An estimated 250,000 people are expected to participate in the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday in protest of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, and the major fashion publications plan to be alongside them.
The march — which was conceptualized by Teresa Shook, a retired attorney in Hawaii — was first proposed on Facebook as a way to advocate for the rights of women and minorities following the election of Trump in November. The event has since proliferated, inspiring similar gatherings around not just the U.S., but also countries throughout the world. In addition to sending reporters and editors for on-the-ground coverage, publications like Refinery29 have robust reporting plans, including extensive social media strategies and supplemental sections. For fashion publishers, many of which tout a platform of female empowerment, the forthcoming march is a way to help set their coverage apart by forging collaborations with notable feminist artists and honing in on diverse digital approaches.
Refinery29 is sending two buses from New York to D.C. with more than 100 people comprised of a mix of staffers and participating artists, writers and filmmakers. In preparation for the trip, there will be a sign-painting and button-making party in the site’s Manhattan office on Thursday night, and the publication has shared a manifesto video on its Facebook page delineating its stance on marching.
Refinery29’s Women’s March manifesto video.
Refinery29 is also leveraging imagery made by partnering artists on its social channels, including designer Tanya Taylor and poet Cleo Wade. The art will be accessible through an emoji keyboard, featuring stickers with sayings like “Hope Not Fear” and “We Can, We Have, We Will!” Refinery29 will also stream Facebook Live broadcasts from D.C., as well as in cities like New York City and Park City, Utah where members of the team are covering the Sundance Film Festival. Staffers on the ground plan to distribute a special edition zine spotlighting the work of the artists and covering relevant topics like reproductive rights.
“Our efforts around the Women’s March will be rooted at the intersection of art and activism, because we believe art provokes new ideas and new actions,” said Piera Gelardi, cofounder and executive director of Refinery29. “We’ve invited bold creative leaders across mediums—from poets to fashion designers to illustrators—to join us in sharing their voice, and helping us to activate a new generation of change-makers and creators in the process.”
The Refinery29 “ALTmoji Women’s March” emoji keyboard pack.
Glamour also plans to send a dozen reporters to cover the inauguration and the march across its digital, social and print platforms, and will work with photographer Amanda de Cadenet to capture imagery of notable speakers and performers at the march. As a result of strong interest to attend among staffers, members of the team banded together to charter a bus — independently of parent company Condé Nast — that will help transport friends, family members and peers from other publications, according to Kateri Benjamin, senior communications manager at Glamour.
Glamour’s digital editor Laurel Pinson said the team is making a concerted effort to capture a diverse array of perspectives, across race, gender, sexual orientation and political affiliation.
“Glamour will be capturing female voices from both sides of the aisle across all of our channels to give our audience the full scope of these two history-making days,” Pinson said. “We’re looking to share all angles—from Trump supporters, to Girl Scouts, to activists.”
Men’s style publications like GQ also plan to participate in Women’s March coverage. GQ.com editor Jon Wilde said they will have an editor and photographer at the march, and the aim of their coverage will be to be a supportive ally to women and minority groups.
“When an editor mentioned that she would be going to the march, it led us to gaming out ideas that would speak to our audience while not undermining a moment for women to be heard loud and clear,” Wilde said. “We looked at the march not so much as a strict, this-is-happening reporting opportunity, but a way to show our readers what it means to be clear-throated in supporting equality and women’s rights. I like to think that GQ can be a valuable addition to the conversation, and the march is where we can prove it.”
