About: Amnesty International is a Human Rights organization that started internationally in 1961. Amnesty’s main purpose is to be the voice for those who cannot be heard in a vast number of political issues.
As a note: The Juxtapose image within the text compares the first available photo with the last available photo for the organization. For all other images referenced in the text, please refer to the Flickr Album Gallery to the right.
1995: In general, Amnesty International’s 1995 style was rather casual, which was a common trend of the decade seeing as many people were distancing themselves from the flashy, overdone styles of the 1980s. As seen in the 1995 group photo, all of the men are in button-downs with some men exposing tee-shirts underneath, a very popular, relaxed trend in 1995. The man on the far right wears a light washed jean, and a fragment of this same material is seen on the man next to him, as well. All of the women wear either sweaters or relaxed blouses, all in dark tones. Stripes seemed to be a popular style feature within the group seeing as three of the eight members wear a lined pattern. A similar hairstyle is present among the group: straight, relaxed, medium-to-long length.
All in all, the group held a very casual style. None of the members sported any sort of high fashion in the photo, and their choices in clothing point to the overarching “casual Friday” trend in ’95. Amnesty International follows national fashion quite well.
1996: Style for the women of Amnesty took a shift from casual to trendy in 1996. When looking at the ’96 group photo in the Flickr Album, of the ten members, three are women, and each holds a unique style of her own. While all the women wear jeans, the type of jeans are different. The woman on the far left has a dark pair of jeans that she has belted at the hip, styled with a lighter top and a dark blossom hat. The woman in the middle has on a pair of dark overalls that are worn over a striped long sleeve, her hair pulled back. The last woman is pictured in a medium washed jean that appears loose around her thighs, a fitted white shirt under an open button-down, her hair loose. Each woman’s style appeals to different parts of the overarching styles of the time, including the blossom hat, overalls, and button downs.
While the women shifted to trendier styles, the men stayed casual. Three of the seven men wear baseball caps, three men wear graphic tees, and two wear jackets (though one was a windbreaker and the other was hoodie). There is only one man who is not dressed super casual, but even then he only wears a striped button down and some dress pants. His outfit is dressy, but not extremely. None of the men really seem to follow any major trends, minus maybe the windbreaker and its “athleisure” style.
Generally, for this decade, Amnesty International is split between following trends and staying comfy, something that is even seen today.
1997: The 1997 Amnesty group photo seemed to continue the struggle between following trends and staying casual. Most of the men are pictured in jeans and casual shirts, whether it be three-quarter sleeve shirts, Polos, or tee-shirts; this is a recurring trend among the men. However, two of the men in the ’97 photo wear structured jackets, and one is even wearing a tie! A break in the trend, indeed! Almost all of the men wear center-parted hair, minus the man in the tie. It is likely that the man in the tie was headed to a formal event that required him to dress up, seeing as formal wear was not casual at all in ’97. Still, his fashion choices directly clash with the rest of the men.
The women’s styles are mixed as well. The woman on the far left seems to follow the current Grunge style, while the woman on the opposite end is in a formal, long, suede-looking dress. The women in between these two all wear semi-formal dress, including a cardigan, collar/sweater duo, and a simple long sleeve blouse. Although one of the women is in jeans (it’s hard to tell completely since they are in the back), nothing about these women’s styles says “Super Casual.” They, like the man in the tie, may have been headed to an event that required semi-formal clothing. This clash of casual and semi-formal shows how non-Greek members dressed for formal events, showing that even semi-formal fashion leaned more toward casual fashion than formal.
1998: Finally, we come to the end of the road for Amnesty’s 1990s presence: 1998. In ’98, each woman carries a different element in her dress that sets her apart from the others, though they all come together in their mutual casual dress. Three women wear sweaters, the other wears a jacket and striped shirt. All are in long pants, two clearly in jeans. Everyone’s hair is down, relaxed. The men, again are completely informal. One man wears the same graphic tee he wore in 1996. The others sport button-downs, tee-shirts, and the famous striped long sleeve. Three men wear ball caps, though two were turned backwards (a first for the men of Amnesty!). Again, jeans are prevalent.
1998, like the other years, shows that Amnesty International followed the overarching trend of casual fashion; however, each individual followed their own small trends, setting themselves apart from their group members.
Identity: As one can tell, Amnesty International fell into casual fashion, but rarely formal. The students in this group were very relaxed, relying on jeans and tee-shirts throughout the four year span. Striped shirts were very prevalent from 1995-’98, and so were sweaters. Although Amnesty International followed the casual trends of the time, their choices as individuals still made each person look unique. This diversity falls in line with the organization’s purpose, seeing as they wish to speak for those who do not have a voice. With many fashion choices present, many voices are also present.