Love has always been a worldwide subject and since the dawn of time the fashion industry has wedged itself between the narrative of LGBT and the battle for same sex love. Although it started off as a taboo subject for people to discuss, the efforts that people, brands and companies have put into making it a norm for people who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender etc. has made it a much more accepted topic, and with the help of fashion brands during pride month it is only becoming more positive with each t shirt bought and each donation made. The fashion world continues to try and get across their message that they are determined to create a more equal world, and this is good for not only the change in acceptance for LGBT but also the brands popularity.
Brands using their support of LGBT creates a good brand image as it shows that they want to help and make a better world for humans to be equal, the products that they sell are not discriminatory and are for everyone and although this is ultimately a good marketing scheme, it is also one of the best ways to tackle homophobia in the fashion industry as “fashion and queer culture go hand in hand.”(Curwen, 2019) it is a known fact that usually the brands within fashion support gay rights and more. Most well-known fashion designers were gay men such as Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior and the founder of Balenciaga, Cristobel. Most were closeted as it wasn’t always as accepted as it is now, so for fashion to continue battling for the rights of LGBT people shows society that it is something that they are passionate about and gives value to the message that they want to spread. By creating a more diverse world for these people to live within and a better brand image using this global problem it will make it so gay men, women and trans people will feel safe shopping with the brands that do support this such as Asos. Creating lifelong customers just through communicating their good morals through campaigns and charities.
“Fashion and queer culture go hand in hand.”
– (Curwen, 2019)
Also brands that involved themselves in the most recent Met Gala theme may not have realised how positive this fun way of showing support could be for their brands. The theme being Camp and being all about the acceptance of LGBT. Stereotypically being dramatic and gay being a colourful and vibrant feature the brands used this theme to spread a message that they too wanted to include themselves in the support towards LGBT people. This gave a clear message to their current consumers and any potential future customers watching that they were a brand that they could trust and that their brand valued its people, visually communicating the fact that they wanted to be equal too, in a way to say “I’m here and I’m queer.” (Curwen, 2019)