As the media continues to cover the resurgence of activism across the United States, little has been said of protest fashion beyond one very distinctive pink hat that was recently acquired by the Smithsonian Institution. Counter-Couture: Handmade Fashion in an American Counterculture, currently on view at the Museum of Arts and Design, is a vibrant, richly textured reminder of what we’ve been missing.

The exhibition focuses on American-made fashion from the 1960s and ‘70s – much of it handmade – that, set against a predictably laid-back soundtrack and footage of the infamous Trips Festival, places the viewer in a world of DIY, anti-establishment (and pro-crochet) creativity. Many of the show’s highlights feel truly specific to that era: a hand appliquéd and embroidered army coat, a rainbow jumpsuit for Wavy Gravy by his wife Jahanara Romney, and a trompe l’oeil crochet “bathing suit” with strategically placed hands by 100% Birgitta. But the show also reminds us how contemporary topics such as blurring gender lines and the appropriation of traditional garments have been ruminating in the fashion world for decades, if not longer.

These contrasts are what keep the viewer from losing focus; two floors of explosive color and texture could run together with less thoughtful curation. The show is organized into the sections “Funk & Flash,” “Levi’s Contest,” “Couture,” “Performance” and “Psychedelic Style,” and for all of the colorful eclecticism held within these vague groupings, there is something deeply intimate about spending real time with garments that have been, for the most part, modified or crafted by hand. These were not intended to be samples or prototypes. They are personal, visibly worn expressions of defiance that have survived from what now feels like a distant era. But as dated as the fashions may be, the show as a whole feels like a call to action for a generation waking up to its political potential to go beyond the Instagram-ready signs and embrace a truly radical way of life.

Counter-Couture: Handmade Fashion in an American Counterculture is on view at the Museum of Arts and Design through August 20, 2017.