Our clothing tells other people who we are, whether we value comfort over frivolity, brand names over money-saving knockoffs, timeless styles over trendy couture, loud patterns over the invisibility muted colors offer. Look at Katniss when we first meet her. She normally dresses in trousers and a shirt, her hair braided beneath a cap, with supple leather hunting boots molded to her feet. Kat’s unintentional fashion statement is one of practicality and function. She doesn’t care about what she wears past its usefulness, because she is too concerned with survival. Her clothes reflect these values, and what has made them necessary, including her low social status and her frequent hunting expeditions. That she wears her father’s old hunting jacket communicates her love for him and his influence on her life. Like it or not, what we dress in is a direct reflection of who we are personally, socially, and historically.

Sometimes, though, we make a conscientious decision to use our attire to convey a certain image or message to others. Muslim women demonstrate their religion by wearing hijabs, scarves that cover the head, ears, and throat. A recent high school graduate might proudly exhibit his college acceptance by wearing a Dartmouth sweatshirt. A teen girl can shout her allegiance by wearing a Team Jacob t-shirt and a man can tell everyone who he’s rooting for in the Super Bowl with his Denver Broncos ball cap.

And of course, sometimes, we choose to convey an image that isn’t true. A fifty-something woman can wear low-cut jeans and a cropped top to look younger while she trolls the clubs. A man can put lifts in his shoes to appear taller. A young actress can stuff her bra to get a director’s attention. Every day, in a million ways, we share information about ourselves, whether true or false, through our appearance.

No one better understands the philosophy of fashion than Suzanne Collins’ fictional character, Cinna. All of the Capitol stylists are well practiced at polishing and presenting their contestants, but Cinna takes this craft to a new level. Not only is he genius at creating provocative, memorable costumes, he utilizes his fashion artistry as a political platform that subtly plays on his audience’s sensibilities. He gives the people of Panem a heroine to root for, plucks at their romantic heartstrings, and fires up their indignity over injustice, and he does it all through fabric.

Thanks to this gifted and courageous designer, Katniss Everdeen heralds her arrival to the Hunger Games in stunning, unrivaled fashion and exits, as its most controversial winner, with equal power and aplomb.

Perhaps Cinna was inspired by the first impression the nation receives of Katniss as a brave young woman, dressed up for the reaping in her mother’s hand-me-down, soft blue dress and matching shoes, willing to sacrifice herself to keep her younger sister Prim safe. It had been decades since someone in District 12 dared to volunteer him or herself as a tribute, but Kat’s fierce surrender and her district’s silent salute to her fearlessness and singularity awes viewers from the outset.

It is customary for the Capitol stylists to create costumes for the contestants that, as Cinna says, “reflect the flavor of the district” (The Hunger Games): agriculture for District 11, fishing for District 4, and factories for District 3. In past years stylists had taken the coal-mining angle for District 12 and tried to make it sexy. Unfortunately, for the opening ceremony, this meant creating skimpy outfits with headlamps or, the very worst, having the contestants completely nude except for black body powder used to represent coal dust. Fortunately, Cinna is an out-of-thebox thinker and takes the traditional coal dust/miner angle one step further. What do you do with coal? You burn it. The theme of Cinna’s makeover for Kat during the Games is based first on this idea and then later on the small golden mockingjay pin she wears as a token. Fire becomes symbolic of District 12, including Peeta, but the mockingjay belongs to Katniss alone.

Of course, we’ve seen the power of fashion outside of fiction. In 2000, a certain Bronx-born singer/actress, who wasn’t well known at the time, made viewers gasp in admiration and abhorrence at the Emmys when she wore crystal-encrusted panties beneath a plunging, leaves-little-to-the-imagination, sheer chiffon jungle print Versace dress, magically held together by a single jeweled pin just below her navel. Jennifer Lopez might’ve lost Best Dance Recording to Cher that night, but it wasn’t Believe everyone spoke about after. It was J-Lo.

