Richard Fernandez writes for PJMedia.com about key elements of protesters’ outfits.
What do people wear to protests? The “No Kings” protests of Oct. 18, 2025, predominantly featured white people aged from 55 to 70+. About 70% were comprised of women, and although they sometimes wore prescription glasses, most were without facial coverings or glasses. They were mostly liberal but ordinary, and they wore ordinary civilian clothes.
But notice that not all protesters are similarly garbed. The regulars in environmental rallies not only often wear dark glasses but also face paint, masks, or props like fake blood. In even harder-core protests, Antifa participants are more likely to wear hoodies, face covers, bandanas, or Guy Fawkes masks (popularized by the movie V for Vendetta). This style is often called “black bloc,” where people dress in black and cover their faces in order to thwart surveillance and convey the impression of belonging to a quasi-military force: “Black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding, or other face-concealing and face-protecting items. The clothing is used to conceal wearers’ identities from both the police and politically opposing organizations by making it difficult to distinguish between participants.”
It’s not style. A lot of thought went into this seemingly simple getup. Let’s examine it.
The base layer is the simple hat and sunglasses combo. Studies on facial recognition show that blocking the upper face (eyes and hair) confuses algorithms and human observers more than lower-face changes. “Studies with static faces find that upper face halves are more easily recognized than lower face halves—an upper-face advantage.” The next step up is wearing patterned clothing or accessories with infrared-blocking or disruptive designs as a way to hamper facial recognition cameras. The science behind it is called Computer Vision Dazzle. “Computer vision dazzle, also known as CV dazzle, dazzle makeup, or anti-surveillance makeup, is a type of camouflage used to hamper facial recognition software, inspired by dazzle camouflage used by vehicles such as ships and planes.” Thus, the keffiyeh is not just a fashion statement. It serves both a symbolic and tactical purpose.
