To celebrate the beauty, diversity and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community, Saffronites dedicate this month to amplifying the LGBTQIA+ people and creativity that have given them hope to dream of a world free of stigma, or to live and let live as our authentic selves.

Honouring the beauty, diversity and resilience of the LGBTQIA+ community

Pride Month is a movement which began after the Stonewall riots in NYC in 1969 and honours LGBTQIA+ rights and culture. <a href="https://www.interpride.org/worldpride/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WorldPride</a> is a festival building on this legacy and promoting visibility and awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues on an international level. The first WorldPride was held in Rome in 2000 but it wasn’t until this year that it took place in the southern hemisphere. This February, Sydney hosted WorldPride under the theme ‘Gather, Dream, Amplify’. 
We’re excited to help carry this campaign north of the equator as Saffron gathers to celebrate Pride in London, Vienna and Madrid during the month of June. We dedicate this month to amplifying the LGBTQIA+ people and their creativity which inspire us to envision a world free of stigma and discrimination. We take pride in our contribution to this global initiative, elevating those who light the path toward a more diverse and inclusive future.

<a href="https://hazlitt.net/authors/alex-manley" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://ecwpress.com/products/the-new-masculinity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alex Manley, The New Masculinity: A Roadmap for a 21st-Century Definition of Manhood</a> 

‘Masculinity has historically been defined through negation – men don’t cry, men don’t have female friends, etc. As traditional understandings of masculinity are increasingly reconsidered, this work looks to try and define masculinity through the positive. This book is a refreshing and realistic roadmap for young people to look at their gender identity and determine what “being a man” really means for them.’ Chelito Martin, Associate Strategy Director

<a href="https://fashionmagazine.com/style/alok-vaid-menon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/Tq3C9R8HNUQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alok Vaid-Menon, ‘The Urgent Need for Compassion’, The Man Enough Podcast </a> 

‘It’s about embracing human complexity and allowing space for all of us, regardless of how we identify in the gender identity spectrum. Alok’s eloquence and historical knowledge truly shines in this conversation. I especially want to share this interview with men and invite all of us to think about compassion – for others, but most importantly, for ourselves.’ Mao Kawakami, Strategist/Business Development Coordinator

<a href="https://www.ariesmoross.com/Uniqlo-London-Event-2018" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.ariesmoross.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aries Moross, Founder &amp; Director of Studio Moross</a> 

‘The way Aries leads Studio Moross is so vibrant and full of joy. All their work speaks to the idea of living authentically without being constrained by gender and social norms, and the way that cascades to their graphic codes is refreshing.’ Diana Costa, Senior Digital Designer

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/clumsycas/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.casildamonjardin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Casilda Mojardin, 3D artist</a>

‘Igniting boundless creativity beyond conventional ideas and visual concepts, Mojardin pushes the boundaries of creative vision to new heights.’ Tania Pombo, Marketing Coordinator

<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/chappell-roan-casual-release-1234618237/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> Chapell Roan, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfSjnsYiY_A" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Casual’</a> &amp; <a href="https://youtu.be/oZ0w4bFD1Ec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘Red Wine Supernova’</a> 

‘Because it’s fun to be queer and not everything has to be about suffering.’
Chelito Martin, Associate Strategy Director

<a href="https://blog.es.playstation.com/2023/02/23/baldurs-gate-3-llega-a-ps5-el-31-de-agosto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gaider" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Gaider, Baldur’s Gate</a> 

‘Gaider lives as an openly gay man, though he rarely talks about that aspect of his life. In a piece he wrote in 2014 for Polygon, he responded to an anonymous fan question:
'I pondered just how I should answer this question, or whether I should at all. Talking about myself as a gay man, and how that relates to my work, isn’t something I tend to do. I think it raises the spectre of ‘the gay thing’ if I talk about it too much, as if it were the only thing with which I’m concerned. […] To the person who sent this question: thank you for letting me know how affecting it was for you to have a game where you could be yourself. We make roleplaying games, which means that the character you play doesn’t have to be yourself, but I believe there’s an element where having a game acknowledge that you exist can be validating in a way most people never consider — no doubt because they have no need for validation, and thus no knowledge as to what the lack of it can do to someone.' Ben Knapp, Executive Director of Strategy, Marketing and Corporate Development

MAGE SOURCE <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-hockney-is-our-english-picasso-william-boyd-meets-the-artist-njfd503pf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a> | <a href="https://www.esquire.com/es/moda-hombre/g12024782/freddie-mercury-historia-musica-moda/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2</a> | <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eddie-izzard-new-name-suzy-can-choose-2023-kvcjc56fc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3</a> <a href="https://www.hockney.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Hockney</a>, <a href="http://www.freddiemercury.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Freddy Mercury</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Izzard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Suzy Izzard</a> 