By donning that one “look at me, remember me, root for me” dress she became an overnight sensation. Pictures of her flooded the internet and were plastered on the front page of every magazine. At the water cooler, people dared to wonder how she kept the dress on, while the Today Show’s Matt Lauer and South Park’s Trey Parker spoofed her cutting-edge couture by donning copies. The infamous garment has even garnered a spot in Los Angeles’ Grammy Museum. Like Troy Patterson said in his “Best of 2000: Rock Frock” article for Entertainment Weekly, “She turned herself out as the fly girl hyperversion of postfeminist power, flaunting her control by toying with the threat of excess. In consequence, her star went supernova.” Without question, the dress cemented Lopez in the cultural consciousness and allowed her to strut out of the Bronx, break social barriers, and step through previously barred doors. Ultimately, one dress told the world, “I may have come from nothing, but I’m something now.”

Kat’s metamorphosis first begins with her being mercilessly waxed, tweezed, scrubbed, and polished before donning what she calls “either the most sensational or the deadliest costume in the opening ceremonies” (The Hunger Games). The simple black neck-to-ankle unitard and knee-high shiny leather boots are a silent contrast to the vibrant, fluttering cape and headpiece ablaze with red, orange, and yellow streams. Cinna also makes a deliberate choice to keep her face fresh of makeup, with her hair braided in its signature style, so she is recognizable to the audience as that brave girl from District Twelve. When Katniss and Peeta finally ride out on their chariot, colorful capes and headdresses burning with synthetic fire, their faces are illuminated by the dazzling flames. Stylistically it is a stunning first impression that captures the crowd with its “look at me, remember me, root for me” daring.

From the get-go it is Cinna’s intention to curry audience favor and thereby increase the couple’s chance of survival through sponsorships. His audacious opening-ceremony outfits tell the audience these are two fiery competitors to be reckoned with. Combine that with his unprecedented directive for the rival contestants to hold hands and demonstrate a united front, and he accomplishes his goal by literally burning Kat and Peeta into viewers’ memories, while establishing them as a couple and creating an instantaneous fan following. At the same time, he brilliantly makes his mark as a debut designer by managing to do what other stylists couldn’t: he makes District 12 look electrifying and mighty instead of grimy and ineffectual. It’s during his couple’s singular introduction to the crowd that we realize Cinna’s no ordinary stylist and fashion can be a powerful force to be reckoned with.

To make certain the rest of the world sees what Cinna does, he gives every last detail of Kat’s interview look a defining touch. Flame-painted nails, stenciled skin, artfully braided hair, huge dark eyes, full red lips, and shimmery gold skin complement his dress of jeweled flames. Reflective gems of red, yellow, white, and blue give the impression Kat is “engulfed in tongues of fire” when she gives a flirty twirl (The Hunger Games). From her fierce cosmetics to the flame theme that’s carried through from fingernails to skirt, Cinna suggests to the audience that Kat is strong enough to withstand the heat of competition. The craftmanship of his outfit inspires oohs and aahs amongst the spectators, while Kat’s honest charm wins their hearts. In the end, she is “made beautiful by Cinna’s hands, desirable by Peeta’s confession, tragic by circumstance, and by all accounts, unforgettable” (The Hunger Games). It is the perfect way to begin the Hunger Games.

Cinna’s primary strategy for Kat’s survival up to this point has been about gaining favor for her as a contestant, but at the close of the Games her inimitable spirit and refusal to bow before the government means Cinna must find a way to protect her from President Snow’s wrath. So what’s a spunky girl supposed to do in her post-game interview after she’s survived, but become the enemy of her nation’s leader? Why, act the demure, vulnerable lady, of course.

This certainly isn’t a new strategy. Hul-lo, celebrity court. Courtney Love, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Lil’ Kim, Lindsay Lohan—any number of female celebs have cleaned up their acts and traded in their titillating attire for demure suits and good girl decorum when called before a judge. The fun-sized singer, Lil’ Kim, was especially known for her provocative, outrageous fashion choices: itty-bitty, pink cashmere bikini, orange plastic superhero suit, and most famously, her skintight purple pantsuit by designer Misa Hylton-Brim, which left one breast bare except for a seashell pastie and motivated Motown legend Diana Ross to cop a feel, on the air, during the 1999 VMAs. Yet, when Lil’ Kim was indicted for perjury, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice, she showed up in court looking chic and reserved in a khaki pant suit, tailored jacket, and charcoal skirt. It was an attempt to persuade the judge and jury she was more than the provocative persona she put on for the cameras and deserved a break. Her conservative courtroom clothes clearly contradicted her public image. Did her attempt to change people’s perceptions of her by cleaning up her appearance work? Not so much. The diminutive diva served ten months in jail.

