9 Fashion Moments That Celebrate Queer Culture

Year after year, the Met Gala is fashion's biggest night out, and after forfeiting one due to COVID-19, the A-listers went all out this year and made sure to include nods to the history of the gay community and it's notable trailblazers. One of the most stand-out-looks was worn by Schitt's Creek's very own, Dan Levy. His colourful, puff-sleeved outfit with patterns containing maps was made to resemble that of a gay superhero. Across his chest was an image of two men kissing.

Levy took to Instagram to support American artist and activist David Wojnarovicz, who the outfit had been designed after. "Rather than feed on the message of hate, we wanted to celebrate queer love and visibility — acknowledging how hard artists like Wojnarovicz had to fight, while also presenting the imagery in a way that offered a hopeful message," he wrote. "Tonight, we're celebrating the resilience, the love and the joy of the community while honouring a crucial American voice that was taken from us too soon."

Famous makeup artist Nikkie de Jager, also known as, NikkiTutorials paid tribute to LGBTQ+ rights icon Marsha P. Johnson — sporting a floral headpiece that resembled the flower crown Johnson was always photographed wearing and a belt that said "Pay it no mind", — the response Johnson would share with the press when questioned about their gender.

Thom Browne's Spring/Summer 2018 runway show looked to defy the rigid sartorial expectations placed on boys when they are growing up. The collection included pin-striped skirts and button-down dresses with matching tailored blazers.

Fashion designer Ashish Gupta sent models down the fall/winter 2017 runway show in sequin and sparkles where eye-catching graphics read: "Love sees no colour", and "Why be blue when you can be gay!" The show was to dismantle the societal bias that people have with the community and to encourage acceptance.

Among one of the first designers to do so, Jonathan Anderson presented his menswear and womenswear collections together at the brands fall/winter 2016 at London Fashion Week — completely dismissing this idea to choose between genders. Not only that, but the collection was live-streamed via the LGBTQ+ dating app, Grindr. Since then, numerous fashion brands have followed suit with partnerships with apps on the runway.

For the late Karl Lagerfeld's last couture collection, the iconic designer sent two brides (models Ashleigh Good and Kati Nescher) hand-in-hand down the runway to symbolise his support for gay marriage in France. The show happened when equal marriage opportunity was constantly being talked about and was seen as a controversial political statement at the time. Later that year, France passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.