the event. These stools, marbled to mimic the growth rings of tree trunks, subtly nodded to the passage of time, a theme woven throughout the entire collection. 

It was a gentle reminder that while fashion is ever-changing, the materials and traditions we draw from are deeply rooted in history. The designs coming out on the runway constructed from a mix of washi and rayon-silk flakes, called the Fold to Form series, reimagine the traditional techniques of origami, an art form that shares paper’s humble roots, to create angular, three-dimensional designs. 

The result is a blend of structure and softness, where precise, box-like forms draped with the fluidity that could only be achieved through Satoshi Kondo's innovative use of washi fabric. Each piece moves with the body, adapting its rigidity to the wearer’s form, displaying a tension between control and freedom that highlighted the designer's mastery of the material.

The set design featured stools made from compressed paper sheet cylinders, marbled to mimic the growth rings of tree trunks, recycled into functional seats for the show

The Ease series of designs made from

washi paper, hemp, mohair and wool,

draping beautifully on the body.

In contrast to the architectural precision of these pieces, the Eau series (see main picture above) invoked a softer, more flowing aesthetic. Inspired by the fluidity of water, the garments were made from transparent, draped fabric that shimmered with an aquatic quality. As models walked, the light refracted off the undulating folds, evoking the sparkle of sunlight glinting on a calm river. 

These garments emphasized a softness both in texture and in movement, giving the collection an ethereal, dream-like quality: a testament to the idea that paper, though often perceived as static, can also mimic the fluidity of nature.

One of the standout moments in the collection was the presentation of the Ease and Eased series, which paid homage to the traditional Japanese kamiko: clothing made from washi paper that dates back over a millennium. These pieces, crafted from a blend of hemp yarn, mohair, and wool, were designed to drape naturally over the body. 

The rawness of the hemp gives the garments an organic texture, while the mix of yarns provide warmth and depth to the otherwise light and airy silhouettes. The subtle color variations in the fabric emphasize the handcraftsmanship behind each piece, blending the historical significance of kamiko with contemporary design sensibilities.

In another nod to the past, the Hempen section showcased the use of hemp, a material that has been intertwined with both paper and clothing in Japan for centuries. These garments were not only a reflection on the durability and sustainability of hemp but also an exploration of its natural comfort and lightness. Dyed and coated to suit the demands of modern life, the pieces in this series balanced tradition with functionality, demonstrating Kondo's commitment to creating garments that speak to both Japanese heritage and modern living.

One of the standout moments in the collection was the Ease and Eased series, which paid homage to the traditional Japanese kamiko: clothing made from washi paper that dates back over a millennium.

The Wear and Worn designs,

the most playful and 

transformative in the collection.

But perhaps the most playful and versatile part in the collection was Wear and Worn, a conceptual experiment that blurred the lines between fashion and interaction. 

Utilizing seamless knitting technology, Kondo presented garments that could be worn in multiple ways, inviting wearers to engage with their clothing in new and unexpected manners. 

By reversing the front and back, or passing the body through different openings, each piece could be transformed into something entirely new, offering a sense of freedom and playfulness. This series encapsulates the storied Japanese fashion house's ethos: blending technology with craft, and innovation.

The beauty of Issey Miyake’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection wasn’t just in the garments themselves, but also in the meticulous attention to detail evident throughout the show. 

Further integrating the natural world into the collection, the Pressed Flora series featured delicate prints of spring flowers like peonies and ranunculus, their fragile beauty preserved as between the pages of a book. The pressing process resulted in slight creases across the fabric, mimicking the imperfections of nature. This deliberate technique emphasized the vulnerability and transience of the flowers, much like the fragility of paper itself.

The collection’s use of paper was not just limited to inspiration or symbolism. The Paper Bag series, inspired by everyday paper bags, utilized woven yarns made from washi flakes to create bags with the texture and lightness of paper, yet durable enough for daily use. These pieces exemplified the intersection of art and utility, a core tenet of the Issey Miyake’s philosophy. 

Utilizing seamless knitting technology, Kondo presented garments that could be worn in multiple ways, inviting wearers to engage with their clothing in new and unexpected ways

The Cloth and Cord pieces are

airy and light with a fluidity.

secured by cotton ropes.

The Cloth and Cord series stands out for its organic design, shaped from uncut fabric that evokes a raw, almost elemental aesthetic. This unrefined quality is accentuated by cotton rope laces that highlight the artisanal attention to detail. 

The blend of linen and stretch yarns is skillfully woven into a soft, pliable material, offering a light, airy texture. The fabric, gently gathered and secured with ropes, creates a fluid, relaxed drape that exudes a laid-back, yet crafted sophistication. The result is a collection that balances rustic simplicity with refined craftsmanship.

Closing the collection was the Shade and Shaded, where sheer fabrics folded diagonally and partially pleated created garments that oscillated between transparency and structure. The contrast of light and shadow, transparency and opacity, encapsulated the collection’s central theme: the duality of paper as both a delicate, ephemeral material and a tool of permanence and utility.

The Beauty of Paper is a collection that transcends the idea of fashion as mere clothing. It is a meditation on materiality, history, and craftsmanship, all framed within the context of our fast-paced world. 

By turning to paper ~ something so ubiquitous yet often overlooked ~ Satoshi Kondo invites us to slow down, reflect, and find beauty in the simplicity of the things that surround us every day. In doing so, the collection not only honors the past but also offers a glimpse into the future of sustainable and thoughtful design. 

See more highlights from the Issey Miyake SS25 collection in Paris below: