The coronavirus pandemic can’t take away New York City’s pride.
A Supreme Court ruling issued Monday protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from discrimination in employment. There’s no parade, and the Stonewall Inn may be shut, but on June 28, a virtual celebration helmed by “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy and singer Janelle Monáe is bound to add a spark to the spirit.
There are other ways to support the city’s LGBTQ community: Dress to impress with colorful, fashionable items — proceeds from these purchases go to fund efforts by nonprofits in New York and beyond.
Sweatpants to dye for
Baja East’s 2020 Pride collection features four limited-edition tie-dye styles, all handcrafted by the brand’s creative director Scott Studenberg. From the collection’s T-shirt, two sweatshirts and sweatpants, 20% of proceeds will be donated to the Born This Way Foundation, founded by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, in 2012 to empower young people and fight stigmas surrounding mental-health challenges.
Light the way
Boy Smells is a candles and intimate apparel company founded in 2016 by real-life partners Matthew Herman and David Kien with a mission to disarm binary ideas about gender. Its limited-edition Pride collection features a bundling of six of the brand’s most popular candles, with all purchases contributing to a minimum $26,500 gift to The Trevor Project, the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people.
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Sole survivor
This year marks the fifth year Converse has celebrated Pride, and the collection is as vibrant as ever. The brand has donated more than $1 million to local and global LGBTQ organizations, including the It Gets Better Project, a longstanding partner. For 2020, the sneaker brand has also pledged to fund the Ali Forney Center, the Boston Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Youth (BAGLY) and Out MetroWest.
Rainbow connection
Founded by identical twins Courtney and Chris Rhodes, FLAVNT (pronounced “flaunt”) Streetwear is an independent label pledged to support the LGBTQ community. The Austin, Texas-based brand’s Pride collection includes a stand-out Riot Pride T-shirt. It references the Stonewall riots of 1969, when the police raided Greenwich Village’s Stonewall Inn and catalyzed the fight for equal rights. Fifteen percent of profits will be donated to the Marsha P. Johnson Institute and the LGBTQ Freedom Fund.
Watch this space
Fossil’s classic timepiece has been updated with a rainbow, ombre bezel. Proceeds from the brand’s second annual Pride watch will benefit two LGBTQ youth service organizations: 25% of North American sales are pledged to the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) and 25% of global sales to the It Gets Better Project.
Coat tales
Levi’s Pride 2020 collection offers products from fanny packs to striped socks, with 100% of net proceeds going towards OutRight Action International — an organization that has worked to advance LGBTQ rights around the world for the last three decades. This trucker jacket is tie-dyed in the colors of the Transgender Pride Flag and its back is embroidered with the exhortation “Use Your Voice!”
The sweetest thing
Taste the rainbow with these CBD-infused gumdrops flavored with melon, pineapple and raspberry. Fifty percent of the profits from each box will be go to LA Pride to support its new project, PLATform, a training program to educate the transgender and non-binary communities on how to engage in activism and policy reform, with donations specifically supporting people of color within the community.
Heel thyself
Offered in an extended gender-fluid size range (from 35 to 44), Ruthie Davis’ “Love” pump makes a point. Twenty percent of sales will go to New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.
Great feet
In May, Teva pledged $20,000 to the It Gets Better Project, an organization that uplifts and supports LGBTQ community members by connecting them. The sandal giant also released a Rainbow Pride Pack, a trio of all-gender styles adorned with multicolored straps.
It’s in the bag
Non-binary brand the Phluid Project, known for its tees, hoodies and fragrances, has collaborated with labels including Fila, Champion and streetwear company Nicopanda. Its Pride 2020 collection ranges from face masks to ringer tees, with 20% of all sales being donated to “our community,” says TPP founder Rob Smith. So far nonprofits benefitting from sales include The Trevor Project and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.
Fly the flag
New York-based menswear designer Todd Snyder unveils his latest collection, The Art of Pride, on June 23. He tapped 10 leading LGBTQ artists to create original artwork for a limited-edition series of sweatshirts and tees, and 25% of the proceeds will go to charities of the artists’ choosing, including Visual AIDS, Out Youth and the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC).
The right stripes
Versace’s Pride 2020 capsule collection has swimwear, leggings and socks that are stylishly black with rainbow accents. To mark the passage of one year since Donatella Versace was named a Stonewall Ambassador, a portion of sales of the athleisure-infused items will go toward GLAAD event Pride Live.
Seeing things
Peer at the world through rainbow-colored glasses: This pair is part of the eyewear brand Zenni’s Pride initiative, for which 100% of proceeds from the collection purchased in June (up to $30,000) will go to the It Gets Better Project.
Soft focus
Ugg released its signature fluffy slides in three colorways with a new checkered detail to celebrate Pride. The company also donated $125,000 to GLAAD, a nonprofit that champions LGBTQ equality.
