A Taste of the ‘Rainbow’

With the House of Gaga placing a new, visionary insight on today’s current trends and fashion and with the return of Prince, the wave roaring ‘androgyny’ is taking everyone full force again. The LGBT’s innovative fashion phoenix has survived public discontent, cultural revolts and revolutions, and since been reshaped to flatter the times, spanning before Madonna “discovered” it.

Is this new trend back to stay and reshape the way society today view the gay community? Or is androgyny the new trend, which will die out and be forgotten?

“I don’t think that it’s a trend,” says Jenny De Bower, director of the Y.E.S program for gay youths. “In fact, I think it is an interestingly new beginning for us.”

Prior to being publicly and socially tolerable, somewhat (in today’s culture at least), androgyny was a hidden pleasurable source of entertainment gracing the gay night scenes in the ‘50s, ‘60s and 70’s. With the 1990 with the mega hit Vogue, Madonna, forcibly opened the publics’ eye about the dance (with its frequent hand gestures and movements that emulated what the supermodels did on the runways, as well as on the pages of Grace Mirabella’s Vogue), that was well performed by not only drag queens and questioned individuals at these “night scenes.”

Androgyny in fashion sense wise is a way for either male or female to apply trendy aspects of the opposite sex and mix it with the fashions of their sex, creating the androgynous type. And Jack Fuller, who stands 5’9, dark skin, with broad shoulders, and a shoulder-length semi-curly dark afro’ with avant garde facial rouge, is indeed the androgynous type.

Fuller is an upcoming, discreet gay neo-soul artist who is fumbling about in photographer Avery McCarthy’s DUMBO studio preparing for his album’s photo shoot. He has it all, a custom designer, a stylist, a make-up artist as well as assistant. As his make-up artist work feverishly on his make-up, applying foundation, and eye-shadow, he looks on his custom made deep blue wash jeans shirt with a shimmery gold brocade collar, and the tights he will wear with the shirt.

“I want to spread messages through my music and how I present myself everyday,” Jack starts in a booming voice, “I would get confused and looked on constantly like I am a drag queen,” he starts shaking his head, “I am not a drag queen. I wear elaborate make-up, and dresses, with pants, or blazer, or whatever is I feel like wearing that day, because I don’t want to be figured out. I want someone to look at me, and wonder if I am a boy, or a girl.”

However, there’s no reason as to why the individuals who do androgyny do it. Besides expression and acceptance, androgyny, to the true androgynous person, is like a fitted glove. It fits perfectly in their lives, so, there’s no need to abandon it.

Androgyny has become a hot and open fashion trend of the rock and roll 80’s era because musical activists such as Elton John, Madonna, Prince and Boy George, helped the outside normal society of the gay community, come to understand and forcibly accept this new change that was quite controversial to the politics of everyday life.

Jenny De Bower, director of the Y.E.S program, for LGBT (and questioning) youths at The Center on 13th St in the heart of Greenwich Village comments, “The issue of androgyny is another milestone that is positive in today’s culture. Every day, there are new people who come here to sign up, and be a part of this change, the positive change. Androgyny is a trend unfortunately to those that do not fully understand the message behind what it really is, but even if it is trend, it’s still a sign that people can be open, can be more accepting as it.”

It is entirely more accepting of gay rights now, than thirty years ago. Hate crime rights, didn’t necessary apply to LGBT members during the eighties until the peaceful walks that occurred towards the end of the decade.

However, even though rights were instated to protect homosexuals, Kenneth Abrams, a freelance designer, and student at NYU’s graduate school for costume design insists that the protective rights still weren’t fully protecting gay people until after the 2000’s. “It took a bunch of Matthew Shepards and Lawrence Kings as well as many others to die unjustly, for people to fully protect gays.”

So now with more media attention on the happenings of the gay community, such as the openly broadcasted information about the notorious NYC pride parades, and LOGO TV being the “gay” channel, could it be that now the final means to protecting the future generations of LGBT youths needed a little spice? For example, a drag reality show (which receives infinite positive reviews), and fashion shows that feature men in drag and look-likes of women’s haute couture?

Since the death of fashion legend Gianni Versace, many old-time designers as well as new fashion creative directors have followed in Versace’s footsteps. Though Gianni’s assassination wasn’t classified a hate crime, it still angered his colleagues (famously Giorgio Armani whose openly bisexual) that homosexuality (at this time) was accepted only in the arts, particularly in the fashion and beauty industries.

