Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2023 i GAY TIMES

GAY TIMES has seen our community across four decades of queer life spanning legal challenges, health epidemics and an ongoing battle for equal rights for all LGBTQIA+ individuals globally. It’s this shared history which has inspired the theme of this latest issue: legacy. Fittingly, the edition is headed up by the inimitable Billy Porter, a figure who has blazed new horizons for LGBTQIA+ representation and changed the face of fashion. Now, as he tells writer Tom George, he’s looking towards his new era: reintroducing himself as a musician. Already well known for his vocal talents, his forthcoming, disco-inflected album showcases his songwriting prowess and is a chance for Porter to return to his “original dream” of pop stardom. For the musician and actor, shining boldly and brightly in the public…

Lacoste is boldly stepping into the winter season with maximalism at the forefront. The famous crocodile has dived into neon waters to fashion the L003 Active Runway Trainer. Modeled by the chunky styles seen on the latest runway show, the shoe combines style with performance, offering ultimate comfort and character. The trainer playfully works with textures of suede and nylon, whilst the oversized laces serve the drama that we all need when gliding through our day to day. Versatile and chic, it’s the perfect eye-catching accessory to your winter fits. Queers! Listen up! Beats have dropped their new cosmic, compact and cute set of earbuds. The Beats Studio Buds + have arrived on Planet Earth so you better plug these audacious audio devices in and dial into that chic frequency.…

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Windrush which docked in Tilbury, Essex in 1948. These dates are a reminder of the steady integration of Caribbean culture is woven into the fabric of Black Britain which has, historically, been well documented. However, still, among the stories of Windrush, there are plenty of Black LGBTQIA+ names that many of us don’t know. Ivor Cummings is just one of those. Cummings, who has been described as the “gay father of the Windrush generation”, was of Sierra Leonean and British heritage and an openly gay Black government official born in Hartlepool in 1913, who welcomed the newcomers as they arrived in England. As a senior official in the welfare department of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Cummings…

While you might not know it, some of today’s leading and most beloved British designers have had their big breakthrough moments through the British Fashion Council (BFC) NEWGEN. What is NEWGEN you ask? NEWGEN is a BFC initiative that supports fashion design talent, providing crucial financial support to showcase and produce their shows, as well as essential mentoring and business training. The scheme endeavours to provide guidance to the industry’s young visionaries, equipping them with all the skills to become the global high-end brands of the future. BFC’s success stories include high-profile names Richard Quinn, JW Anderson, Kim Jones and the incomparable Alexander McQueen. And now, three decades into this revolutionary work, the BFC have partnered with the Design Museum to shed light on the impact NEWGEN has had in…

What’s your first recollection of the iconic Billy Porter? Belting out Cyndi Lauper-penned tunes for a starring role in a Broadway musical about a plucky shoe factory that pivots to producing glittery stilettos for drag queens? Changing the face of TV forever as the inimitable Pray Tell, a father community figure and ballroom emcee in Ryan Murphy’s glittering drama Pose, which contrasted the harrowing realities of the HIV epidemic with the glamour and joy of NYC’s vogue scene? Perhaps it’s strutting down the streets of New York in tufts of custom, Christian rainbow-coloured tulle and making headlines for disregarding the tired rules of gendered dressing? Now, Porter wants to reintroduce himself as a recording artist. “I find myself on a re-education mission of who Billy Porter is,” the star says,…

My coming out experience will forever be etched into my memory. It was 2012 and I was 16, sitting at a friend’s house watching The Hills. Formspring (a platform where you could publicly answer anonymous questions asked privately) was all the rage, and my inbox was constantly full of people asking if I was gay. Instead of deleting them like I usually did, my fingers shook as I answered one with a simple ‘Yes :)’ before I went back to distracting myself with an argument between Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag. I was finally ready for the world to know that I was gay. I’d told my close friends beforehand, but I was ready for the years of whispers, questions and teasing around my sexuality at school to end, which…