Is your wardrobe ‘far-right’? Austria spends $461,000 to find out

(LifeSiteNews) — The Austrian government has spent €400,000 ($461,000) to study “far-right fashion trends,” including donning polo shirts and floral dresses.

“Be careful if you wear polo shirts, ‘old money’ clothing, or floral dresses. You could be considered a right-wing extremist: A fashion researcher at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts is studying right-wing extremist fashion from 1989 to the present,” Austrian news outlet Exxpress reports.

The three-year-long research project, called “Fashion and Right-Wing Extremism,” will conclude in September. According to Exxpress, the research “examines neo-Nazi fashion from the 1990s, such as classic bomber jackets and combat boots,” and also deals with the “stylistic ambiguity” of alleged right-wing extremists, featuring items like “polo shirts, streetwear, and ‘tradwife’ fashion.”

The project is funded by the state-run Austrian Science Fund (FWF) with nearly €400,000 ($461,000). Eva-Maria Holzleitner from the Social Democrats (SPÖ) is responsible for the FWF as minister for Women, Science, and Research.

According to fashion researcher Elke Gaugele, who leads the study, supposed far-right groups would try to spread their messages through clothing. Gaugele and her team visited specific stores in Germany and the U.S., conducted interviews with employees, analyzed visual material online, and carried out network analyses.

In Gaugele’s view, far-right fashion styles range from streetwear – including hoodies and athletic wear – to the so-called “old money” aesthetic, featuring garments such as polo shirts, Barbour jackets, and corduroy pants.

Citing the Austrian Identitarian movement, Gaugele said, “There, you can clearly observe the shift toward the hipster look. This is meant to embody a new style: We’re all good-looking, smart, and hip.”

The researcher admits, however, that the clothing styles on both sides of the political spectrum are very similar, arguing, “Far-right styles are extremely parasitic. They’re based on copying and stealing.”

Consequently, it appears almost any style could be considered “far-right” if it is worn by people the study authors consider right-wing.

However, she argues that these near-identical styles of left- and right-wing individuals can only be distinguished by small details such as a haircut or symbol.

On the other hand, the authors argue that a very subtle style associated with “old money” and elites has established itself, reinforced by Generation Z and the political trend toward the “normalization” of “far-right parties” such as the AfD in Germany. “There’s this ‘new normal’ at play here, one that’s based very heavily on aggressive exclusion and authoritarian strategies,” Gaugele stated.

The authors said that fashion trends have expanded and become more international and include themes such as “gender bashing” and “green bashing” or “ecology bashing.”

While most of the study focused on male fashion trends, the authors also examined the social media trend of “Tradwives,” which includes wearing classic floral dresses.

“This targeted mobilization through fashion, beauty, and dating is being driven heavily by the U.S. ‘Tech Right’ – that is, right-wingers from the tech industry,” Gaugele claimed.

The study has drawn strong criticism from the right-wing Freedom Party (FPÖ), the most popular party in Austria.

The party’s leader in the Vienna council, Maximilian Krauss, mocked the study on X, saying that someone who wears a polo shirt may soon be “scientifically investigated.”

“Nearly 400,000 euros in taxpayer money is being spent on a fashion study about supposedly far-right clothing styles,” Krauss wrote. “While Austria is struggling with inflation, a housing shortage, and security issues, your tax money is being spent on this. You couldn’t make this up.”