Looking Back at Pride Month- How the Industry Has Celebrated Pride Fashion Over the Last 5 Years

The LGBT+ community has a long and celebrated history in the fashion industry. Designers such as Gianni Versace, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, Yves Saint Laurent have influenced every corner of the fashion world. Pride Month celebrates the struggles and contributions of LGBT+ people. In the fashion world, various brands showcase Pride-themed collections, apparels and accessories. Let’s take a look at how the industry has celebrated Pride over the years.

What is Pride Month?

Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprisings of June 28th 1969. On that day, the New York police raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. This inn was a popular place of refuge for the New York LGBT+ community. The police raid sparked a series of demonstrations and riots now known as the Stonewall Uprisings. This historical event is regarded as the beginning of the LGBT+ rights movement.

Pride Month is celebrated in many ways. Typical celebrations include colorful pride parades, parties, concerts, workshops and memorials. Companies show support by donating to LGBT+ causes and adopting the rainbow flag in their logos.

In the fashion world, brands celebrate Pride through LGBT+ social media content and donating to nonprofits. Companies also team up with queer celebrities to release Pride-themed couture collections. For example, H&M teamed up with transgender actress Laverne Cox in 2019 to launch their “Stay True, Stay You” campaign.

Pride Campaigns Over the Years

H&M - Stay True, Stay You (2019)

H&M adopted the catchphrase “Stay true, Stay You” for its Pride-themed 2019 campaign. A notable part of this campaign is the Love for All Collection. Love for All includes unisex T- shirts, sweaters, pants, accessories and shoes. Most products in the collection feature rainbow colors. Also, the products feature LGBT+ themed phrases such as “Lover Not a Fighter,” “Free & Equal” and “Proud.”

Love for All is a collaboration between H&M and influential queer celebrities such as actress Laverne Cox. It is the second collection by H&M supporting the LGBT+ community.

Adidas - Love Unites (2021)

Adidas has launched “Love Unites'' for Pride Month this year. As part of the campaign, Adidas released a short film chronicling the experiences of LGBT+ people. Notable figures featured include artist Ace Troy, drag performer Flawless Shade and DJ Venus X.

Adidas has also released a Pride-themed footwear collection. The collection features colorful redesigns of the Ultraboost 19, Nizza and Continental 80 sneaker lines. Each design is a reimagination of the rainbow flag.

ASOS Pride Collection (2019)

ASOS and GLAAD collaborated in 2019 to launch their third Pride collection. ASOS x GLAAD consists of floral printed coordinated sets, colourful tie & dye tank tops and breezy t-shirts. Other products of note include rainbow sweaters and T-shirts featuring messages of “Unity,” “Equality” and “Acceptance.”

Express Inc. “Love Unites” Collection

GLAAD also partnered with Express Inc. and Out Magazine to create the “Love Unites” campaign. As a part of the campaign, journalists Phillip Picardi, Raquel Willis and Coco Romack spoke of their experiences in the LGBT+ community. The “Love Unites” collection features 35 unisex and all-gender clothing pieces. Each design reimagines tank tops, T-shirts, shorts etc. in rainbow colors.

Nike - BeTrue (2018)

Nike released its BeTrue sneaker collection as part of its Pride campaign. Four sneakers- Zoom Fly, VaporMax Plus, Air Max 270 and Epic React Flyknit-are featured in the collection. Our favorite sneaker-the Zoom Fly-has lavender highlights along with a pink triangle and rainbow patch on the back.

In a statement to the press, Matthew Kneller (Nike director of global corporate communications) said: “The [Nike] team takes pride in not just putting a rainbow on gear, but to instead develop meaningful authentic connections.”

Club Monaco - Love Starts Here (2019)

Club Monaco released a limited edition Pride sweatshirt as part of its ‘Love Starts Here’ campaign. Club Monaco employees also spoke of the impact of the LGBT+ community on their lives during the campaign.

Other Collections

Fabletics launched a capsule collection consisting of a small range of fitness-wear. Hunter on the other hand released a reimagined version of its classic Play Boot. This classic footwear features a visible colorful rainbow sole and pull tab. Puma also came up with rainbow slides, graphic tees and sweatshirts for Pride Month.

Pride fashion is about embracing differences and promoting queer equality. Fashion brands are grateful at large to the LGBT+luminaries who have influenced the industry at all levels. Understandably, they are prominent participants in the Pride month celebration. In many cases, the brands donate a percentage from the sales of their pride collections to LGBT+ organizations.