Happy Pride Anniversary 2026!

HAPPY PRIDE ANNIVERSARY!

Fifty-seven years ago today, a bunch of fed-up drag queens, hustlers, and assorted gay misfits at the Stonewall Inn in New York turned the tables on yet another unnecessary, unfair, harassing police raid. That resistance gave rise to a series of riots and ultimately to the birth of the modern gay activist movement. It seems like a long time ago, and while a few laws and minds have changed, we still have a way to go, and a lot more irrational fear, hatred, bigotry, and misconceptions to fight...especially considering the vicious, radical conservative and radical Christian-fueled wave of LGBT+--specifically Trans--hatred ins our country which is being legitimized by the current administration of darkness.

We celebrate Pride Month and recognize Pride Day because it is a positive stance against the daily shame, social stigma, discrimination, and violence that the LGBT community still faces. In fact, a recent report from the policy research Williams Institute at UCLA showed that LGBT+ people in the United States are NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN NON-LGBT+ PEOPLE TO BE THE VICTIMS OF VIOLENT HATE CRIMES. Gay youth are routinely kicked out of their homes and disowned by their families, gay kids and teens and young adults are routinely bullied or attacked or beaten and many end up committing suicide because they are told they are sick or going to hell, and many gay and trans men and women are attacked and beaten and murdered--sometimes in their own homes. That’s why Congress must pass the Equality Act to outlaw discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but we know that will not happen until the next administration that is run by a sense of humanism and decency. 

Because the LGBT Pride celebration is about the right of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals to exist without being prosecuted, persecuted, attacked, or murdered, not about "not being straight."

So today, we thank and celebrate all the brave individuals at the Stonewall uprising and the ensuing riots for saying, "ENOUGH. I AM A HUMAN BEING AND I DEMAND TO BE TREATED AS ONE!"

While The Stonewall Inn was already part of the city-designated Greenwich Village Historic District, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, it became an official New York City landmark on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 in order to preserve the site and honor its historic importance. Most importantly, on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall Inn was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the gay rights movement.

I just visited The Stonewall Inn in 2024 (see the photos below) and it was affirming to see such an important piece of history. And the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center is located right next door, where a sign says, "In the name of those who came before me, I pledge to be brave, to be true to myself, and to fight like hell for equality." I also visited Christopher Park, the little green park facing The Stonewall Inn which is the Stonewall National Monument under the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service. The park features a bronze sculpture of two men and two women unafraid to show themselves to the world.

There is a very nice, informative, and moving Wiki entry about the riots and the history leading up to them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

BEAUTY: Clothing--Uma Wang

Much like Kml from my last post (here), Uma Wang is new to my orbit as well. And I am glad she is here. Just look at the offerings from this Spring Summer '27 collection lookbook presented as part of Paris Fashion Week. Apparently she looked to images of the late adventure photographer and writer Peter Beard for a sense of rumpled, dashing, global, on-the-go-and-living-out-of-a-satchel style. But it turns out it takes some effort to achieve the effortless.

Fashion journalist Giulia di Giamberardino for Vogue gives us the technical information:

"Wang began with an exacting study of fabric—all sourced in Italy, all produced by Tuscan mills. Lightweight yet durable cotton was washed and treated to appear naturally worn-in. Linen, stained and dyed almost as though painted by hand, carried a similarly lived-in look. Another fabric incorporated a metallic component that gave structure to the garments she made from it, turning printed shirts into ideal travel companions that can be packed into a suitcase without losing their form. Another print depicted poppies. It originated from a photograph taken in a field near one of the company’s production facilities, yet poppies are also the flowers Wang keeps in her studio in China, making them, in a way, an emblem of the meeting of two cultures."

