A majority of the fashion industry had the help of Baja East to outfit them for the New York City Pride March last year, and there will be no dearth of designer apparel at their disposal to support LGBTQ causes this weekend.
This Sunday marks the 47th Annual Pride March in New York City, an event that’s part of national Pride Month celebrations and hosted by the nonprofit group Heritage of Pride. It commemorates the Stonewall Riots of 1969, a pivotal moment in the modern gay rights movement. Much like beauty brands like Milk Makeup and Mac, which debuted products this month that allocate proceeds to LGBTQ organizations, fashion designers including Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang have also developed apparel or launched partnerships of their own.
“The fashion industry workforce has always been very inclusive of the LGBTQ community,” said Steven Kolb, president and CEO of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. “It is important for the strength of our industry and society that we do not let our coworkers, friends and family be marginalized and discriminated against.”
Jacobs, who is openly gay and has long been an advocate of the LGBTQ community, designed a special edition Pride Month T-shirt that retails for $65. All proceeds will support New York City’s LGBT Community Center. The brand has been teasing the shirt on Twitter in advance of New York’s Pride celebration, posting images of celebrity supporters including Tommy Dorfman, an actor in the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.”
#13ReasonsWhy @TommyDorfman wearing our MJ Pride Tee. All proceeds will benefit NYC’s LGBT Community Center. 🏳️🌈 https://t.co/8GixK2q7js pic.twitter.com/ypegXaGfwJ
— Marc Jacobs (@marcjacobs) June 19, 2017
Always one to push boundaries, Alexander Wang opted against a traditional apparel campaign, instead announcing a partnership with Trojan condoms on Friday, with the tagline “Protect Your Wang.” As part of the effort, the designer is throwing a “safe sex” party in Manhattan on Sunday, after first participating in the parade by riding in a phallic shape float emblazoned with Trojan logos.
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The “Protect Your Wang” float
Those joining him on the float will wear #ProtectYourWang shirts Wang designed for the occasion. Wang shared a video teasing the partnership on Instagram on Friday. It already has more than 21,000 views and more than 3,000 likes.
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A post shared by ALEXANDER WANG (@alexanderwangny) on
Despite the celebration taking place amid a particularly divisive political climate — in which President Donald Trump has worked to scale back programs rooted in inclusivity, such as funding for transgender bathrooms — Wang asserted that the effort is not grounded in political activism. He described the term activism as “harsh” and said the event is focused on celebrating commonalities.
“It’s more just: What can I do to help, participate and work with people who share my beliefs? We’re together in this. We can celebrate our shared and even different points of view and learn from (each other),” Wang said in a statement.
Meanwhile, retailers including Nordstrom, Gap, Target and Macy’s are all supporting Pride Month through sponsorships or activations. Nordstrom has been particularly vocal, building upon the pointed stance it took against the Trump administration by dropping Ivanka Trump’s fashion line in February. The company has held a presence at national Pride events in several cities this year, and in New York more than 200 employees are slated to march on behalf of Nordstrom in the parade.
“During Pride Month across the U.S. and Canada, Nordstrom employees will join with our coworkers, friends and family to show our continued commitment to diversity in the workplace and beyond,” Nordstrom stated on it site.
On its blog The Thread, Nordstrom featured discussions with six fashion industry insiders last month advocating for LGBTQ rights. The company also launched a dedicated product page to Pride apparel on its site, featuring 78 items from brands including Converse, Rebecca Minkoff and Gucci. Nordstrom is selling two T-shirts of its own, of which 100 percent of proceeds go to the Human Rights Campaign.
