GAYLETTER

Nicola Formichetti (pictured) considers himself a Tom of Finland collector. He owns a gigantic Tom of Finland portrait rug that hangs ever so gracefully over his living room, along with several of the artist’s books, clothing and even kitschy coffee mugs. When Formichetti visited the Tom of Finland Foundation House in Echo Park just last year, he “wanted to bring together the world of Nicopanda and Tom of Finland,” seeing it as that both brands function within strict stylistics choices: Nicopanda finds success in the manipulated geometry of fashion and graphic design, where Tom of Finland’s characters have always supported each other’s beefy-builds with classic representational forms.

Featuring sexy phrases like “Come to Daddy” and “City boy,” the collection pays homage to the gregarious nature of gay culture what seem to be less than friendly times.

We love Tom of Finland (perhaps just as much as Formichetti) and wanted to hear more from Formichetti about his thoughts on creating the collection. Have a read below.

ToF has been around for decades, so why create the collection now? I visited the Tom of Finland Foundation in LA last year and felt there was mutual love and admiration, so I wanted to bring together the world of Nicopanda and Tom of Finland thru this collaboration.

Where do fashion and sex meet? Its almost the same thing to me, sex sells. Why cant “gay sex” sell too? It’s time!

Can you tell us about the first time you encountered Tom of Finland?  …

Sean Ford, CockyBoys newest exclusive model, thinks “entering porn is entering politics.” While that may sound unbelievable to some, Sean’s idea captures the progress made by our LGBTQ forebears. Without their fighting at the Supreme Court and rallying year after year on the streets all across the country, Sean probably would have grown up in fear like so many other queer youth who are still afraid, ostracized, lonely and uncertain in regards to their inherent sexuality.

We took Sean’s super cute, super proud self to be photographed by Gerardo Vizmanos (who photographed one of our past covers — He sure knows a thing or two about butts) to celebrate Pride Month with messages of strength and support. Sean was very comfortable with being nude on set, and we found that very refreshing. (It was much appreciated, Sean!) It also made him super easy to work with. Considering how pleased we were, we’re going to release some of those beautiful nudes in our next printed issue (GAYLETTER Issue 7 coming soon). You’re welcome!

Being proud doesn’t come easy to everyone, but the statements written on caps and t-shirts encourage us to remember those who we are fighting for this month: our trans, bi, two-spirited siblings, the queer youth and each other.

We are here and we are queer. Be proud for one another.

Sean wears a t-shirt by Tom of Finland Foundation x Lockwood51, briefs by Undie Bandit.

Enjoy Cock Muscle shirt by Lockwood51, jeans by Rufskin. …

Everyone loves pride. High schoolers fresh out of the closet, tourists, dogs, straight girls, and apparently McDonald’s does too. That’s all very well, but in the heat of commodifying the rainbow and trying to have a G.B.F, it seems that somewhere along the front lines, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera’s march for LGBTQ+ acceptance has gotten lost, and now our designated month to celebrate who we are is just an excuse for corporate America to pat us marginalized folk on the back while accepting our money.

We get it. Its unavoidable. In Trump’s America, pride month is no longer recognized. In fact, while Ivanka is showing us “support” on Twitter, the White House, for the first time in eight years, has proclaimed June as “Great Outdoors Month.” I’ll tell you what we should do with Great Outdoors Month: take all of our queer asses down to the parks, the streets, the piers, where our previous community thrived and died, and fuck each other like rabbits. Clearly, some people want us out from under their roofs, and you know what? That’s fine. Just be one with nature the best way you know how – with your hand firmly placed on your crotch… or someone else’s!

But we digress… for all of the right reasons. It is so easy to get mad in 2017. For 30 days though, let’s use that anger and channel it into unapologetic celebration. Corporate America may want our money, but honey, at least they are putting queer people in the campaigns! …

In T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland,” the poet states “April is the cruelest month.” Why, exactly, is open to interpretation, but because springtime is the most transitory moment in the calendar year, April, with all of its wetness and rebirth, can seem relentless rather than fruitful. Alejandro Gómez Palomo understands this. His Spring / Summer 2017 collection for Palomo Spain, “Boy Walks In Exotic Forest,” was full of gorgeous draping and menswear that had severe movement. His large hats and playful textiles seemed to alert the fashion world to a major switch. Palomo seemed to understand that come spring, the world would be ready to change.

We were.

In September, Palomo Spain presented “Objecto Sexual” to an intimate crowd of New York editors and party-goers, much to the delight of everyone at the Cadillac House. The collection was high-romantic, with embellished blazers that glistened as his models sauntered down the runway wearing Converse. It seemed that with each look, the collection was breathing: some looks were as necessary as an inhale, others were as relieving as a sigh. His models were done up like dolls — glossy cheeks, wet hair, and all boyish looking in Palomo’s clothing. But besides the couture finishes on nearly all of the looks, “Objecto Sexual” seemed to perpetuate an essence that was deliberately and unapologetically foppish.

The brand’s most recent AW17 campaign takes this idea and confirms what everyone already knew: Palomo is not playing. Featuring what Palomo calls “Four Profiles” of his dandy-man, the campaign reminds us yet again that springtime is the cruelest; we have spent the winter in layers and are dying to blossom. …

When you have a budget like Harper’s Bazaar, you can really carry. The legendary glossy is giving New York what editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey is calling “the world’s greatest fashion show” by projecting some of their favorite covers – from Audrey Hepburn to Gwyneth Paltrow – on the north facade of the Empire State Building. If GAYLETTER had two million dollars, trust we’d plan the same, but this is inspiring, nevertheless. Running from 8:30pm-midnight, the 500 foot tall, 186 foot wide projections will grace 42 floors of the midtown skyline.

Last week I turned 22 (#youth) and Abi & Tom gifted me Harper’s Bazaar: 150 Years: The Greatest Moments. I was thrilled. They know I want nothing more than endless amounts of things to read and clothes to clock. So, once we were done questioning what the fuck had just happened on Ru, we got to flipping through the pages. As America’s first fashion magazine, they’ve worked with literally every name; Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn.

Bazaar has been crafting some of the best fashion imagery with the industry’s top contenders since 1867, and yet my favorites are the illustrated covers from the late 19th century. They’re as timeless as they are chic — just like a magazine should be.

Photography by Terry Richardson. Gwyneth Paltrow, March 2012 Harper’s Bazaar.

Illustration by Erté. November 1920 Harper’s Bazaar.

Photography by Alexi Lubormirski. Reese Witherspoon, February 2016 Harper’s Bazaar. …

It’s no secret that we love Marc Jacobs — the man, the brand, and the carry that Marc brings to the world (check out his Instagram) — Check out some of some of the epic images from GAYLETTER Issue 5 photographed by Terry Richardson, here and here. Also, remember “It’s yours to try”? For this very reason, I was thrilled to find out from a very close friend that there’s a massive, goldmine of a sale taking place this week in NYC (Soho). Some of the categories included are Marc by Marc Jacobs men’s + women’s ready-to-wear and accessories (for those of you looking for a cute, contemporary throwback), and (I’m the most excited about this next part) women’s collection RTW and accessories (runway…yas hunty). It’s 2017 — if you can’t clock a women’s show and find at least five items you’d wear yourself, the sartorial part of your brain needs an update, and Marc can give it to you!

You’ll also come across some Little Marc product and tons of special items on the cheapizi — cashmere socks, underwear, belts, umbrellas, graphic tees, scarves, and more. Prices are up to 90% off retail, so run, don’t walk — we all know the next best thing to a dick reset may very well be a fashion reset. Happy shopping and a la inti!

Click here for more info. …