Our Favorite Black Queer Fashion Moments From the Past Year
Black History Month is a celebration of art, culture, politics, and education on everything Black. So often we see BHM as being a singular month but the reality is Black History is every single day. So many beautiful Black people have and continue to progress society with contributions of all kinds.
We are celebrating Black History Month 2021 with our favorite Black Queer Fashion Moments from the past year! Black queer creatives have historically broken the boundaries of fashion with new ideas and creativity, yet the fashion industry often attempts to erase them and give credit to white designers and stars. We are thrilled to share our top favorite moments in Black Queer Fashion from the last year.
Aweng Ade-Chuol Kissing her Wife on the Cover of Elle Magazine
Black lesbian couples are hardly ever pictured in the media, so when Elle Magazine featured dark skin Supermodel Aweng Ade-Chuol and her wife, Alexus (Lexy), it felt revolutionary. The story behind this cover is equally powerful: The kiss was in reaction to the homophobia Aweng experienced after marrying her wife, during which time the bullying got so extreme that she attempted suicided. Aweng’s strength and courage is a symbol to queers everywhere that we don’t need to please anyone but ourselves. We are so grateful that Aweng survived that horrible time and has come out on the other end stronger. We at Qwear wish her only the best and thank her for her bravery.
Lil Nas X at the Grammys
Lil Nas X may have won the queerest outfit of the year award when he arrived at the Grammys decked like a Brokeback Mountain leather cowboy. He brought his signature cowboy hat-and-suit combination to the next level with a custom studded Versace outfit coupled with a mesh shirt and pink leather harness underneath his cropped blazer. Matching Versace medusa earrings, two extravagant rings on each hand, and scarves on each wrist complete the look.
Aaron Philip for Moschino
Aaron Philip for Moschino
17-year-old trans disabled model Aaron Philip constantly amazes us. After an interview in Vogue and an appearance on Collina Strada's digital runway, she announced landing her first major fashion ad campaign, for Moschino. "I've been too shell-shocked to try & say anything prolific, but this is SUCH A BIG DEAL BEING A PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSON/MODEL IN A CAMPAIGN LIKE THIS," she wrote in an Instagram caption. The campaign does not focus on her activism or disability but on her beauty and talent as a model.
Gia Love
The white male-run fashion industry has grown friendlier to trans models, but only those deemed “acceptable,” which excludes most people of size. Model, speaker, and community organizer Gia Love is providing representation for full-figured Black trans women. “I think that Black trans activism is literally waking up every day and walking out of your door,” she told Office Mag last October. We are inspired by Love’s celebration of Black womanhood in her fashion and jewelry in this drop-dead gorgeous photo she took for her birthday with her talented team. In it, her jewelry is like a sculpture outlining her facial features, making her appear to be dripping in beauty. She gazes into the camera, mostly nude, completely vulnerable, allowing us to really see her, and in doing so, see ourselves.
Miss Mojo for Shawn G. Originals
Many people weaponize trans women by claiming certain words and body parts as their own. Here, a glamorous Miss Mojo, decked out in long lashes, sunglasses, and skin most celebrities would die for, casually sits beside a bag with “vagina” repeated all over it, pulling condoms out of a pouch labeled “pussy pouch.” by black designer Shawn G. Originals (shawngoriginals.com) By nonchalantly claiming these words for herself, she’s sending a message to everyone: “Fuck what anyone else thinks. You know who you are, and you don’t need to question that.”
JamarzOnMarz
Gay rapper JamarzOnMarz petitioned against the discrimination of Afro textured-hair in the schooling system with his new single, Tomorrow. The music video reflects his real life experiences with discrimination in schools. The imagery for the single includes him wearing an afro-bun and giving a middle finger to the white patriarchal schooling system while standing in front of a white man in robes and a photo of a white man in robes on the wall, symbolizing the length of time educational institutions have tried to erase Black experiences.
Rupi
@qwearfashion on Instagram
Rupi expressing their Egyptian/Ethiopian roots and their surname Horus with gold face paint, bright blue Fenty lipstick, and designs in black. We love how this makeup art is perfect in its imperfections.
Pierre Davis’ No Sesso’s spring 2020 collection
Here is Los Angeles-based fashion designer Pierre Davis’s hand-embroidered T-shirt for her all-gender line, No Sesso. In 2019, Pierre broke a glass ceiling in the fashion industry as the first-ever openly trans woman (of any race) to show at NYFW last season. Her work gives us all hope for a better, brighter world, where everyone can dress however they please. As Pierre puts it, “People should be able to wear what they want to wear, and that’s that.” This is represented through the collection’s fictional all-power superhero named Valentina, who could be seen as Pierre’s alter ego. The collection follows her as she saves the day, travels to the beach, runs her business, goes to parties, and has a day-to-day life that mirrors their own. May we all have a little more Valentina in our lives.
Christopher John Rogers SS 2021 Line
Gay designer Christopher John Rogers has thrived in the past year. He won the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in November and made it on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. He also designed Michelle Obama’s outfit for the inauguration in January. His 2021 line features bright, bold colors from all over the rainbow. You may see a resemblance between his colors and the inauguration outfits.
Laquan Smith for Equinox Hotel
@laquan_smith on Instagram
We are really feeling the energy of fashion designer Laquan Smith’s extravagant self-care in this Instagram shot for Equinox Hotel. He wears symbols of affluence: an oversized white as snow fur coat and gold earrings, drinking champagne while leaning against a glass window that overlooks a view of the city. While we may not display such outward luxury, we can mimic it internally, every time we do something for ourselves. We needed images of Black queers engaging in self-care more than ever during the last year, as the world crumbled around us during the culmination of 4 years of negligent and lethal leadership.
Tatenda Nguwaru
@tatendangwaru on Instagram
Tatenda Nguwaru’s power stance in a stunning bright yellow suit inspired us to stand tall in the face of the adversary, and not hide who we are. Her mixture of American business attire with colors and styles from her home country, Zimbabwe, visually symbolizes her ability to stay true to herself while maintaining autonomy in a world that acts to erase her. As an intersex activist who fled to the US, Tatenda’s Instagram empowers people everywhere who had to overcome the odds to stay proud, stay strong, and make their voices heard.
Tarik Carroll for Adidas
It’s not very often that the most famous athletic brand in the world shares images of plus size people, so it was a major accomplishment for the community when Adidas featured black queer model and founder of the EveryMAN Project, Tarik Carroll. Tarik shared on Adidas’ website: “The last thing I want to do is force myself into a box. What I would love for people to take away from this unfortunate state of the world right now is that there’s no time to try to fit into these old systems that really do not work anymore.”
Blessitt Shawn B.
Adorned in a bright red dress, Blessitt Shawn B. gazes down at the camera with a look of pride and pure resolve. Blessitt is an inspiration for everyone who doesn’t fit the cisnormative, white-centric, ableist mold. Blessitt inspires us every day to be boldly ourselves and embrace our unique beauty. As we celebrate and honor the experiences of Black people and culture, Blessitt reminds us that nonbinary and disabled voices are vital to that history: “We’ve always been here and we’re not going anywhere.”
