Celio’s Denim Day campaign talks about consent!
What started as a “fair ruling” in the eyes of the Italian Supreme Court in 1998, started a global movement that we now call ‘Denim Day’. A court ruling in Italy took the world by storm when a rapist was acquitted on all charges on the pretext that the victim was wearing ‘tight jeans’ which would’ve been impossible for him to remove by himself, thus stating that the victim actively cooperated in her rape, making it consensual. The women of the Italian Parliament wore jeans to work the next day as a sign of protest against this verdict. It was widely covered by the media and condemned by people across the world, alike. And so ‘Denim day’, as we know it today is a tribute to this cause observed during April which is also Sexual Assault Awareness Month, by wearing denims.
For a large number of the populace, consent is a blurry concept and the nuances get lost in translation. It’s not given much weightage especially in a country like ours and that’s why the movement though has been leveraged across campaigns globally, lacks awareness in India.
So, Celio, French menswear brand steps in using its iconic asterisk which is also the universal symbol that ‘conditions apply’, to create awareness and open conversations about the nuances of consent, and the conditions it takes for ‘yes’ to actually mean YES. Coming together to further strengthen this initiative, Bollywood actress Amrita Rao and RJ Anmol, in association with Celio posted a video on YouTube featuring them out on the streets for a public opinion on ‘Why are Women Judged on What They Wear’. The video concluded with a candid chat with Indian television actress Urfi Javed, who stands tall against the constant trolls regarding her choice of clothes.
Celio also associated with Tahira Kashyap Khurrana and Saloni Chopra who took to social media to share their take on Denim Day and its importance.
Tahira Kashyap Khurrana wrote on Instagram, “While ‘no means no’ is always true, what are the conditions for ‘yes’ to truly mean "yes"? This #DenimDay, @celioindia is taking the conversation about consent a step further, by pushing us to talk about this. When it comes to sexual assault, we're all learning and the best way to do that, is to talk about this.”
Saloni Chopra too posted a video on Instagram with the caption, “When it comes to consent, what does ‘yes’ mean to you? This year @celioindia is taking the initiative to start a conversation about consent, about voices being heard and a topic that’s currently a huge need of the hour. We should be talking about this every day, so let’s at least start somewhere”.
Let Celio* and Denim Day stand as a reminder that when it comes to consent, conditions always apply.
Share
Facebook
YouTube
Tweet
Twitter
LinkedIn