Billy Porter has called out editors at U.S. Vogue over Harry Styles’s historic cover image.
The former One Direction singer sported a white lace dress and black tuxedo jacket from Gucci for the cover photoshoot for the December 2020 issue of the fashion publication, with Styles becoming the first man to land a solo cover.
View this post on Instagram
However, in a new interview with The Sunday Times, Porter revealed that he was upset with the way in which Styles and Vogue editors were praised for tackling the subject of gender norms, as he was the one who “changed the whole game”.
“I. Personally. Changed. The. Whole. Game. And that is not ego, that is just fact. I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it,” the 52-year-old commented.
“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to. I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why.
“I created the conversation [about non-binary fashion] and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time.”
Porter has worn dresses to numerous red carpet events, including the velvet tuxedo jacket and ballgown from Christian Siriano that he famously selected for the Academy Awards in 2019.
View this post on Instagram
Further on in the conversation, Porter insisted he wasn’t “dragging” Styles, but was disappointed that editors hadn’t considered using someone else to “represent” the “new conversation”.
“He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do,” he continued.
“This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned now. All he has to do is be white and straight.”
Representatives at U.S. Vogue have not yet responded to Porter’s comments.
Cover Media
