protest pants

Joe Corre is one cheeky rabble-rouser. The Agent Provocateur co-founder has never shied away from controversy, but when he discovered that members of the U.K. human rights charity Reprieve had been accused of smuggling undies to a prisoner held at Guantánamo Bay (a big no-no, apparently), message met medium: Together with Reprieve founder Clive Stafford Smith, Corre conceived the "Fair Trial My Arse" panties, now on sale at Agent Provocateur stores in the United States and United Kingdom. The bright, Guantánamo-orange unmentionables got their first airing at the Vivienne Westwood Red Label runway show in London last month (no coincidence, as Westwood is Corre's mum), and half the proceeds from sales will go to support Reprieve. "I don't really mind who buys them, or if we sell any at all," said Corre, who also works as a trustee of the recently established charity Humanade. "As a company we've often taken an interest in the political theater. Whoever said you can't mix business with politics is obviously an idiot, as the two are inextricably linked."

—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Agent Provocateur