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Whilst I don’t think sexuality defines my fashion, I think confidence in your sexuality and your fashion are parallel.”
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James: “Since I’ve become more comfortable with my sexuality and more open to living life as a gay man, I feel like I’ve massively broadened my fashion choices. With the rise in popularity of glam rock stars, such as David Bowie, in the 1970s, whose fashion was heavily influenced by underground drag and gay culture, it could be implied that LGBT+ groups were one of the causes of this subversive movement that influenced the mainstream.Īs well as this, the contribution of LGBT+ people to the fashion industry cannot go understated, with Cole explaining that: “Recent designers, such as Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier and John Galliano are all gay and have created styles with a particular gay aesthetic for both women and men.” (Image provided by James) In the ‘70s, glam rock showed the possibilities of breaking down binary division through subversive fashion.”
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The usual response I get when I say I’m gay is, ‘oh you don’t look gay.’ Which I always find odd anyway.”Īugello adds that: “Pop culture helped show gender as a performance. So in a way I have embraced the stereotype whilst still being able to be me. I wouldn’t exactly say I’m butch, but I do like to wear men’s shirts, etc. I feel, being a lesbian, people have this sort of stereotypical view of a butch girl wearing men’s clothing. The shift in some popular styles of clothing was arguably influenced by LGBT+ subcultures.Ĭole says: “In the second waves of feminism, throughout the 1970s, gay women’s adoption of ‘butch’ and more masculine styles influenced a move to the acceptability of trousers” for all women.
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The 1960s and ‘70s saw a huge sexual revolution in mainstream ideologies, including the fashion of men and women. Talking to PinkNews, fashion historian Matteo Augello explains how “subcultures take on an element of the mainstream and then do things that subvert it, making it rebellious.” With lads being so body conscious these days, you want to show if off with fashion – something which till recently may have been looked at by others as a gay trait.” HAS QUEER FASHION INFLUENCED THE MAINSTREAM? With acclaimed shows such as Queer Eye helping blur the lines between sexuality and fashion, are we entering an era where people feel less rigid with their choices of clothing? With the popularisation of garments such as men’s skinny jeans, fashion may now be more liberating for all. However, making assumptions of someone’s sexuality based on their appearance is often misguided, especially with mainstream style becoming increasingly flamboyant. Many styles and items of clothing are still associated with certain sexualities, such as bisexuality and cuffing your jeans, suggesting that some fashions could be symbiotic with a person’s orientation.
#80S GAY MEN FASHION FULL#
Now my wardrobe is how I want it to be, full of eyesore-level patterns, shorts that come up to my waist and jumpers that look like sheep.” Once I came out, I felt like there was nothing to hide, so I decided to start dressing how I always wanted to. Dr Shaun Cole, Associate Professor in Fashion at Winchester School of Art, tells PinkNews: “Fashion acts as a way of indicating something about your own personal identity either an overtly visible way, or in secret through signs and codes to those in the know.”Ĭonnor: “I define my sexuality as bisexual, but life is too short to have limitations on who you choose to love.