6-8-2025 MY INSPO: pride, the icons

 happy pride to all those who celebrate, this week i have been tapping into the influence of the lgbtqa+ community, their impact in fashion, music, and art. 

i had a shower thought months ago, thinking about the incredible impact the queer community has just on fashion: your biggest names, the household luxury brands, and their strongest eras led by mostly gay men: lee mcqueen, thierry mugler, jacquemus, gianni versace, karl lagerfeld, dolce & gabbana -  just to name a few. these men have dressed and loved women in a way that romanticized women and celebrated them better than straight men period. 

do the homophones think of this when they search desperately for dupes online? if it wasn't for the artistry of these geniuses how would our local homophobes flaunt with their dupes?

let me share some of my top 5 queer icons

yves saint laurent. the man i haven't mentioned just a couple paragraphs prior, but he created le smoking - the tuxedo for women. even in the recent years his le smoking tux returns on the runway - still as sexy and empowering. he was appointed as creative director for dior at only 21 after christian dior's (gay icon mention)  sudden death, and did well until he controversially lowered dress hemlines by 5 inches. after struggles at dior he founded ysl. everything else became history: rive gauche, his inspiration from morocco, and the foundations still strong today on the runway.

next up is a controversial figure - david bowie. he broke gender norms back in the 60s with androgynous looks and overall campy vibes in music and appearance. while i was a huge fan of bowie's music, we can't forget the fact that he was notorious for having underage groupie "girlfriends" and most likely sexually assaulted many of them. still, let's remember that harry styles' dress on the cover of vogue and queerbaiting era is far from "groundbreaking" when bowie was doing all that and more before styles was even born.

it's really hard to be classic rock and roll fan knowing most of these old dudes were super questionable during that time.

here's a current rock star whom i give praise to almost weekly on the blog - mother monster lady gaga. a gay icon, activist and bisexual queen. mind you - my first impression of her were the rumors of her being a hermaphrodite. her unapologetic protection of the gays and celebration of the lgbtqa+ community is inspiring, i (a straight woman) still get chills when listening to born this way.

gianni versace  is one of the designers i did just mention. his sexy designs, his fabulous shows that became performances, his use of "supermodels" in the 90s - were groundbreaking at the time. let's not forget the iconic fall 1991 show when the supers walked out lipsyncing to george michael's (honorable gay icon mention) freedom. his tragic passing gave path for donatella to continue his legacy. he will always be missed.

finally, lil nas x - i'm not sure if he's really going through a conversion or not - but at least was a groundbreaking figure and was a very brand new gay icon. 

he did what beyonce is doing now - with his viral old town road - he made country black again. say what you want about his met gala fits but i think they're cuntraversially slutty in the best way - dressed as a gem encrusted cat for the met gala 2023 - karl lagerfeld: a line of beauty, in honor of lagerfeld's beloved cat choupette. 

i'd be saddened if he truly is going through a christian conversion - he has so much potential to be an icon of the new era, and represent such a diverse and un-represented group. 

finally, i've been obsessed with another queer black icon so much that he's getting his own segment. his name is edward l buchanan. an ohio native, born here in cleveland, he became bottega veneta's first creative director and turned bottega veneta into the brand it is today.

i am ashamed to say i just discovered him through their 50th anniversary campaign, as he was featured in it. i got super patriotic. i listened to multiple podcast interviews where he spoke about his humble beginnings and how he was discovered through raw talent and hard work. he first went to school in columbus for fine arts, and was always artistically gifted, and he got a job at the gap to do the window displays. he eventually went to parsons school of design, and tried to get his feet into the luxury world, and was supposed to be hired as marc jacobs' (gay icon mention) intern during jacobs' time at perry ellis - but jacobs got fired because of his groundbreaking controversial grunge collection. 

buchanan got an offer to join the bottega veneta team where he was assigned to design their first ready-to-wear collection. at the time, bottega veneta was solely an accessories brand - think belts and purses. 

buchanan had minimal experience and jumped into this task immediately and effectively. he traveled to italy where he was immediately racially profiled, and this motivated him to be active in diversity and inclusivity there. he founded we are made in italy years later, a digital fashion show collective promoting diversity and inclusivity in the italian fashion sphere. 

buchanan built the foundation of bottega veneta and elevated it from accessories to fashion brand. his big focus  and inspiration is quality knitwear, and staple closet items - as can be seen his own brand sansovino 6. in one of his interviews, he stated that he asked many of his closest friends and family what are their favorite pieces in their closet: such as the perfect white cotton t shirts, and basics that are go-to's. this became the foundation for sansovino 6.

edward buchanan is also part of the perfect magazine editor team, chosen directly by katie grand, editor in chief. 

i am sorry that i haven't discovered the genius of edward buchanan earlier. but i'm happy to discover him at least now than never. and if you're interested in hearing his story directly, here's the podcast interviews i enjoyed the most: in fashion: edward buchanan, 2023, edward buchanan and the future of fashion, and fashion director edward buchanan: 'luxury isn't what it used to be'.