Although people don’t often realize that fashion is always political, since the recent election, it has been difficult to avoid.

Glittering sequined jumpsuits, a coveted embellished tee, and an array of bold accessories shown on the runway once again confirm that fashion is very political. The usual political questions to plague the fashion community concern body type, pricing, and photoshop for imposing impossible standards of beauty. Since November, although much of the runway has still been marked by the Kendall Jenners and Gigi Hadids, all tall, thin, and gorgeous, changes in how the fashion community is defining beauty have been remarkable.

Models of all sizes have been walking down the runway over the past month in New York, London, Milan, and Paris. Perhaps even more sensational has been what the models have been wearing. The top fashion houses and small and cool upcoming labels are all designing for the strong, independent, beautifully vocal woman.

Fashion has the ability to make someone noticed and empowered, to give her — or him — a voice. Since President Trump’s election and the ensuing Women’s March, the fashion community has been taking a leap from the power suits, statement shoes, and bold makeup that once, however subtly, constituted the strong woman, and now is becoming more earnest in its search for how to empower and liberate women through fashion.

T-shirts by Dior read “We Should All Be Feminists,” and designer Prabal Gurung sent out an entire group of models all in t-shirts with slogans of empowerment, ending with the designer himself walking out and bowing in an “I am a feminist” tee.

On the runway at the Public School show, models walked in red baseball caps that said, “Make America New York,” and similar small nods can be seen throughout collections.

Perhaps the most beautiful, breathtaking, and powerful political message was made by Ashish at New York Fashion Week. The runway was composed of a giant broken heart with a yellow brick road catwalk running down the center. The collection consisted of models in Mexican wrestling makeup and entirely sequined ensembles (a trademark look for Ashish), ranging from a soft green t-shirt with a darling kitten printed on the front accompanied by the slogan “Pussy Grabs Back,” to a USA bomber jacket streaked in red and blue, checked shorts (once again sequined) on a male model reading “Planned Parenthood,” to sequined Cubs jerseys, among other MLB teams with an array of slogans all with the same note to “never give up,” to head to toe sequined rainbow gowns inspiring gay pride.

This collection marked the most critical and purposeful message of how America might stay great in the chaos since the election. The runway represents Dorothy and friends and their quest to improve and to return back home in a glittery message of resistance and solidarity.

Although feminism might have been the biggest movement highlighted at fashion week, over the past couple of years, runways, ad-campaigns, and magazines, among other forms of media, have been working to bring transgender, gay, racially diverse, and androgynous models to the spotlight. The election also brought about investigative political journalism by Teen Vogue’s Lauren Duca. The fashion community is in the midst of rewriting what’s beautiful.

This past election marked the first time Vogue took a stance and backed a candidate, posting support for Hillary Clinton. The March issue contained the heading “Women Rule! Fashion’s Fearless Females, the Beauty Revolution.”

Vogue also just put out a video of models draped in American flag dresses and clothing by designers who are also immigrants. What and who the models are wearing flashes on the bottom of the screen on a “Breaking News” banner. Following the same thread, models, designers, writers, editors, and bloggers collaborated on an “I am an immigrant” campaign.

The fashion industry is, after all, one of the most international, embracing a global community inspiring creativity and diversity, and now, more than ever, empowering women to be vocal. It’s beautiful.