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Words with (Fashion) Friends: Roshan Mody & Saad Amer

October 26, 2020

Marc Karimzadeh

01 / 03

Janelle Monáe

For anyone in fashion, it was hard to miss one (or more) of the 12 V magazine “V is for Vote” covers featuring Bella Hadid, Janelle Monae, Mariah Carey, Taylor Swift, Paperboy Prince, and more. The campaign cover, shot by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, were in partnership with the Plus1Vote organization, which is devoted to increasing voter turnout and improving representation and rallying voters on issues like climate change, social justice, and voting rights.

Founded by Harvard grads Roshan Mody and Saad Amer, Plus1Vote was also behind the #plus1 photo campaign which launched with CFDA member Christian Siriano. With just days before the election, and getting out the vote of paramount importance, we checked in with Mody and Amer to discuss their mission, the photo campaign, the V covers and the important issues in this election.

Read the interview, and don’t forget to vote!

Christian-Siriano with Barrett Pall.

Saad Amer

Roshan Mody

Why did you decide to launch Plus1Vote and what is the mission?

Roshan Mody: A while back, I was at an Obama get-out-the-vote rally. The crowd was huge; 10,000 people hanging on to his every word. I remember thinking how impactful it would be if each person in attendance were to get just one more person to vote. A lot of the conversations about voting in our culture are largely insular. If we are not expanding that conversation to our friends, family, and co-workers, we are not maximizing our impact. Voter participation increases when the social pressure to participate increases. We can all have a part to play in that. In the wake of 2016, anyone with the agency to make a difference asked themselves how they could be useful. The question “Who’s your Plus1 to the polls?” seemed like a natural way to foster that conversation.

Saad Amer: In 2016, I was working on the ground with remote villages in the Himalayas on the impacts of climate change. It was so clear how climate change was negatively impacting people’s lives and making it difficult for them to grow crops and live. It was obvious that we weren’t doing enough to alleviate climate impacts, and that our politicians were not only doing too little, but they were actively moving backward. I realized that the only choice was to vote out every single politician that had not and would not act. When I realized so many of my own friends weren’t voting, I knew I had to register them. They were my first Plus1’s. Now, we’re mobilizing an entire army to get out and vote!

 

Describe the #plus1 photo campaign.

Saad: Our #plus1 challenge is about relational organizing. The most powerful way to get people out to vote is for people to reach out directly to their friends. Our photo campaign began with a photoshoot with Christian Siriano and a series of activists and influencers with “VOTE” written on their faces. The campaign was incredibly successful and people wanted more. We created an Instagram filter that overlays “vote” on the user’s face, and now the filter has been used over 200,000 times, including by Bella Hadid and Halsey. We are launching a broader version of this campaign on October 26th.

Roshan: The visual of the campaign was inspired by the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March for Black Suffrage. Bruce Davidson took a famous photo of a young Black man with “VOTE” on his face. With so much at stake during the civil rights era, the image was powerful and enduring. With that compelling image as inspiration, we wanted people to understand how much is at stake right now.

 

What, in your view, is the most crucial demographic in this election and how do you reach them to get them to register and vote?

Saad: It is essential that we get young people out to vote. If people my age voted at the same rate as older demographics, we would dictate policy on every major issue. There is an expectation that when you turn 18 you magically know that you need to register to vote and have an understanding of our complex, disparate, and ever changing voting system. The reality is that there are so many hoops to jump though to cast a ballot, and our government does very little to teach civic engagement. We have to organize and push the youth vote.

Roshan: People of color are the most crucial demographic in this election. We often ask Black voters to turn out to politically “save us,” especially Black women. Unfortunately, we are not willing to fight to make voting accessible for POC. You won’t see an 11-hour long line to vote at a polling location in a middle class white neighborhood. Impacting the cost to vote changes turnout.

 

How did the V magazine campaign come about and what was your goal? Which cover was most effective?

Saad: Inez and Vinoodh’s brilliance is responsible for the V magazine campaign. They wanted to make a major impact, and V magazine was down to collaborate. The Thought Leaders issue was born, and the V is for Vote hub was developed on their website. We created a series of stories to teach people about the voting process and interviewed 45 changemakers about why they vote. Inez and Vinoodh produced stunning images. The 12 cover stars were happy to lend their voices to get out the vote, and we were able to write “VOTE” on their faces as part of the campaign. The covers took over the internet. Even Joe Biden has tweeted about Taylor Swift’s cover that came with her endorsement!

What is the biggest learning about the voting process and voters that you have had while working on Plus1Vote?

Roshan: I learned that no politician is owed a vote. The choice isn’t just between candidates; not voting is also a choice. This work is about helping people connect voting to change. Politics isn’t relegated to some obscure group of people in office. Politics is about us and the rules we all live by. It defines every aspect of our lives from the internet you are using right now to the air that you breathe. When people see and understand the power of each vote, they demand more from their elected officials and the political system as a whole.

 

What’s the most important message – besides voting – that you have for this election?

Roshan: In the history of America (and other democracies), this moment in time is not normal. We often view elections in the context of issues, and there are certainly many issues at stake, but the reality is that this election is a referendum on American democracy. If we want this country to live up to the ideals that we believe it to espouse, we have to show up and vote.

Saad: I’ll add that we need better officials in office, and we need to keep pushing to make sure they address the most pressing issues of our time. The work doesn’t stop on November 3rd. This is just the beginning. If we continue to march, protest, and vote, we will achieve the changes we want to see.

 

Plus1Vote
Roshan Mody
Saad Amer
Words with Fashion Friends

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