5 fashion collections that celebrate Pride Month and the LGBT community, from Tom Daley sweater NFT to Cher T-shirt with Versace

Pride Month began as a commemoration of the Stonewall riots in June 1969. On June 28, 1969, a police raid at the Stonewall Inn – a popular gay bay in New York’s Greenwich Village – sparked a series of confrontations between officers and protesters that stretched over six days. A year later, marches took place to mark the anniversary of the protests and the event has since turned into a month-long celebration of the LGBT community. The fashion industry, for one, has long been an ally of the community. Every year, numerous fashion brands come up with collections to celebrate Pride Month. We cast an eye over five rainbow-themed collections (the rainbow flag is a symbol of LGBT pride) that will have you strutting your stuff this year. Michael Kors American fashion label Michael Kors has reimagined its signature logo in an array of rainbow colours, injecting vibrancy and LGBT pride into its casual apparel and footwear. Its 16-piece capsule collection includes men’s, women’s and gender-neutral pieces, ensuring that there’s something for everyone. Accessories include a rainbow-faced watch, a backpack with an embossed rainbow logo and two special-edition pieces: a canvas tote bag and a wristlet (a tiny wallet that can hang off your wrist). Notably, for the month of June in the US and from June to August in Europe, Michael Kors will be donating profits from the tote bag and wristlet to OutRight Action International, a global human rights organisation focused on defending and advancing LGBT rights. Ami and Tom Daley French brand Ami is collaborating with Olympic gold medallist Tom Daley for this year’s Pride Month. The British diver – famously caught knitting poolside at the Tokyo Olympics – is offering up two hand-knitted rainbow-striped jumpers to be sold this month – one via online auction and the other as an NFT. The former is an alpaca and merino wool blend Ami de Coeur jumper, to be auctioned off on Drouot.com between June 4 and 14. The latter is a cropped cable jumper, based on a cable-knit from Ami’s autumn 2022 collection, and will be sold as 500 NFTs via digital marketplace Silver Room on June 18. While all 500 packages will include an exclusive Ami T-shirt, a 3D version of the jumper and more, some lucky buyers might also score a Tom Daley knit kit, an invitation to Ami’s spring-summer fashion show or – best of all – the actual jumper knitted by Daley himself. All proceeds will be going to the Kaleidoscope Trust, a UK charity working to uphold the rights of LGBT people across the Commonwealth. Versace and Cher Designer Donatella Versace is also bringing us a Pride Month collaboration with celebrity power, with none other than legendary singer Cher. Together, they have created a capsule collection called Chersace, and the limited edition line includes a T-shirt, hat and socks with the rainbow Chersace logo. A portion of all sale proceeds will go to Gender Spectrum, a charity chosen by Versace and Cher which offers support to members of the LGBT community, especially young people. Diesel and Tom of Finland Italian retail company Diesel has partnered with the Tom of Finland Foundation for its Pride collection, which features prints and motifs from the foundation’s LGBT and erotic art collection. Works from seven artists are depicted in the ready-to-wear collection, including a hoodie with a photograph by German photographer Florian Hetz and a T-shirt showing a collage by New York-based artist Silvia Prada. The other artists are Palanca, Peter Berlin, Michael Kirwan, Tank (Paul Tankersley) and Heather Benjamin, with their works shown on tank tops, trousers, shorts, shirts and more. Genderless denim pieces, intimates and bags round out the Diesel collection. Yoox and MySecretCase Italian online retailer Yoox (part of the Net-a-Porter Group) has teamed up with sex toy brand MySecretCase to create a T-shirt that honours LGBT pride and celebrates sexual freedom. The shirt, with a slogan that reads “The world has bigger problems than people liking, kissing, touching, loving, f*****g, marrying people”, underscores how people should all be able to express themselves and love who they want without inhibitions and regardless of gender identity. Content creators Muriel De Gennaro and Ethan Caspani, both outspoken members of the LGBT community, star in the campaign.