As support for the LGBTQ+ community has grown, the rainbow flag has entered the high fashion and retail spaces. Writer Lena Waithe showed up to the 2018 Met Gala red carpet draped in a rainbow flag cape. It was an especially pointed choice because the theme for that year’s Gala was Catholicism (via Harper’s Bazaar).
In 2018, Vogue UK featured a story about the abundance of rainbow patterns seen on the runway from designers like Burberry, Missoni, Dolce & Gabbana, Marco de Vincenzo, Versace, and Ashish. Hannah Craggs, editor of WGSN, pointed out that the bursts of color were likely inspired by the political and social climate of the world at the time. “When faced with a chaotic political and social landscape, escapism and play is the logical response. Nothing symbolises this better than the rainbow flag,” said Craggs.
The rainbow flag is making its way to retail, too. In 2022, Target launched collaborations with two queer-owned, female-founded brands — TomboyX and Humankind — to offer gender-affirming clothing lines that feature swimsuits and specialty undergarments like compression tops and packing briefs in rainbow-inspired prints. Customers are happy to see that LGBTQ+ youth can shop in-person at a big box store for clothing items that are sometimes difficult for them to access (via Bustle).
