Pussy Riot launches its own activism-inspired clothing line

Russian protest group Pussy Riot has launched its own clothing line as part of a campaign in support of an independent media outlet in Russia.

Created in collaboration with Kultrab and @9cyka, the range features rainbow-trimmed socks, the group’s infamous multi-coloured balaclavas and a glittering pink t-shirt emblazoned with a Russian expletive.

All proceeds will go to media Mediazona, a news website launched in 2014 by Pussy Riot’s Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina. Mediazona has grown quickly to become a leading source of news about Russia’s legal system, prominent trials, prisoners and human rights abuses.

The collection is available to buy only from the English-language version of the online store.

“In the current political situation where our country has no freedom of speech, clothing became an act of self-expression, a way of showing that we disagree,” Pussy Riot wrote in a message posted on the store’s website. “Let’s support Mediazona together, and help Russia obtain freedom of speech.”

Mediazona has previously launced its own brand of clothing and run a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise money to finance its operations.

Pussy Riot is no longer a cohesive group and Mediazona is apparently the last project on which Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina continue to collaborate.

In February, Alyokhina led a protest in Crimea in support of jailed film director Oleg Sentsov. Tolokonnikova has sought to cultivate a musical career and toured the United States and Canada last month ahead.