“It’s really hard to ignore fashions, especially with guys trying to boost up their fashion sense, especially in the city,” says Abrams. “I make menswear to some extent, but I really think it’s weird that guys are taking just as long to shop, and get dressed, and they’re not gay. And some of the brands and garments they wear really have feminine aspects, it’s unbelievable.”

Before his departure in 2006 from the brand Dior Homme he helped initiate, Parisian designer Hedi Slimane was the starting ground after Versace, to start applying feminine aspects to his mens clothing. Even though the Dior Homme look is considered “rocker,” Slimane’s use of everything being literally slim and fitted for the masculine body.

“Slimane was really the one who introduced the slim suit, that Frida Giannini constantly uses for the mens Gucci line,” says Abrams, “And you see guys constantly wearing both brands. But what they don’t realize is, even though European, famously Italian suits are supposed to be ‘tailored’ which is fitted, with room. Really skinny cuts, and sharp lines are really looks for the haute couture woman fashions which is supposed to flatter and be strictly cut for the woman client.”

Dior Homme prêt-à-porter is constantly out of sale at Saks Fifth Avenue. But even Jean Paul Gaultier who uses the most feminine materials such as cotton sateen, a cotton blend made to look like satin, as well as rare organza silks (which can be sheer), and brocade for his suits.

Brocade was the famous material Coco Chanel used for her woman’s “tweed suit” look. But the line headed by Karl Lagerfeld has introduced menswear into its collections, and Chanel’s men tweed blazers or even some of the brands blazers are actually unisex.

Fashion designers Marc Jacobs, and the late Alexander McQueen, are notorious for walking down their runway shows in avant garde, or even androgynous. Jacobs, can be seen walking around Paris, frequently in a kilt. And it is used for non-traditional purposes. And McQueen before he died, wore kilts as well for non-traditional purposes. And both designers made these kilts or special “men skirts” on special orders only. But models are seen on several occasions wearing kilts with a cotton-silk blend button down, and a very elaborate, feminine beret.

Make-up artist, Michael Dlforcin insists, androgyny isn’t coming back, but designers being “artists” and expressing themselves. Over his small M.A.C cosmetics counter in SoHo’s Bloomingdales, Dlforcin, dressed in black appears overly prissy and stuck up, for his facial expression favors someone who has dung under his nose.

“Androgyny itself isn’t in, but instead, it’s just 80’s fashions staying too long. And I don’t think even if it came back, anything will change, gays still won’t have certain rights. I mean, androgyny is just a bunch of guys trying to be girls; their confused. But make-up is different more elaborate today, so that’s androgynous I guess,” he says nodding his head awkwardly.

In today’s world, referring to drag again, it is often confused with transgender qualities, instead of how the person feels on the inside, or whatever message the person wants to convey. Androgyny is all about message and expression. Confusions lies with questioning individuals.

“Androgynies seek being socially accepted, like everyone does, even if it is a trend or not, it’s an act that needs to be addressed, because it is an instinct. It’s an instinct that cannot be driven away, no matter how hard ones try,” De Bower says sadly.

But, androgyny today is different from its popularity 30 years ago. With the demise of the trend in the nineties and early 2000’s, with the launch of Viacom’s- parent company of MTV- station LOGO TV, as well as wave of artist’s such as Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, and Katy Perry, androgyny has made a creep back into society.

Having set the new fashion scene in 2008, Lady Gaga, has openly admitted her support of the LGBT community, as well as taking various inspirations from them, noting her elaborate fashion sense, wild hair, leather, men inspired shirts with wide slit dresses, she has come full commando at setting the scene in which many superstars prior to her arrival emulate: Beyonce Knowles, Rihanna, and Christina Aguilera. Are these superstars flattering and supporting the once rejected trends of the gay community? Is this trend something that will die out in the next 10 years, and forgotten of all the positivity that came from the current openness of today? Or is this 80’s trend really here to stay until something positive come out of it?

“I was really annoyed with [Marc] Jacobs, for always constantly presenting this trend,” says Abrams, “He has presented the trend, for his shows for three years, and now people are trying to go ‘vintage’, and ‘retro’. But everything with art, has a meaning. In the 1980’s it was a real turning point for the world today. I wouldn’t be surprised if designers are using this time period, or inspirations of it to convey the beauty of equality.”