Forward Thinking Fashion

Should your sexuality affect the way in which you perform or are perceived professionally? Would you choose to keep your sexuality a secret from the media and, therefore, the public-eye? Jordan Brewer looks into homosexuality within the fashion industry in order to answer these teasing questions.

The world of fashion is often associated with homosexuals, particularly male. People of today see the role of a fashion designer being filled by an extremely camp man, spouting words such as ÔÇÿfabulousÔÇÖ and ÔÇÿfierceÔÇÖ. However just like any other profession, the field of fashion, up until recent years, was not a place where gay and lesbian people were taken seriously for their work. Most felt the need to hide their sexuality to progress within the field.┬á Christian Dior was among those who lived their lives as ÔÇÿbachelorsÔÇÖ, keeping his sexual orientation a secret his whole life.

In more recent times, however, there are many established openly homosexual fashion designers. Marc Jacobs, one of the suavest men in fashion, making a name for himself in the mid 80ÔÇÖs to early 90ÔÇÖs. The American designer was awarded the ÔÇÿWomenÔÇÖs Designer of the Year AwardÔÇÖ in 1992 for his fabled grunge collection. JacobsÔÇÖs achievements stretch up to present day being named ÔÇÿWomenswear Designer of the YearÔÇÖ another three times by Counsel of Fashion Designers of America (CDFA). He is still considered a hugely influential designer, running his own two brands Marc Jacobs by Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs. As well as his own labels, Jacobs has also been creative director at Louis Vuitton since 1997, and has been awarded his tenure in 2012 marking his 15 years with the company. He is currently planning his own wedding with long term partner Lorenzo Martone. His busy schedule also includes being best man at the CEO of Marc Jacobs, Robert DuffyÔÇÖs wedding. Duffy (who is also marrying another man) is planning to get married in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where gay marriage is already legal. His most recent recognition came at the recently passed New York Fashion Week. JacobsÔÇÖs Autumn/ Winter, 2013/ 2014 show was described as ÔÇ£the show of the weekÔÇØ by Vogue UK Online.

Although seemingly dominated by men, adding to the growing number of confidently ÔÇÿoutÔÇÖ designers is Patricia Field. Patricia is an openly lesbian fashion and costume designer who has made her mark on the industry, designing outfits for well known stylish television shows and films, such as Sex and the City, Ugly Betty and The Devil Wears Prada. She has won multiple awards, including two EmmyÔÇÖs, for her designs for Sex and the City.

The fashion world is definitely doing its bit to help protect the rights and change perceptions of homosexual people and couples. A very recent and striking example of this is the work of Karl Largerfeld. His runway show at the Paris couture fashion week 2013 made a powerful statement. We all know that the most anticipated part of any couture runway is the end display of the wedding dress. The Chanel designer Largerfeld took this one step further at his show by sending two female models down the runway in matching wedding dresses, holding hands, with a little page boy (LargerfeldÔÇÖs own godson) in the form of a role-play wedding scene. This was topically placed in support of pending plans from the French government to legalise gay marriage.

Whilst talking about designers and their statements and achievements, it seems only fair to talk a little about gay models who have made names for themselves within the fashion industry. I have to mention two of my own personal favourite models, Freja Beha Erichsen and Arizona Muse. Freja Beha Erichsen has had many big successes within her career as a model, spanning both high fashion and mainstream high street fashion. Being used multiple times for Chanel, Valentino and an array of other top designersÔÇÖ runway shows and advertising campaigns, as well as being a regularly used model for H&M, she has been the cover model for British Vogue three different times. Her most recent work includes advertising for ValentinoÔÇÖs new fragrance and Bottega Veneta Spring/Summer 2013 advertising campaign. Similarly, Arizona Muse also has some extremely impressive fashion achievements including being featured in multiple campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent. She has been the cover model for British Vogue and has had several covers for different Vogues including Vogue Korea and Vogue Italia. Currently, she heavily features in Nina RicciÔÇÖs Spring/Summer 2013 advertising campaign. Neither Freja Beha Erichsen or Arizona Muse solidly confirm their sexual orientation in the media, but neither dismiss rumours about a previous relationship the two allegedly had. They also seem to be more than happy to partake in photo shoots with homosexual undertones.

By not specifying one way or the other and showing confidence in being portrayed as gay in the fashion industry, people are adhering to the idea that sexual orientation is something that should not require justification. Within any career it is the individualÔÇÖs choice and does not need validation in order to fulfil a job role.

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