Next take Lindsay Lohan and her many, many, maaany courtroom visits. This trash mag queen has always tried to tame her image with classy clothes. In July 2010, when she appeared in court for violating her probation, she actually changed her outfit THREE times during the one-day hearing! Her final outfit, a black cowl-necked jumpsuit, modest white cardigan, and peeptoe platform heels, did little to dissuade the judge from sentencing her to ninety days in jail. Really, it’s a shame LiLo’s stylist, assuming she had one, didn’t have Cinna’s attention to detail or she might’ve noticed the expletive painted on her client’s sherbet-colored fingernails and prevented the fashion fauxpas that made international news and almost got Lindsay a contempt of court charge. Clothes might make the woman, but it takes long-term remodeling to permanently change an unfavorable impression. Otherwise you’re just putting lipstick on a pig and hoping its snout looks smaller.

Fortunately for Katniss, Cinna knows just how to present his champion for her crowning and she doesn’t have an established reputation with her audience as a bad girl to overcome. In a calculated move that temporarily confuses Kat, her stylist skips sophistication for soft, innocent beauty. From Kat’s flat leather sandals and loose hair to her clear-polished nails and seemingly simple yellow dress, Cinna creates the image of a tender, harmless girl. The stylist, knowing what grave danger Kat has inadvertently placed herself in, presents her as a sweet innocent child who is as far from a political revolutionary as possible. At the same time Cinna gives the audience, who has come to love her, a girl who is a direct, relatable reflection of it: someone just trying to do her best under terrible circumstances, someone who has suffered great loss, someone who dares to hope for love and a brighter future. The sheer fabric of Kat’s magical dress glows softly like candlelight, reminding everyone she is still the girl on fire but giving her a more delicate, non-threatening edge. The golden glow also adds a romantic touch as Kat and Peeta, hands entwined, watch their tragic love story unfold onscreen with the rest of Panem. For Kat’s final television interview with Caesar, Cinna sticks with the same theme of angelic simplicity and dresses her in a gauzy white dress and pink shoes.

Her softened image further instills her in viewers’ hearts but, like the real-life celebrities we’ve discussed, her fashion aboutface does little to sway the person who most matters. President Snow isn’t affected by her fashionable plea for mercy in the least, nor would Cinna expect him to be. But because Cinna has done his job so well and the audience clearly adores Kat, Snow chooses to bide his time.

During the tour, she sees her mockingjay emblem, her token from the first Games, everywhere. Katniss’ pin, which depicts the bird in flight connected to a ring by its wingtips, mocks the Capitol. As the unintended offspring of the Capitol’s genetically enhanced jabberjays and wild mockingbirds, the mockingjay is a symbol of strength, adaptability, and triumph over oppression, the perfect representation of the bold and defiant District 12 tribute.

It’s also the perfect representation of a nation ready for change, and after Katniss wins the Games, the little bird adorns belt buckles, watches, silk lapels, tattoos, and more. Some likely wear the symbol only because it is associated with their heroine. For others, however, it shows they’ve joined the rebellion. Unlike most other fads—Snooki’s poof, I <3 Boobies tees, and Silly Bandz—the mockingjay trend holds a powerful message of political solidarity. The public tells Kat, “We’re behind you. We believe in you. We’re ready to follow, and continue what you started.”

When Katniss is forced to return to the arena for the Quarter Quell, she knows Snow plans to get rid of her. Once again, Cinna steps in to make a fashion statement. Kat’s opening ceremony outfit is meant as a warning to the President. Despite his wishes, Kat will not go quietly; Snow shouldn’t underestimate her a second time, and the other tributes should fear her. To convey Kat’s indomitable strength Cinna bypasses the softer touches and subtle messages in her opening ceremony outfit. Her makeup is dark and shadowed and her fitted black jumpsuit glows like burning embers. The pièce de résistance is a crown, marking her as a victor, which burns an angry red. Seeing herself in a mirror, she thinks, “Katniss, the girl on fire, has left behind her flickering flames and bejeweled gowns and soft candlelight frocks. She is as deadly as fire itself” (Catching Fire).

