GAY TIMES Magazine

28 February 2020

When curating The Fashion Issue, we looked to the past, present and future, to showcase the queer trailblazers of design. Jean Paul Gaultier bids farewell to the runway, not before putting on the biggest extravaganza to close his 50-year career. We talk to the designer on the changes he’s seen throughout those five decades and his love for reinterpreting beauty standards. “I think that there is not one kind of beauty but many kinds. When you know how to look, beauty is everywhere. Beauty is not unique, it has millions of facets,” he tells us. Celebration and reflection continue when we delve into the wild world of Dsquared2. Co-founders Dean and Dan Caten celebrate the brand’s 25th anniversary, with the expansion of their ICON line. Double denim never looked so dreamy. “We found a little factory and we paid for everything, made the samples, and we sewed them,” Dan tells us from Milan, reflecting on the beginnings of their world-famous line. “We’ve done a lot over the years and we’ve come a long way, so we’re quite proud of that,” Dan adds. “We’re still standing on our own two feet and we’re proud of that as well!” siren Tokyo Stylez. Call it hairstyling, wig making, or weave witchcraft, the star opens up about her transition and what it’s like being the creative brains behind some of the most iconic hair looks from Kylie Jenner and Cardi B. “I just felt that it was time to stop hiding who I am because I’ve been doing that for most of my life,” she tells us. “If I wasn’t being true to myself, then how would I help anybody else who might be going through the same thing? Being unapologetic has always been my attitude, so why change that during my transition to the woman I always was?” As you travel into different times, visual aesthetics, and faces throughout this issue, the message is clear: Fashion is queer! There’s not a corner of this industry, from the designers, stylists, photographers, and even seamstresses, that the queer presence isn’t felt. It’s important to shine a light on these queer pioneers, who have and are shaping some of the most memorable pop culture moments from the decades before and those to come.