The Best LGBTQ Owned Brands to Support Now and Always
Against a backdrop of rainbows, swirling across the globe, we’re taking a moment to highlight some of the standout LGBTQ labels deserving of your support this Pride Month. From runway favorites, like Christopher John Rogers, to emerging beauty disruptors, like Ghost Democracy, our celebratory edit is brimming with wardrobe must-haves and beauty staples you’ll wish you’d discovered sooner.
If money talks, then the LGBTQ business community is speaking America's language: the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce recently announced that 1.4 million business owners identifying as LGBTQ contribute over a trillion dollars to the US economy—and other respected brands are taking note. Adidas recently released the Let Love Be Your Legacy collaboration with South African designer Rich Mnisi. While the Levi's Pride collection is currently available online featuring a cast of six inspiring LGBTQ individuals from across the globe. Need more reasons to support their talents? Check out our edit of covetable luxuries below.
A riot of color, volume, and silhouette defines every collection by this breakthrough designer who has the fashion world craning their necks to see what he’ll deliver next. His idiosyncratic take on modern, practical glamor has earned him a slew of high-profile fans, including Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Tracee Ellis Ross, alongside prestigious awards from CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year to the LVMH Prize.
This forward-leaning, LGBTQ fashion label, based in NYC and founded by Siying Qu and Haoran Li, covers everything from club wear to genderless dressing. Check out their built-in skirt trousers and figure-hugging dresses cut from sensual fabrics, like satin, velvet, and silk wools, and you'll understand why the style set can’t get enough.
This people-focused clean skincare brand cuts out the middleman and delivers directly to consumers, who love its high-performance products that contain no sulfates, parabens, silicones, essential oils, fragrances, drying alcohols, or formaldehyde. They even steer clear of phthalates, synthetic dyes, PEG compounds, MEA / DEA / TEA, or EDTA. So even if, like us, you don’t recognize all these ingredients, you know it is better for your skin.
This former denim brand turned luxe read-to-wear label was started by Los Angeles-born designer James Flemons as he searched for designs that helped him feel safe and included. Now he seeks to extend that experience by creating high-end genderless collections for real-life communities with a 'slow fashion' approach.
This Los Angeles-born fragrance company, started by co-founders and partners Matthew Herman and David Kien, intends to reach beyond the gender binary with aromatic candles, room sprays, fragrances, and intimate apparel. Imaginative names like ‘Woodphoria’ and ‘Suede Pony’ help reel you in, while playing into the idea of turning daily routines into luxurious rituals.
Founded in 2009 by twin designers and DJs Corianna and Brianna Dotson, this striking eyewear label creates instant hits that will make you look twice. The siblings, who started out by adorning oversized frames and safety goggles with embellished studs, have since become a go-to for a chic, all-encompassing eyewear closet—and a sandal collaboration with Teva.
Founded by Gloria Noto, this multi-use, gender-inclusive, clean cosmetic line is packed with high-performing ingredients that claim to improve your skin with regular use. Whether you’re looking for natural color enhancement or classic rouge lips, their cruelty-free stains and sticks will not disappoint.
Blackwood’s namesake label went viral in 2020 with a mini tote stamped with the words, End Systemic Racism. Two years later, he was nominated for a CFDA Award for American Accessory Designer of the Year, and today his line has expanded to include shoes and outerwear, too.
This queer-owned independent skincare line, created by Nina Zilka and David Krause, offers simple, vegan skin and hair products developed to help you feel your best—and encased in chic minimal packaging to striking effect.
Liberian-American designer Telfar Clemens is behind the notorious Bushwick Birkin; a vegan leather tote carried by Beyoncé, Selena Gomez, and Bella Hadid. Hailing from Queens, he is also known for innovative, genderless streetwear that offers an accessible and affordable take on cool.
Started by Fran Dunaway and her wife Naomi Gonzalez, this Seattle-based underwear brand creates well-fitting garments shaped for regular people, regardless of size or gender. Think masculine-style boxers and trunks reconfigured for women's bodies with sports bras and bralettes to match.
While the products above all speak for themselves, the intent behind supporting them is rooted in more than just gaining the best in luxury products. With a history of struggle, which is only now starting to subside, putting our spending power behind these LGBTQ labels is the easiest way to take action and show our support. A little backstory for those who don't yet know: The first Pride March in New York City happened on June 28, 1970, a year after the Stonewall Uprising. In the 53 years following, the LGBTQ community has routinely come together to form a movement that promotes acceptance. More recently, brands and retailers have shown their support by changing logos and promoting rainbow-hued products throughout June. And while this edit showcases some more recent LGBTQ talents in the fashion and beauty space, the global list is ever-growing. To that end, we encourage you to thoughtfully use your time and dollars to discover, embrace and support all marginalized communities this month and beyond.
