The Fashionable and Political Marijuana Moment We're Having Right Now

Jame Jackson
Miley Cyrus in a marijuana shirt on December 5, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/FilmMagic)
Miley Cyrus in a marijuana shirt on December 5, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/FilmMagic)

At the inauguration in a few weeks, not only will President-elect Donald Trump supporters be high on life, they might literally be high. According to CNN, marijuana legalization advocate Adam Eidinger will be joined by his peers on Jan. 20 in doling out 4,200 free joints to attendees. Currently, Initiative 71 means that Mary Jane is legal in Washington, DC, for anyone to carry up to two ounces. The catch? The drug can only be gifted, it can’t be sold.

Marijuana making its way to the capital is fitting. With recreational use of cannibas being legalized recently throughout many parts of the country, the trendiness of the psychoactive drug has become popular in the mainstream too, spreading to all parts of American culture — including fashion.

Designers such as Alexander Wang, Mara Hoffman, Jeremy Scott, and more have tackled the leaf motif in their collections.

A model walks the runway at the Mara Hoffman fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015 at The Salon at Lincoln Center on September 6, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
A model walks the runway at the Mara Hoffman fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015 at The Salon at Lincoln Center on September 6, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Just look at Mara Hoffman’s Spring 2015 campaign, where the whimsical femininity of dresses was paired with cannabis leaf symbols, an unexpected image for the brand geared on fashionable femininity.

Or peek both fashion’s enviable rugged outsiders-turned-icons Jeremy Scott and Alexander Wang (whose entire Fall/Winter 2016 collection was cannabis-inspired). Both designers have tackled the drug, whether through a renaissance of ‘80s retro and grunge or a steroid-induced disco tech version of Studio 54. And it’s not just clothing; Jacquie Aiche, known for providing many of Rihanna’s infamous jewelry pieces, has cannabis-inspired Sweet Leaf pieces selling upwards of $2,000 a piece.

Emily Blunt attends the premiere of
Emily Blunt attends the premiere of “The Five Year Engagement during the 12 Tribeca Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theatre on April 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)

Designers aren’t the only ones happily basking in the marijuana ‘high’ right now: celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Wiz Khalifa, and more have stunned in weed-decorated threads to capture their advocacy.

So what exactly is the parallel between fashion and culture? Certainly, the two are interconnected. The “dress” of society almost always suggests an underlying political movement happening in culture, whether tackling gender norms, socioeconomic disparity, race relations, or even a presidential campaign (ahem, #pantsuitnation).

Marijuana’s popularity and prevalence is only getting stronger and so it seems weed isn’t going anywhere (off Capitol Hill or the runways). So 2017 may just be the year we really get our “buzz” on about it.

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