There are Pride collections and then there are P. R. I. D. E. collections!
Oh. My. Gay. God. Short of having Cher, Tina and Dolly collaborate with fashion houses, these two queer icons will definitely, 100%, absolutely do. DIVINE and LEIGH BOWERY.
I think Loewe and Supreme are looking to make THE WORLD GAY AGAIN!
Let’s start with Divine x Loewe. You can see from the above picture that it’s definitely no wallflower collection. It’s for hardcore, Pink Flamingo, John Walters loving Divine fans. I mean, it’s just so SO gorgeous.
Divine was a legend. An icon. A trailblazer. She was a queen that broke boundaries and broke chairs. Her films were equal parts revolting and brilliant art. She died just before making it big in main stream TV. That’s why she is still so revered, and that’s why Jonathan Anderson, creative head at Loewe has chosen her to focus on.
Oh, and 15% percent of proceeds are being donated to Visual AIDS, an organization supporting artists living with HIV, while a donation has also been made to Baltimore Pride, a Black-led LGBT+ organization based in Divine’s hometown.
So because of Coronavirus, the initial collection has apparently been scaled back to a selection of T shirts and tote bags for the time being, but there is an online exhibition that is really quite amazing. A virtual art gallery… the new thing!
OK, now onto Leigh Bowery x Supreme.
So let’s be real, me and Supreme are not a match made. It’s a skater brand, soooo not me whatsoever. But this Pride collection makes the people behind the brand GENIUSES. I’ve bought a hoodie from a brand I would NEVER EVER have bought into in the past, not even for Louis Vuitton!
Leigh Bowery was just as much as an icon as Divine was. Leigh defined the club kid culture. He taught lots of young LGBTQ+ people back in the 80s that it was OK to dress up, express yourself through fashion and just be yourself. And you know what… he is influencing today’s pop culture too. Have you seen Richard Quinn’s collections? They’re basically a love story to Leigh. And what about Rupaul’s Drag Race? There are loads of Leigh references!
So when I saw that Supreme were honouring the genius, I thought what a bold move it was. Also, just imagining all the oiks riding around on their skateboards with Leigh on their shirts… he’d be laughing his tits off from beyond the grave!
I bought the white hoodie with Leigh’s face over the whole front (the same print as the above white shirt (right)). I wanted the T-shirt too (above left), but my little fingers weren’t that quick. They sold out in minutes. Which still actually surprises me… WHO ELSE BOUGHT IT THEN?
But there are still some pieces left… shop them here.
A portion of the proceeds of this collection will also go to Visual Aids.
And if you want to get to know Leigh a bit more, check him out here, going shopping in Harrods!
