From Madonna’s cone-shaped bra to those jock-ish, sailor’s torso Le Male fragrance bottles – a queer awakening for many young people since the 90s – there aren’t many gay icons who have shaped queer culture quite like Jean Paul Gaultier. Fitting, then, that the Parisian house should set the celebratory tone for the 51st London Pride weekend with a Pride warm up party in Soho last night, filled with the city’s ultra-stylish queer creatives du jour.
Hosting the night in the steamy basement of The Edition hotel by Tottenham Court Road — the air tinged with the floral, woody notes of the new limited edition JPG Pride fragrance — was beloved drag queen and Drag Race winner Violet Chachki, wearing a sheer, floral-printed JPG muscle dress cinched aggressively at the waist in her usual fashion. Taking to the DJ deck, she did a set alongside Chachá Sound System that played a mix featuring everything from Riri hits and 00s classics to the new sexy popstar anthem from The Idol. Camp! The latter was a fitting song choice too, given one of the revellers of the evening is a star of the HBO series, popstar and ultimate twink Troye Sivan.
Other attendees sipping on Ciroc Vodka and Casamigos Tequila cocktails included Vogue and System Magazine editor Tish Weinstock – adorned in a trompe l’oeil, doppler-effect naked dress from the house – alongside her husband, stylist Tom Guinness. Lottie Moss channelled Paris Hilton, dancing right by the DJ booth in an uber-cropped tee that referenced the famed socialite’s iconic club look of the 00s with the slogan “got blow?” while models Jordan Barrett and Enam Asiama partied away, the latter’s hair dripping in chains of pearls. A few of the i-D team could be spotted dancing to Ice Spice remixes too!
The rest of the crowd was made up of a bevy of drag artists and trans+ and queer identifying fashion insiders, all wearing jaw-droppingly chic outfits as Ballroom scene dancers duckwalked and vogued across the dancefloor. Ahead of a Pride weekend at a time when hard-fought LGBTQ+ rights are feeling increasingly less secure, this was a space where all invited were welcomed to turn up and turn out, express themselves freely and just have messy-boots fun with their community, celebrating queerness together.
Credits
Photography Jimi Herrtage