Top 5 most memorable queer outfits of all time
As we recover from Pride celebrations, Katie Ross does a run-down of the top five (in her opinion) queer outfits of all time. Our eyes are not worthy!
Billy Porter – 2019 Met Gala
This look came immediately to mind when I knew I was writing this piece. I mean, the theme was literally ‘Camp’. We’ll start with the fact he was carried in on an enormous black velvet cushion by six topless men and we’ll finish with the fact that his custom The Blonds look had 10 foot gold wings. And if we needed a middle, he also wore a 24K gold headpiece. He came, he saw, he slayed. The end.
Freddie Mercury’s crown and cape – Queen’s ‘Magic’ Tour, 1986
There are very few stylists for whom I have as much respect – and have made my jaw as close to the floor – as Diana Mosely. Freddie Mercury’s close personal friend and costume designer conceived the crown and cape that Mercury wore on Queen’s 1986 ‘Magic’ Tour at the singer’s request.
“[The crown] is an effect,” she wrote in Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own, “which was a theme of Freddie’s. He used garments for effect, to break down that barrier you get in huge stadiums.”
This outfit is, to me, perfect. White military-style trousers with red and gold stripe along the outer seam, no shirt, cape, crown. The pièce de resistance being the Adidas wrestling boots. Mercury was doing smart casual way before your mum’s summer barbecue. Jeans and a nice top? He doesn’t know her.
Lady Gaga’s meat dress – 2010 MTV Video Music Awards
What is this run-down without this dress? I sincerely miss peak Gaga, when every outfit was so vehemently “What the fuck?” that if she erred on the side of anything less outlandish you were even more likely to ask “What the fuck????”.
The raw beef ensemble, designed by Franc Fernandez and styled by Nicola Formichetti, was condemned by animal rights groups, but named by Time as the top fashion statement of 2010. I would proffer ‘pain is beauty’ but it’s 2024 now and that would be wholly unacceptable.
The fillet steak flopped across her head was ‘fascinator’ at its most fascinating, but mostly I need to know what she smelt like (especially post accepting the award for best pop video and apparently partying with Drake).
And, if you didn’t know, the outfit has been TAXIDERMIED and turned into beef jerky.
Katy Perry – Met Gala 2019
Another piece of history from the 2019 Met Gala: Katy Perry’s chandelier dress. The custom Moschino look had three layers of light up candles, the top layer on her head.
For the singer’s take on the theme of ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’, she seemed to be putting her own spin on Lumière from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Katy, be our guest!
Chappell Roan – Governor’s Ball 2024
Somewhere along the line, the message of the Statue of Liberty has either fallen on deaf ears or been mostly forgotten. I feel the same about the American national anthem when I watch sweaty, red faced WASPs belt ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and struggle to hit the high notes on ‘land of the free’ and the low notes on ‘home of the brave’.
Enter Chappell Roan, who emerged for her performance at the Governor's Ball as Ms. Liberty herself, announcing, “Today I am in drag of the biggest queen of all,” reading the words of The New Colossus, the Emma Lazurus poem on the Statue’s plaque: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
“That means freedom and trans rights,” she said. “That means freedom and women's rights, and it especially means freedom for all oppressed people in occupied territories.” The crowd goes wild! You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.