A Survey of Queer Looks: 1890-2018
A Survey of Queer Looks: 1890-2018 is a zine printed by Margins Publishing. The idea of this zine was to create a catalog of imagery of historical, queer iconography—of the historical symbology and sartorial choices the LGBT+ community has made to recognize one another over the years. I was approached by editors Cat Parra and Zora Gilbert to contribute two pieces to this project. We were free to submit our own ideas of what clothing/accessories to illustrate—I chose the Wilde green carnation (~1892) and the Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking suit (1966). This project was funded via Kickstarter. Physical and digital copies of this zine are still available on Gumroad.
When approached with coming up with iconic, historical queer clothing for this project, Oscar Wilde and his Aesthete followers' signature green carnation came to mind immediately. Wilde denied any specific meaning, but the green carnation (along with sunflowers, also associated with Wilde and the Aesthetes) are regarded as a secret, societal symbol of gay men in late-Victorian society.
The Le Smoking tuxedo suit by Yves Saint Laurent is the most prominent example of the first suits and tuxedos designed for women, paving the way for androgynous, masculine fashion in the mainstream. The models I chose are based off of Josephine Baker and Marlene Dietrich, famous for adopting the tux and suits in their personal wardrobes and in film.