Although I'm not inclined to wear dresses, I am rather taken by Kathleen Hanna's 'Kill Me' tee-shirt dress, a remake of the one she wore onstage in 1993, included in the small capsule collection she's just designed for VFILES. For those unaware, Hanna fronted seminal riot grrrl group Bikini Kill in the '90s, and the new collection of items - which includes clothing, signed posters, a book and chap stick - references the band and the aesthetic they ran with at the time.

 

"The point of the 'Kill Me' dress is to raise questions about violence against women and, specifically, what constitutes a woman 'asking for it?' If she gets drunk at a party? Calls a guy a jerk? Wears a dress that says 'KILL ME' on it?", Kathleen says, "It also states the obvious, whether you wear a dress that says 'KILL ME' on it or not, as a woman you always have a bullseye on your chest."

 

All proceeds from the collection will go toward funding The Girls Rock Camp Alliance, a non-profit organization that uses music education to empower girls by fostering self­-esteem and confidence.

 

Check out the collection here.

 

Photo: VFILES

 

Jack Smylie