The uniforms for ushers at Taiwan’s 16th presidential inauguration ceremony have garnered attention due to their history-making design.
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Ushers for the 16th presidential inauguration ceremony speak in unison welcoming guests in anticipation of May 20. The usher uniforms have been the talk of the town since their unveiling.
Looking at the designs in motion, you’ll notice that for the first time in Taiwanese inauguration history, women are wearing pants instead of traditional skirts and dresses. The skirt-like palazzo pants blur the lines between skirts and pants, and challenge traditional clothing norms.
Designer Lu Ping-tai (呂秉泰) explains that individuals don’t have to adhere to binary fashion norms, and can express themselves freely. He says that skirts or dresses would’ve also been fine choices as women have the freedom to choose what they wear. Functionality was a large consideration when coming up with this design.
One of the ushers recounts her experience at the National Day ceremony, detailing that she felt restricted wearing a skirt while climbing up tall staircases. She says she believes that being able to wear pants this year will give her the ability to move more freely.
First aid and physical training are all par for the course for the 128 students from 7 schools ushering at the inauguration ceremony. The design team says they hope that the uniforms–complete with moisture-wicking fabric made from recycled plastic bottles in Taiwan–will keep the ushers comfortable and unrestricted as they carry out their duties on May 20 in “unpresidented” fashion.