“Couragé et Libe®té”: The Commune de Paris 1871 Menswear Brand in the Age of the Gilets jaunes

This article analyzes a contemporary French men’s clothing line that calls itself “Commune de Paris 1871” (CDP) and markets expensive clothing to “hipster” shoppers worldwide. Although its goals are opposite to those of the Commune, CDP brands itself as a promoter of the same principles of the civil uprising of 1871 and in so doing commodifies protest history. This analysis contrasts CDP with the gilets jaunes demonstrations, which began in 2018 and represent dissent against economic inequalities in France and clothing’s powerful role in galvanizing public insurrection.