Wearing Politics: The Patriotic Fashion in Russia and Poland

Abstract In the last decade, the expansion of digital media and sociopolitical changes have contributed to a transnational revival of patriotic attire linked to nationalist performance, particularly in post-Communist contexts. This article examines the visual and ideological intersections between politics, media, and dress, focusing on the cultural, performative, and political dynamics of contemporary nationalist fashion. It investigates the historical roots of this phenomenon, its postcolonial, gendered, and global dimensions, and its role in the reconstruction of historical memory. The study traces how patriotic attire, featuring neo-folk motifs, embroidery, religious symbols, historical scenes, and political iconography, serves as a visual manifestation of new nationalist narratives in post-Soviet and post-Communist states. These sartorial forms function both as ideological statements and as expressions of utopian and dystopian visions of the nation. The emergence of this trend is situated within a longer tradition of 19th-century patriotic self-visualization, adapted to contemporary sociopolitical conditions.