I started this project with the green wax print collared shirt printed for Zephirin Diabre’s presidential campaign in Burkina Faso. I was fascinated by the idea of clothing projecting a political message. Clothes are, by definition, embodied by the person wearing them. To wear a garment with a political message is an extremely personal and vulnerable act. I immediately wanted to explore working my own politics into my project. I was inspired by the idea of making a political statement through clothing with a focus on garment construction rather than pattern like the shirt I picked for the project. Seeing as America’s imperialist tendencies have entered mainstream discourse recently I wanted to focus on the American Military Industrial complex. I am an anti-imperialist by nature; it felt that now, in particular, was a time to truly embody my disdain for the American military and its actions. My archetype for this project is the American military shirt, specifically from WWI and the Vietnam war (the shirt design has not changed much in that time) as well as vintage paratrooper gear. I was very inspired by a political comic I found with the subject being a comically large man with the inscription Fattened by the Horrors of War. This image is the basis for my silhouette as well as my desire to satirize the greed of American military capitalist.