Fashion in rainbow colors
June has arrived and with it also the summer. Whether you are a student in session looking desperate on social photos of others enjoying the first days of the sea, or you are the one lying on the deck with your feet sunk in the sand still fresh (and I say it without hiding an healthy envy), what is certain is that you are holding your smartphone and you are moving from one social to another, not being able to help but notice a sudden rainbow wave accompanied by an infinite number of messages of solidarity towards the LGBTQIA+ community: don’t worry, they are not all crazy, It’s just Pride Month.
June has become the month of pride of the queer community not by chance: are commemorated the movements that took place in Stonewall on the night between 27 and 28 June 1969 in Greenwich Village (New York), when the police raided one of the gay bars, symbol and meeting point of the whole community, followed by the arrest of the bar’s employees, as well as those who were found wearing clothes of the opposite sex or undocumented. From here came to life real movements of resistance and demand that, even today, after more than fifty years, sees people around the world engaged in events to claim points still open in the recognition of certain rights, in a struggle,still long, against discrimination.
In addition to assuming great political importance, however, June is also a month of colors, freedom of expression, parties and creativity: can fashion, in your opinion, avoid being the spokesperson? Of course not. This is why for about a decade the big brands of the fashion system have embraced the cause, incorporating and supporting the values of the queer community with donations to philanthropic associations or with the creation of capsule collections made ad hoc.
Balenciaga has decided to celebrate the Pride Month 2022 with a capsule collection consisting of tops, t-shirts, hoodies, caps, scarves, socks and jewelry with a graphic design that focuses on queer identity through the representation of two stylized men holding hands and remixed in an inclusive way. The collection accompanies the campaign Anybody is queer, which contents, made by Patick
Welde, send a clear message of diversity and inclusion, with clothes as fluid as the genre, that escape from the possibility of being boxed in the usual typical binary identity category. A portion of the sales proceeds will support Outright Action International, a non-governmental human rights organization, which deals specifically with violations and abuses against members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CewFsRsIprc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
This is love is the name of the campaign created by Calvin Klein and realized not only to make a financial contribution, which this year has reached the huge sum of 400,000 dollars, to the ONG that fighting for equality and the defense of LGBTQIA+ people, but also to celebrate the families of the community. The cast of the initiative includes friends, relatives, neighbors, lovers, and all those who share their family ideals, wearing the collection designed for the initiative, including actiwear and underwear, which incorporates the colors inspired by the flag of Pride. Among the faces chosen for the campaign are also three employees of The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis response organization for young people in the community, of which the brand has been a proud supporter and financial sponsor for some time now.
In addition, for the avoidance of doubt, throughout 2022, the brand will continue to collaborate with Flag National and Transgender Law Center to support their work in promoting education, security, inclusion and justice of LGBTQIA+ people.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdx9pfzu_3V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
And after Fendace, Donatella reinterprets again her surname, which becomes Chersace to celebrate the partnership born on the occasion of the month of Pride with the showgirl Cher. The union between an icon and an icon of the queer community has given birth to a capsule collection of t-shirts and accessories decorated with the Chersace logo in rainbow colors. A part of the sales during the month of June will be donated to the Gender Spectrum association, chosen by Cher and Donatella for its extraordinary work as a guardian of the LGBTQIA+ community, in particular in defense of its younger members.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CegUyScjQUH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Glenn Martens for Diesel during this Pride Month decided to collaborate with the Tom of Finland Foundation and The Community on a project that includes an art exhibition between Venice and Paris called AllTogehter, with the aim of shedding light on the values and ideals of the queer world through stories of artists who have faced discrimination. The capsule collection that is derived from it is a set of graphic motifs and prints that report the works of seven of the artists of the exhibition.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdiH2DbqcwM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Cara Delevigne and queer artist Carra Sykes work with Puma for this Pride Month for Together forever, a collection that celebrates love, acceptance and inclusion, which aims to encourage the wearer to talk, celebrate their strength and grow together. 20% of the sale of the pieces of this capsule clothing, characterized by images designed exclusively by Carra, will be donated to GLAAD, a non-profit organization of activism LGBTQIA+.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CeTqmptAQ5z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
No rainbows printed on t-shirts, instead, for Ralph Lauren, who after more than thirty years of commendable commitment to support the queer community, this year decided to create social content made with the help of experts, in which the tortuous story of Pride is dissected. All in collaboration with the Stonewall Community Foundation, to which the brand is providing donations to support the LGBTQIA+ community.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CeONOGJJYTt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Vans calls Together with us his rainbow initiative for the Pride Month 2022, made with the bolognese photographer Sara Lorusso: t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, tote bags and even a limited edition of the OTW Gallery Classic Slip-on reinterpreted with the inscription "Love can save us" against a background of red lipstick.
Vans is also donating a total of $200,000 from the Fond Checkerboard at Tides Foundation to three organizations committed to supporting and providing the space and access needed to elevate the voice of the community. Not only that, the brand has embraced the LGBTQIA+ cause with even more momentum by also allocating $50,000 for the launch of the first scholarship sponsored by the campaign Where love is illegal, created by the non-profit organization Witness Change, which is committed to amplifying the voices of queer community members «to inspire connections, change views and raise awareness of change.»
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd8eNTkOtoy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Be careful though, being gay-friendly one month a year is not enough to be gay-friendly all year round. The risk that social causes like this are exploited to welcome the favor of public opinion, without then in fact change something in company policies if there were need, is concrete: this is why we talk about rainbow washing. Moreover, giving yourself a rainbow coating to press on the accelerator of marketing, represents a risk for the company itself, as far as consumers today are no longer satisfied with the minimum contribution on social media with an inclusive profile image and a phrase of solidarity written by circumstance: tangible and transparent support and help must be provided, otherwise the credibility of the brand itself. And you know, in these cases the public does not forgive or forget.
That being said, I hope it’s not just your wardrobe that has been colourful with the nuances of Pride this year, but your mind and heart as well. Love fiercely and happy Pride Month everyone.
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