By BeBe Sweetbriar
The first ever Queer Fashion Week continues the presentation of the notion of a genderless fashion world when it takes center stage in Oakland, California April 16-19 . fiveTEN Oakland Events, producer of the event, states its mission of Queer Fashion Week is to showcase fashion creations for all types of bodies and genders. Rain Dove and Cory Wade are two Celebrity Models on board for Queer Fashion Week who continually go against the gender binary as fashion models and people. I had an opportunity to visit with both of these pioneers to talk about their experiences as gender fluid and androgynous models and breaking the gender binary in the fashion world.
No secret, the fashion industry has for a long time propelled the notion that women are meant to be soft, beautiful and sensual and men are built to be strong, distinguished and veral by clothing them on the runway and print advertisements in attire that helps carry that message home to the public. Men and women who don’t fit the gender binary descriptives have often found it hard to find a place in the fashion industry as a commercial model, and thus, in a domino effect, many men and women in the public have found it hard to find themselves in commercial advertisement marketed to them. But, I think it safe to say “thangs be a changing”.