Initially Cinna’s designs are meant to capture the audience’s attention and turn them into avid Kat supporters. Further down the line, the importance of that goal intensifies as Kat’s involvement in the Games turns political in nature. When it comes to melding fashion with politics, no one better understands the power clothes hold than Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin.

Fashion insiders analyzed, criticized, and praised their campaign wardrobes the way pundits did the candidates’ views on hot button issues. Obama was praised for wearing youthful, affordable designers. By staying away from the staid, conservative look so many first ladies bow to, she not only looked spectacular, she seemed a tad rebellious for bucking the age-old tradition in a way that also complemented her husband’s message of change. On the other side of the runway, Palin was crucified in the media for her exorbitantly priced attire. From her rimless glasses to her designer power suits, her carefully constructed image was meant to project smarts and strength, marking her as a worthy running mate for John “Maverick” McCain. Instead, her lavish threads marred the small-town, “Joe Six-pack” everywoman reputation she’d tried hard to cultivate. After all, how many average American women can afford to spend $150,000 on clothes? For both ladies, matching their clothes to their message was the difference between success and failure, and their outfits spoke louder than words.

After the Quarter Quell announcement and a few weeks before the Games begin, Cinna has the foresight to design a black uniform that Kat describes as being “at first glance utterly utilitarian, at second a work of art” (Mockingjay). The carefully crafted outfit keeps Kat safe with its layers of body armor and reinforcement over her heart, but the precise tailoring, swoop of the helmet, curve of the breastplate, peek-a-boo sleeves, and hidden weaponry make this final outfit by Cinna starkly attractive as well. But the most important outfit Cinna designs in his short career, the one that propels Panem into rebellion and signs his death warrant, is Katniss’ Quarter Quell interview outfit.

Coco Chanel once said, “In fashion, you know you have succeeded when there is an element of upset.” Cinna more than succeeded with his greatest creation. When the victors give their pre-game interviews to Caesar for the Seventy-fifth Games, many of them voice their upset at being chosen to compete again. Their heartfelt pleas wreck the crowd. Then comes Kat’s turn. Dressed in her bridal gown as dictated by President Snow, she tells the audience she’s so sorry they won’t be able to watch her wedding, but she’s pleased she can, at the very least, share the dress with them—a dress that, unbeknownst to Kat, Cinna has secretly modified. The white silk gown with floor-length sleeves and millions of pearls was voted on by the people of Panem. Now it stands as a tragic, romantic symbol of star-crossed lovers who will never have their happily ever after, a frilly testament to wishes never fulfilled, a painful reminder to every Panemian of what they too have lost. As the audience contemplates her sad fate, Katniss begins to twirl and her dress catches fire! She spins faster and faster as smoke and flames engulf her. Pearls clatter to the floor, silk darkens and burns away. When she finally stops turning, the dress has been transformed. The design is the same as her wedding gown, but Kat now stands covered in coal-colored feathers. Her draping sleeves resemble wings, her veil a crown of down. She stands before the audience as a beautiful mockingjay. The ultimate symbol of resistance. Without words, Cinna fans the spark of defiance Kat’s single act of insurgence in the first Games lit in the districts. Her fiery transformation from broken bride to mighty mockingjay is a call to arms, a battle cry for independence, and a stand against oppression. With lace and feathers, pearls and veil, a war is begun.

“Don’t worry,” Cinna tells Kat in Catching Fire, fully knowing what he has done and what it will cost him. “I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”

Despite the danger his daring design places him in, Cinna makes his voice heard. Perhaps writer Eric Hoffer said it best when discussing creativity, “Discontent is at the root of the creative process ... the most gifted members of the human species are at their creative best when they cannot have their way, and must compensate for what they miss by realizing and cultivating their capacities and talents.” Discontent with the Capitol leads Cinna to commit a crime of fashion. Without question it also brings about his creative best. Through his work he helps rid the world of Snow’s dictatorship, and like many renegades, he dies for his cause. In the end, Kat shouldn’t be given all the credit for starting the revolt. She might be the flame, but Cinna is the torch.