Wearing Protest. Youth Clothing and Appearance in the Evolution of Radical Social Movements in Italy

Clothing and aesthetic style have been among the main topics in the study of youth cultures, but so far they have received little attention in research about social movements, despite the fact that youth in particular often developed forms of participation which crossed the boundaries between the two fields. This article deals with the topic focussing on a specific case study – youth in Italian radical social movements – where the aesthetic dimension seems to be at present, and to have been in past, very relevant, in order to develop an interpretative proposal for this dimension of investigation. By drawing on participant observation fieldnotes, photo-video documents, and qualitative interviews with young activists, analysis will focus on three different historical steps of these movements, aiming at highlighting their distinctive traits concerning the clothing and aesthetics of young protesters, as well as at interpreting the change in these elements over time, mixing an approach focussed on “repertoires” derived from social movements studies with one concentrating on “styles” derived from youth cultures studies.