But let's take a closer look at this linen, metallic fabric, and poppy situation. The details, including the stunning cuts and silhouettes, are breathtaking. The collection feels artistic, exciting, alive.

https://umawang.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Kml

The brand Kml has not been on my radar until now. This Spring Summer '27 collection shown at Paris Fashion Week is enthralling. Even though the color palette is a restrained black and white and grey affair, the silhouettes and cuts are lyrical, primal. The KML website's mission statement says "Kml is an exploration of the present. It follows a research-based design approach which looks into the history of how humans dressed and how it evolved and continues to evolve to come up with meaningful designs that are relevant to our collective human identity." Indeed, this sweeping, placid collection speaks to so many places, ethnicities, beliefs, time periods ... there is a bit of traditional / ancient Japan, Turkey, Sufi, India, Bedouin ... in a beautifully tailored and structured way. Creative director and brand co-founder Ahmed Hassan trained as an architect and that rigor shows in the garments. Truly impressive.

https://kml.com.sa/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Sean Suen

I really like what is going on at the waists of these looks from Sean Suen's Spring Summer '27 collection at Paris Fashion Week. Reminiscent of cummerbunds, these elements look to be in knit and may or may not rise up from the waistband inside trousers which are turned down into wingtips. And if not a knit cummerbund, then a fantastic corset belt.

https://www.seansuen.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dries Van Noten

After Dries Van Noten's emotional 2024 retirement from his house of 38 years (see his final collection here), Julian Klausner is now Creative Director. And this Spring Summer '27 collection at Paris Fashion Week marks his third menswear collection for the house.

Klausner has actually been with the house since 2018 as the head of womenswear. He has said that the task of taking over the menswear division as well seemed daunting at first but he has proven himself a worthy successor to Van Noten. And for this collection, he actually brought a sense of womenswear to the fabric choices and garments. "We looked at the world of lingerie, thinking what lingerie can mean to menswear, and that informed a lot of the fabrication," he said. The result is a gorgeous assemblage of fluid, weightless layers and a sunset-inspired color palette. Diaphanous silk duster coats, crepe shirts, semi-sheer shirts and shorts, embroidered beaded camisoles, fluttering floral scarves as shirts or wraps ... and large paillettes that add shimmer. It feels like a collection you could live in all hot summer long.

https://www.driesvannoten.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--IM (Issey Miyake)

IM as it is now known is the continuation of the brand started by legendary Japanese designer Issey Miyake in 1970. Miyake (previously here), who died in 2022, was highly influential in clothing design and I honestly don't think we would have the likes of Rick Owens or Boris Bidjan Saberi or Damir Doma or Craig Green or even Haider Ackermann without him. The menswear division is now headed by a trio of designers--Sen Kawahara, Yuki Itakura and Nobutaka Kobayashi--who created a Spring Summer '27 show at Paris Fashion Week called "In Praise of Bamboo Shadows."

With references to a 1933 essay about Japanese aesthetics by Jun’Ichiro Tanizaki, the cultural and material significance of bamboo, and the ancient Japanese tale of Princess Kaguya who was discovered inside a bamboo stalk as a child but grows up to return to the night sky, this enchanting collection highlights the best of Miyake silhouettes and cuts. The first oversized coat is lovely, showing actual shadows of bamboo stalks on a white ground. And when not a literal presentation in the form of a hat or chest piece or shoes or the motif of woven bamboo, it showed up in the thread blend of garments, offering a silky texture and flowing appearance! The gradual shift to bamboo greens is so pleasing...

https://us.isseymiyake.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Songzio

Jay Songzio has called his creative perspective "oriental futurism" but he has also shown a penchant for mining silhouettes of times and centuries past. He has shown collections of garments that look as if they are based on Medieval and ancient Japanese armor. He blends east and west quite well. But for this Spring Summer '27 show at Paris Fashion Week, the armor has been softened, shaped into layers of ease with sheer materials. Quite the opposite of armor. But somehow he manages to retain an echo of the original purpose...

When the warrior takes off his battle gear, there is repose beneath. I love the way these garments drape, puddle, flow. The skirts in Looks 12 and 20 that zip open are magnificent. I don't think I have seen a loose trouser better cut than the ones in Looks 10, 15, and 16. Yet Songzio's classic Roman gladiator sandals remain (click a pic to ogle). And the browns, mustards, and greens are a beautiful counterpoint to his often black and white palette. Stunning.

https://en.songzio.com/