make a statement
verb1
Idiomatic To implicitly communicate an idea, often through one's fashion choices.
- As we sometimes also say about elements of fashion and etiquette, the way you use English "Makes a Statement" or "Sends a Message" — even though these Statements/Messages often have nothing to do with the actual information you're trying to transmit.2001 April, David Foster Wallace, “Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage”, in Harper's Magazine:
2
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, a, statement.
- His attorney is expected to make a statement tomorrow.