It's hard to have a war, restrictions of civil liberties and rampant official corruption without somebody recalling the Sixties. One of the most productive efforts of the Right has been to convey through the media that the Sixties were some kind of aberration. And indeed the Sixties were an aberration, because no one has seen that level of popular political engagement since.

But as protests grow in the streets and voter registration forms pour into the offices of election registrars, there's a certain feeling in the air. You might even say that protest is returning to fashion.

That's what the fashion house of Christian Dior is counting on. According to The Scotsman,

John Galliano transformed his catwalk into a political platform today and the message – like the clothing that carried it – was powerful: “Dior, Not War”.

Models wore wild hair and colourful cotton tops emblazoned with anti-war slogans while Imagine, John Lennon’s ode to peace, provided the musical backdrop.

Designers tend to avoid political statements, but Galliano said he could not hold back.

“It’s the way I’m feeling. I think we’re all feeling that, aren’t we?” the designer said backstage. “That John Lennon song could have been written yesterday. I mean – Imagine.”

Imagine indeed! I've been going through my closets. I'm sure I've got a pair of bell-bottoms and a tie-dye T-shirt somewhere.

But remember—with the end of the Vietnam War came Disco. And by the end of Reagan's first term we were singing "Girls just want to have fun."