S magazine
S magazine
FASHION DARLINGS
A few meters next to the runway a polished man is sitting with his legs crossed while waving a dazzling pink fan. He is wearing a purple shirt with leopard print along with a brown dotted leather belt. Not many can pull off this look but he actually looks quite fashionable. His eyes are twinkling like a fat little kid at McDonalds who is about to eat his Happy Meal... The light is dim in the great hall and only the runway is lit up with a few spotlights. The fashion thirsty crowd surrounding the runway is waiting anxiously, filling the dark hall with high anticipations. Among the crowd most of the people are in black and dark layers but every now and then a splash of bold, neoprene colour along with some wild animal print appears in the form of a bright yellow hat or an over-sized vivid purse. The odd thing about it is just that nearly half of them are men!
The eternally smiling and happy, Ole Henriksen.
So, let’s sum up with a razor-sharp observation: There are many gay men in the Danish fashion industry. From the eternally smiling and happy Ole Henriksen, to the iconic fashion guru Uffe Buchard and the über-hairstylist Dennis Knudsen... Well, and pretty much all male designers of the industry are gay men. The fact is that gays predominantly are running the show!
The industry is swamped with flamboyant men with scissors, measuring tapes and loose wrists. When Uffe Buchard, who along with Kim Grenaa owns Style Counsel and DANSK Magazine (and can with certainty be said to be one of Denmark’s biggest and most renowned fashion gays fashion gurus, sorry), was once asked about how come gays are flocking in the fashion industry, he replied in his usual cocky manner: “Because we don’t have the guts to become plumbers.” But what is it exactly that makes gays so good with women’s fashion? Uffe Buchard (L). and Kim Grenaa (R), Denmark’s no.1 fashion divas.
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S magazine
S magazine Trine Kjær, better known as the woman behind the influential fashion blog trineswardrobe.dk, says: “Gays are basically more imaginative designers than women. Perhaps they fantasize about making clothing for their ultimate female ego or - as it most often is - to their muse, whatever she is real or imaginary. In their eyes women hold a fascinating and strange mystery, which represents an infinite source of inspiration.”
The fashion industry is swamped with flamboyant men with scissors, measuring tapes and loose wrists.
Uffe Buchard agrees: “Fashion gays love women, and they love women’s wear for all the opportunities it contains, which they cannot pursue in men’s wear. In the world of fashion gays, the woman is a goddess.” The ideal woman takes many forms and especially at one point, many gay designers differ from their female colleagues. Their work arises from a much more extreme, whimsical and idealistic place, where words such as ‘practical’, ‘flattering’, and ‘cellulite’ have not been taken much into consideration, whereas women are much more self-critical and most of the times they hate specific parts of their body.
Sexy laces at Noir’s show, by our very own fashion darling, Peter Ingwersen.
So hurray for the fashion gays! Without them we wouldn’t have sexy laces and killer heels and straight men wouldn’t have that much to look at. TEXT BY ELISE HOANG
The top fashion guru, Uffe Buchard, always has the last word!
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