The Pride Month it is about to officially end with the latest parades and celebrations in major Italian cities and beyond, but the support and representation of the rainbow community by the fashion industry continues. Also through, and by, fashion: from an individual and collective point of view, in fact, theLGBTQ + pride it has always found one of its freest and most joyful expressions in dressing, the ideal vehicle to proudly communicate one’s unique identity to the world. However, the fashion industry itself and some of its key players have also played an important role in communities, from social rights to representations of the infinite possibilities that go beyond the gender binary.
Definitely trace the history of queer fashion it is not simple, but we can say that it is from the second decade of the 1900s that something began, albeit slowly, to change: first of all from the aesthetic narrative carried out by women, who in the 20s and 30s boldly introduced some key garments of men’s clothing, embodying a new androgynous aesthetic and anticipating everything that is defined today genderless.
In the following decades the evolutions were remarkable in this sense, up to the drag ball of New York in the 80s – with which a large part of the LGBTQ + and black community expressed all their own through fashion, dance and music Pride – it’s 90s, with the peak of sexual and gender liberation through fashion shows like those of Jean-Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood.
Looking instead at the future of queer fashionalthough the last decade of fashion has been much more inclusive, there is still a long and demanding way to go: in fact the masses of collections presented during each season, from catwalks to online and physical stores, still tend to satisfy exclusively or almost , and automatically, heteronormativity.
To which moments in the history of fashion can we turn our gaze, to carry on and, to new levels, the queer representation? From the first transgender model to be recognized and supported by the fashion industry, passing through support for same-sex marriages, in the gallery below you will find 10 memorable moments where brands, designers and institutions have been a sounding board for the community.
– When fashion changes society: Jean Paul Gaultier beyond the gender binary
– When fashion changes society: the story of April Ashley, the first trans model
– When fashion changes society: Chanel and women’s emancipation
-
Getty ImagesThe long rainbow runway of Louis Vuitton by Virgil Abloh Spring / Summer 2019
The themed parade The Wizard of Oz by Virgil Abloh paid tribute to the LGBTQ + community with great showmanship, treading a 650-foot-long rainbow catwalk on his models. The collection, entitled Color Therapywas an invitation to inclusion and diversity within the fashion community: for this reason, each model was chosen from a different continent, representing diversity in the race, while the catwalk represented the inclusion of different sexualities and genres.
-
Instagram Vogue FranceThe first transgender model on the cover of Vogue
Valentina Sampaio, of Brazilian origin, was the first transgender model to appear on the cover of an edition of Vogue, the French one, in 2017. Immortalized by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the model then achieved two other firsts: she was Sports Illustrated’s first transgender model, and Victoria’s Secret Angel. “This month we are proud to celebrate transgender beauty and the way in which models like Valentina Sampaio, who poses here for her first cover of Vogue, are changing the face of fashion, breaking down prejudices” declared the magazine on social media.
-
Getty ImagesKarl Lagerfeld’s brides for Chanel
For his haute couture collection for Spring / Summer 2013, the iconic designer showed models Ashleigh Good and Kati Nescher in wedding dresses, hand in hand, to symbolize support for gay weddings in France: the fashion show in fact, it took place at a time when there was constant talk of equal opportunities in marriage. The same year, France passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.
-
FIT The MuseumThe exhibition A Queer History of Fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology
Museum director and chief curator Valerie Steele is a true revolutionary of the fashion industry. In fact, it was she who introduced it to museums for the first time through a truly critical eye, and paths that revealed its lesser-known sides and less obvious links with culture, current events and politics. One of the most successful exhibitions of her was her own A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk in, 2013: co-curated with Fred Dennis, delves into the LGBTQ + contribution to style, from 18th century London, where mollies they disguised themselves and performed unofficial weddings, in contemporary America, where gays can legally marry. “We wanted to bring gay people back into history, not just by saying that some designers were gay, but that LGBTQ people have had a big impact on fashion for a long time, and not by chance.”
-
Getty ImagesThe first show with a transgender model recognized by the fashion industry
Stephen Sprouse, a successful 1980s designer, had a great muse: transgender model Teri Toye. Although in the past other transgender women had been part of fashion shows and fashion presentations – one above all, the pioneer April Ashley – the first time that a model from this community appeared on the catwalk without having omitted her gender identity was in occasion of a Sprouse fashion show in 1983, when Toye conquered the audience of the Ritz. A debut that then led her to collaborate with other big brands, including Chanel and Comme des Garçons.
-
GETTY IMAGESJean Paul Gaultier’s masculine skirts
Entitled Et Dieu Créa l’Homme (And God created man), the Spring / Summer 1983 collection reinterprets and overturns the classic approach to masculinity, introducing Jean Paul Gaultier’s first men’s skirts, and bringing men and women to the catwalk with indistinct clothing. to the «respective» wardrobes. Skirts and cut-out tops for the former, military or baseball-style hats, and structured shirts for the latter, but also oversized garments, bright prints and ruffle inserts for both. By underlining and playing the caricature with sartorial gender expectations, Jean Paul Gaultier has, in fact, launched a collective reflection which, in a couple of decades, has led to changes that to define significant is an understatement.
-
Getty ImagesThe first transgender designer on the fashion week calendar
In February 2019, Pierre Davis made fashion history as the first transgender designer to present a collection during the official calendar of a fashion week, that of New York. The Council of Fashion Designers of America announced the show the previous month, inviting the industry to support the community not only in fashion collections, but also from the more human side of the industry.
-
GETTY IMAGESHarry Styles’ clothes on Vogue US
The American magazine made history by presenting the singer as the first male cover star ever, in a photo shoot that saw him wearing garments from women’s collections. The cover, in particular, immediately sparked lively discussions on masculinity and gendered clothing: in this shot, in fact, Harry Styles wears a voluminous periwinkle blue dress paired with a black tuxedo jacket, both by Gucci, embodying a growing exploration of fluidity of gender and non-binary clothing. However, some American conservatives such as Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro have expressed disapproval of the singer’s looks, praising an alleged manhood to which to return as a “normal” condition.
-
GETTY IMAGESThe Burberry Spring / Summer 2018 fashion show
Christopher Bailey, former creative director of Burberry, dedicated his latest collection for the luxury brand “to the best and brightest organizations that support LGBTQ + youth around the world. There has never been a more important moment to say that our strength and creativity lie in our diversity, ”he said in a statement on Instagram. The models paraded on a colorful runway in a variety of looks, which combined Burberry’s signature tartan with references to the rainbow pride flag. The most spectacular look in the collection was a rainbow striped faux fur cape worn by model Cara Delevingne, who has always been a community activist.
-
Project RunwayThe first transgender model on a fashion tv show
Model Mimi Tao became the first transgender model to hit the runway at the iconic show Project Runwayduring the 17th season, making her premiere debut, when she was accompanied by designer Kovid Kapoor: “I worked so hard to get here, especially for transgender people,” she told Kapoor. “We have to work harder than other people. … I want to inspire all the young transgender generations who have a dream ».
Source: Vanity Fair
