The LGBT community has a major influence on fashion. In this post, I will discuss 10 iconic gay fashion designers.
Dressing fashionably well is especially important for gays. Some of the world’s biggest fashion icons are homosexual including Tom Ford, Alexander Wang, Michael Kors, Valentino, and countless others. World-renowned supermodel Tyra Banks even attributed her career in modeling and fashion due to the gay community. So I’ll talk about 10 iconic gay fashion designers.
10 iconic gay fashion designers
Patrick Kelly
Patrick Kelly was an African American designer born in the deep South. He was born in a segregated and racist environment but despite that challenge, he still rose to fame. Kelly started designing clothes from an early age after noticing that black women weren’t really featured in fashion magazines. While he was in junior high school Kelly made dresses for black women. In order to take his talent to the next level. Kelly studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York. One thing Kelly is most known for is being Kelly the first American to be admitted into the Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter which is a big fashion group.
Olivier Rousteing
Willi Smith
Andre Leon Talley
Tom Ford
Alexander Wang
Michael Kors
Giorgio Armani
Calvin Klein
Marc Jacobs
Fashion is a means of expressing ourselves through clothing and accessories. Whether you wear Pradas, Nikes, or Payless sneakers you’re making a statement about you are or how you want to be perceived. Even when we randomly select an outfit to wear outside we’re subconsciously stating how we’re feeling.
Just like many other groups of people gay men use fashion as a means of expressing themselves. They have influenced fashion around the world more so than many other groups of people. Skinny jeans, scally caps, and leather and denim are common examples of gay inspired fashion. In 2013 fashion historian Valerie Steeleand Fred Dennis opened an exhibit at The Museum at FIT named A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk. The exhibit depicted the historical influence the LGBT community had on clothing and fashion.
Which famous fashion designers are gay?
Many haute couture houses were founded by gay designers: Marc Jacobs, Alexander Mcqueen, Valentino, Versace, and Tom Ford. Many of these brands stood the test of times through tumultuous events such as the stock market crash in 2001. These fashion giants even extended to areas outside. For instance, in 2000 Giorgio Armani launched Armani Casa, a sub brand of Armani that sells luxury furniture.
There are even commemorations to designers like Yves Saint Laurent. In 2002 The Foundation Pierre Berge/Yves Saint Laurent was built in a museum in Paris to preserve the designer’s work.
Even till today the LGBT community has influenced fashion. As homosexuality became more acceptable LGBT persons have become more expressive and sexually fluid through fashion. Crop tops amd fishnet shirts are commonly worn by gay men in both private and public spaces.
In my personal life fashion has been crucial in my coming out process. Before coming out I often felt the need to wear loose, dark clothes and hoodies to present a masculine image. Now more than ever I feel comfortable wearing booty shorts and skin-tight clothing. You may even see me in a crop top.
Gay fashion history
Centuries ago LGBT persons had to hide their identity to avoid persecution. In the early 1800s there were secret locations in European cities where gay men could dress according to their tastes and desires and to attract partners. These men would wear gowns, green hats, and other clothing and accessories which were frowned upon at that time. Gay men continued to influence fashion in the 1960s wearing suede shoes, redhandkerchiefs, and red neckties; red usually was a signifier that you were homosexual. It wasn’t till after the liberation movement of the 1960s that gay- inspired fashion became mainstream. The suede shoes, green hats, handkerchiefs, and other types of clothing that homosexuals commonly wore are now worn by straight men and other groups of people.
Even during the Aids crisis in 1980s the gay community continued to in influence fashion. During that decade countless lives were lost, including many notable persons in the fashion industry. However, gay designer Giorgio Armani helped to keep the fashion industry afloat. Author Mark Tungate wrote in his book Fashion Brands that “Giorgio Armani’s unstructured but easily identifiable suits were worn as a badge of success”.
Gay clothing companies
As one might imagine there I plenty of gay clothing companies. Here are some of them gay fashion brands to check out:
Pas Le Mode
This clothing brand has an interesting selection of clothing and accessories. If you check the website you’ll find brunch shorts, champagne shaped bags, and cheetah print crop tops. There is even a glow face mask. One of the persons behind this brand is Leon Curry, who’s one of the major gay influencers in New York City. The mesh shirts are cute so if you don’t want to look like a mess check them out.
Chulo underwear is a brand created with a strong mission which is to elevate marginalized young people. The brand is run by volunteers and donations go straight to communities of color. Ok, I’ll be honest. What I really like also about the brand is the models on their website. Chile!! I’ve been to one of their fashion shows and like their product line.
If you like wearing enjoy jewelry and you’re queer you will like some of the pieces on this website. They have everything from charms, bracelets, neclaces
Do all gay guys know to dress well and/or nicely, or is that a stereotype?
No, all gay guys do not know how to dress well and or/nicely (no shade). It’s definitely a stereotype. I’ve seen gays that dress extremely well and others that dress horrendous. Even though it’s a positive stereotype for gay guys to dress well it still makes me kind of wonder when I hear that stereotype because it leads to other stereotypes some of which may be negative.
Is it weird if I’m gay and have no sense of fashion whatsoever?
Every gay person is different. Not all of us strut down the streets with fancy shoes and matching outfits. Some of us are fashionistas and some aren’t. With that being said we need to drop stereotypes of gay people and just view them as actual persons rather than fashion divas.
Is it homophobic to call a trend/fashion gay?
As I mentioned above it is a stereotype that gays know how to dress well or nicely. Personally, I don’t think it’s homophobic to call a trend/fashion gay. Homophobia is a strong dislike for an LGBT person.
Wrap up
As discussed in this post the gay community has had a strong influence in the fashion industry.