‘I particularly appreciate the so-what-ness/normality surrounding David Hockney and for me he is a brilliant artist whose sexuality is of no consequence. In the fight against AIDs, I think Freddy Mercury did more to make having the disease more “normal” and acceptable. Having met Suzy Izzard many years ago when she was a trans performer I viewed her as brave for dressing so evocatively on stage.’ Ian Roberts, IT Manager

<a href="https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/untitled-loverboy-felix-gonzalez-torres-mies-van-der-rohe-pavilion" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.felixgonzalez-torresfoundation.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Felix Gonzalez-Torres, artist</a> 

‘Gonzalez-Torres’ references to queer poets like Langston Hughes incite a passionate exploration of self identity. How work symbolises a journey of personal discovery, evoking emotions of love, beauty, fear, and revenge. He’s an inspiration for Latin minorities to speak up. He was a visionary LGBTQIA+ artist exploring the themes of love and loss with profound impact. His art leaves a lasting impression, guiding us to be more compassionate.’' Julián Valenzuela, Strategist

<a href="https://www.gq.com/story/frank-ocean-is-peerless" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://soundcloud.com/everything-frank-ocean/sets/nostalgia-ultra" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frank Ocean, nostalgia, ULTRA</a> 

‘Ocean creates freely which to me, in essence, is what creativity should be – FREE. He demonstrates that expectations, boxes, and labels do not define anything. He changed the landscape for a generation of LGBTQIA+ people struggling with their own sexual identities with his coming out letter in 2012.’ Africa Lopez, Marketing Designer

<a href="https://mubi.com/films/gods-and-monsters" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120684/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters (1998)</a> 

‘I was born in the year that being gay was decriminalised in the UK, so I grew up in a world that was working out how to be permissive. Despite the sneers and locker room jokes (and too often the violence) I knew we were becoming a more forgiving, more loving society. The age of consent opened the closet door and out came the Queens, the Muscle Marys, the Risqué Comedians. But there still wasn’t a place for people like me, people who didn’t feel a need to pick a lane. People who ‘like the wine, not the label’. It wasn’t until Ian McKellan came out that I realised I had swapped one stereotype (the repressed homosexual) for another (the Fabulous Friends of Dorothy). The film Gods and Monsters, made by McKellen a decade later, was one of the first mainstream changes in how LGB people were portrayed. Less villainous or stupid, more complex and rounded. The final scene where the “monster” walks the streets is full of the wit and acceptance that I wish for this world. It shows how liberation is a journey not a destination. Each age has its own conquests, and we do well to look back on our progress to be able to appreciate what we have.’ Morgan Holt, Chief Strategy Officer

<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/ian-mckellen-best-moments-acting-activism-a4235366.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McKellen" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ian McKellen, actor</a>

‘I think he’s very brave and strong.’ Julen Díez, Motion Designer

<a href="https://jeffreymarsh.tumblr.com/page/2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="http://jeffreymarsh.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jeffrey Marsh, artist &amp; activist</a>

‘He opened my eyes.’ Sara Orte, Senior Interior Designer

<a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/jose-munoz-then-and-there-nyongo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479874569/cruising-utopia-10th-anniversary-edition/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">José Esteban Muñoz, Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity</a>

‘Muñoz’s theory of queer futurity builds on the creativity of artists and writers like Frank O’Hara, and has helped me appreciate the activism of those whose own bodies of work carry others forward. Queer futurity is not afraid of ephemerality. It says yes to irreverent joy as a mode of activism. It invites us to question our place in time, to dream collectively and ecstatically.
“The here and now is a prison house. We must strive, in the face of the here and now’s totalising rendering of reality, to think and feel a then and there. Some will say that all we have are the pleasures of this moment, but we must never settle for that minimal transport; we must dream and enact new and better pleasures, other ways of being in the world, and ultimately new worlds.” Liz Moe, Marketing Director

<a href="https://wgs1001shaw20.commons.gc.cuny.edu/presentation-jose-esteban-munoz/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE </a><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/600633/on-earth-were-briefly-gorgeous-by-ocean-vuong/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous</a> 


‘The book is a monument to accepting one’s sexuality in the face of harshness and social pressures at odds with one’s truth. It’s a book everyone should read regardless of whether you’re part of the LGBTQIA+ community or not. It inspires beauty, empathy, and hope for a more compassionate world.’ Laura De Remedios, Strategy Intern

<a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/7x5vx4/pedro-almodovar-on-the-personal-tragedies-that-inform-his-new-film-pain-and-glory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Almod%C3%B3var" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pedro Almodóvar, filmmaker</a> 


