Madonna’s 1990 “Vogue” video gave the American mainstream one of its first glimpses of queer culture. “For many Americans, this video—which was choreographered by Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza and was cast with members of New York’s underground New York ballroom scene—was the first time they had seen gay culture displayed so artistically, so lovingly,” notes In Vogue’s host Hamish Bowles in this week’s episode.
But in fact, queer culture had been influencing mainstream culture for decades. As Bowles puts it: “It had just gone unacknowledged.” The Stonewall Riots of 1969 marked the beginning of a new era. “In the ’70s, there was a kind of freedom. And certainly it was a very hedonistic period between the pill and AIDS,” observes Tom Ford. It was also a time, adds Michael Kors, “where gay was great.” Queer American designers like Halston and Stephen Burrows were setting the pace with soft, second-skin clothes that incorporated elements taken from their culture, from form-fitting pants to sequins. The result, explains Bowles, was that “this kind of gender bending androgyny and glorification of the sensuality of the body found its way out of the community and into the fashion industry.”
AIDS put an abrupt end to all of that as it devastated the queer community who had to contend with discrimination and death. The passing, in 1986, of designer Perry Ellis, then the president of the CFDA, activated the fashion industry to publicly acknowledge the crisis that was affecting so many within it, and come together in charitable support. In 1990 the first Seventh of Sale was held, six years after Lady Bunny organized the first Wigstock and between Susanne Bartsch’s 1989 and 1991 Love Balls, which rallied support and funds for those with the disease. “The queer community had always loved fashion—created it, promotoed it, worn it—but in the ’90s the fashion industry finally began to reciprocate that love,” states Bowles. “Rejecting the fear and suppression that the AIDS pandemic had caused opened up a whole new world of visibility and representation.”
The beginning of the decade, notes Kors, was marked by “this explosion of energy after the sadness in the late ’80s.” Beyond Madonna, another example was Vanity Fair’s August 1993 cover on which a bathing suit-wearing Cindy Crawford is pictured shaving the musician k.d. lang, who was dressed in Wall Street pinstripes. “Lesbian visibility,” reports Bowles, finally started appearing on the runway as well, thanks in in large part to the success of Jil Sander.
Later in the decade therapeutic medicines started to become available, allowing movement towards some sense of balance. “You weren’t dancing while Rome was burning anymore,” states Kors. “I think the industry really actually came together, really stayed behind raising money and raising awareness for the AIDS pandemic and never gave up. And still you have that sense of community today.”
Learn more about how fashion embraced queer culture on In Vogue: The 1990s. Joining Vogue’s editorial team on this episode are, in order of appearance: Jose Gutierez, dancer and father of the House of Xtravaganza; designers Tom Ford and Michael Kors; fashion critic and author Robin Givhan; comedian Lea Delaria; drag queen and Wigstock founder Lady Bunny; fashion historian and museum director Valerie Steele; designers Kenneth Cole and Donna Karan; party promoter Susanne Bartsch, and fashion historian Kim Jenkins.
In Vogue: The 1990s airs Fridays from September 17. Listen to it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, or wherever you get your podcasts. The LEGO Group is a launch sponsor.
Listen to “Episode 6: Tom Ford’s Gucci,” here.
Listen to “Episode 5: Prada: A Revolution from Within,” here.
Listen to “Episode 4: Karl Lagerfeld the Creative Director,” here.
Listen to “Episode 3: Brand Americana,” here.
Listen to “Episode 2: Grunge Strikes Back,” here.
Listen to “Episode 1: The Rise of the Supermodel,” here.
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