Is your sock drawer woefully apolitical? Pussy Riot is here to help.
The Russian activist performance art troupe has released a new line of brightly colored t-shirts, patches, socks, and balaclavas—with an activist twist. Proceeds from all sales will be used to fund Mediazona, an independent investigative news outlet Pussy Riot established in 2014. Focused on uncovering corruption in Russia’s court and prison systems, the media company (unsurprisingly) receives no government support, and therefore relies entirely on donations.
Products designed with collaborators Kultrab and 9cyka range in price from $20 (for rainbow socks emblazoned with the words “Free Ro$$ia”) to $40 (for t-shirts, including one adorned with a cartoon of a woman assembling a Molotov cocktail). Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova told Dazed that the collection was inspired by the young people—some just 13 years old—who flooded the streets of Russia to protest last year.
Pussy Riot is currently on their first-ever US tour, bringing their self-described “live music performance art” to venues in Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Additional events are scheduled in Gulf Shores, Alabama and Cambridge, Massachusetts in May.
See clothes from the line below. They are available for sale on Mediazona’s website. Read more