‘Almodóvar’s contributions to the LGBTQIA+ community and his dedication to breaking societal norms have encouraged me to dream bigger and embrace the beauty of individuality. His influence is significant, reminding me that through art and self-expression, we can create a world where acceptance and diversity thrive. He’s shattered societal norms and challenged traditional narratives, paving the way for a greater acceptance of diverse identities and experiences. Almodóvar’s given a voice to marginalised communities and shed light on the complexities of queer lives. His works celebrate the beauty of human expression and breaking free from conventions, inviting us to embrace our authentic selves. Each film is a testament to his ability to delve deep into the human condition, capturing the essence of love and resilience.’ Julián Valenzuela, Strategist

<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/555b8fb9e4b013d27c81ea8e/t/564e0503e4b00657ebb97242/1447953667452/2013_Hand_Out_72x108%2522.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/ryan-mcginleys-fireworks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryan McGinley, Fireworks series</a> 


‘I love how McGinley creates a photo that transcends and seduces the viewer to attach them to the cause. All his projects are approached with an open heart and a rebellious spirit, overflowing with energy and enthusiasm. One of his main subjects is the exploration of the beauty of breaking the boundaries of nudity. As he says: 
“The human body is beautiful. It was created by Mother Earth, our goddess. But posing nude is still an act of rebellion. Even Michelangelo had trouble with nudity. Many people thought his fresco was outrageous, more suitable for a public bath or a tavern than a Catholic chapel.” Alicia Blázquez, Senior Digital Designer

<a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/jacquemus-l-amour-spring-summer-2021-show-wheat-fields" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/jacquemus-l-amour-spring-summer-2021-show-wheat-fields" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simon Porte Jacquemus, L’amour (2021)</a> 


‘The setting of this show is one of the most dreamlike runways I’ve ever seen, really creative. Jacquemus works hard and does what he’s most passionate about.' Patricio Losada, Junior Designer

<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@harpersbazaarsg/video/7218855225241750785" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://fizzymag.com/articles/jacquemus-handbags-hit-the-road%20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simon Porte Jacquemus, ‘Le Bambino’ Bag Bus (2023)</a> 


‘Jacquemus’s creativity and savvy storytelling inspires me. He always finds a fun way of showcasing his designs, whether it’s a locker room simulation in London or a giant bag cruising through the streets of Paris “charading” as a bus. I think it’s cool how he creates a multi-sensory experience every time he wants to launch a new item. He engages all the senses of his audience, and whenever there’s a new pop-up, it always goes viral. Jacquemus is always thinking about how to make his brand memorable, especially in the saturated French luxury fashion scene, and he never misses.’ Yara Jaber, Client Manager

<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/storme-delarverie-early-leader-in-the-gay-rights-movement-dies-at-93.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm%C3%A9_DeLarverie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stormé DeLarverie, performer &amp; activist</a> 


‘DeLarverie’s recognised as one of the protagonists of the Stonewall protests and a champion of the modern gay rights movement. By simply being herself, she interrogated the concepts of identity and perception and created space for those who’ve come after. Her story symbolises the power of personal agency in determining and expressing our “true” selves and using it to make the world a better, more inclusive place.’ Rebecca Scott, Marketing Intern

<a href="https://atmos.earth/sphere/willow-defebaugh/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://atmos.earth/sphere/willow-defebaugh/#:~:text=Willow%20Defebaugh%20is%20the%20Cofounder,the%20lens%20of%20deep%20ecology." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Willow Defebaugh, writer</a> 


‘Every piece of content Defebaugh shares is beautiful, well curated, and backed by scientific evidence. Personally, I find her commitment and sensitivity to nature and life very inspiring and insightful. I follow Atmos and her content every day. There’s no one (as far as I know) that speaks about and promotes issues in climate and culture the way that she does. I think it’s important as well that, as in other industries, creatives enhance these topics through the different disciplines such as photography, art, design, etc.’ David Huertas, Senior Designer

<a href="https://museeyslparis.com/en/biography/premier-smoking" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IMAGE SOURCE</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Saint_Laurent_(designer)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, fashion designer</a> 


‘Saint-Laurent empowered individual style with gender-blurring designs. Created in 1966, the Le Smoking tuxedo for women was the first of its kind. It wasn’t an exact copy of the men’s tuxedo; he used the same codes but adapted it to the female body.’ Pilar Pavía, Head of People &amp; Culture

OUR COVER IMAGE WAS CREATED BY SAFFRON DESIGNER LUDOVICO CESSETI ALONG WITH <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/thinking/meet-saffi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SAFFI</a>.

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