FallFashion
11 Queer Designers Who Should Already Be On Your Radar
11 Queer Designers Who Should Already Be On Your Radar
"Can you please spell 'Gabbana?'"
faymeproblems
November 18 2016 6:32 PM EST
November 08 2024 5:30 AM EST
Let's face it. The LGBTQ community IS the fashion community. Now that we got that out of the way, let's look to some incredible queer talents who are really making a name for themselves in an extremely competitive industry.
We went to fashion maven Mikelle Street to help us curate this list. "These names represent fashion's next generation at large being not only diverse in their own sort of statistical make up, but also diverse in the markets they serve," he told us.
"And you know a lot of these names, most of them actually have been recognized by Vogue, which is an undeniable authority in the industry."
From Rihanna's go-to guy to the woman designing for trans women specifically, we round-up 11 designers who you should have on your radar (if they aren't already on it).
1. Gogo Graham
Cited as creating the first clothing line designed exclusively for trans women, Gogo Graham is a trailblazer. “I was making all this stuff that looked cool, but I was like, ‘I can’t wear this, this doesn’t make any sense,’” Graham told W Magazine earlier this year. “That’s when I was like, I need to do this, because it’s really important and really hard for a lot of these girls to find stuff to wear.”
2. Gypsy Sport
Gypsy Sport has been at the forefront of the genderless clothing movement, and founder Rio Uribe is behind it all. About his decision to design genderless, he told Footwear News, "Initially, I was just creating clothing and hoping a guy or girl would be interested in it. When we were doing T-shirts for Opening Ceremony one year, they were on the men’s floor, but only girls were buying them. So I stopped designing for genders. Also, I have so many friends who are transgender or non-binary, so they don’t like to be called a boy or girl. I respect it, and it inspires me to design for them."
Telfar Clemens' genderless looks are limitless, and they were just seen on Kendall and Gigi for W Magazine. Over the summer, he hosted a pop-up shop on the beaches of Fire Island. How did you find it? Grindr, of course.
4. Chromat
Chromat's head designer Becca McCharen is a trailblazer for her work on the runway. While her stylish and architecturally-inspired designs are what separates Chromat from all the rest, so are the diversity of her models. “All our runway models represent who inspire us, whether it’s trans women, women of color, curvy models, that’s my world and that’s the world we live in and that’s who I want to celebrate,” she told the Huffington Post. “The barriers will have been broken when this is no longer a conversation." Also, her cute as hell wedding to DJ Christine Tran was that dance-party we all want to be invited to. Don't take my word for it. Vogue.com featured it last month. Tres chic.
5. BCalla
While BCalla's looks have been seen on the likes of Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Azealia Banks, it's the queer nightlife community of New York City that has really supported his brand. "The nightlife community is really what has supported me and my brand," he told us. "It is amazing. I love my brothers and sisters but it can be a little detrimental for people taking you seriously because you are having so much fun. Fashion doesn't like to see that. For an industry that moves so fat, it moves so slow. It takes forever. It takes until somebody sees that something is making money for them to get behind it usually. So if you are far ahead they don't care essentially."
6. Adam Selman
Adam Selman made his name dressing Rihanna on- and off-stage, but he has proven himself outside of the star's wardrobe as well. He was just a runner- up at the 2016 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, where he took away a golden egg trophy and $150,000 in cash.
7. Baja East
Baja Eastdesigners and co-founders Scott Studenberg and John Targon have created a brand that is making a name for itself and is only destined for bigger and better things. Vogue wrote about their Spring 2017 collection, "There’s something pretty ingenious about the Baja East approach to fashion. The highs so unapologetically high (e.g., Spring’s python dress and coat; Fall’s alligator coat); the lows never low, but always bearing in mind the brand’s aspirational customers, like those who scooped up its FILA slides collab." They also have great graphic tees worn by everyone from Willow Smith to Justin Bieber. The proceeds from their "Be Proud" tee went to Equality Florida's Pulse Victim's Fund. Fashion with a queer heart? Count us in.
8. CG Studio
The above look was a custom design by CG, the brand from former Vogue Fashion Fund nominee Chris Gelinas. Yahoo Style wrote, "The ensemble is, no doubt, another win for the designer, who has been a finalist for the US Regional Woolmark Prize as well as the LVMH Prize." Ever since graduating from Parsons School of Design, Gelinas challenges conventional approaches to design through a commitment to rigorous technical development and innovation, working to bridge the gap between pioneering techniques and the classic convention of luxury and femininity.
9. Cadet
I am not sure what is hotter—the clothes fashion label Cadet creates, or the models who wear them. Cadet's Spring/Summer 2017 collection debuted at New York Fashion Week Men's and the inspiration was modern-day Rome and the Vatican. Kinky.
10. Tyler Wallach
Tyler Wallach considers himself the love child of Lisa Frank and Keith Haring. Take a glance at his work, and it's easy to see why. His prints are bright and bold and queer, and we absolutely love them!
11. Andrew Morrison
This has been a big year for Andrew Morrison. He debuted his genderless evening wear collection at New York Fashion Week. He won the first Fashion Vanguard Award presented by OUT Magazine. “I always tell people,” he says, “if I had an unlimited credit card and just went out to go shopping, I would most likely come back with very little, because there’s not a lot out there for men to wear.” He is influenced by many sub cultures of the arts such as opera, theater, and cinematography.
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