He Said/We Said: Pride 2015 Edition

dapperQ is proud to present our annual Pride edition of He Said/We Said (HS/WS). For a quick refresher on the HS/WS series, check out creatress mastermind Anita Dolce Vita‘s plan behind the HS/WS magic:

“The models fashion their very own looks – I give the inspiration, they give the interpretation. They come to the shoot camera ready: hair, make-up, their own clothes, accessories and props. I didn’t want the series to reflect how to recreate menswear from an individual stylist’s point of view. It’s always a wonderful surprise to see what each model came up with and all of the different translations of the same inspiration.”

Learn more about HS/WS on the Huffington Post here.

When searching for “menswear” collections to serve as the inspiration for our Pride shoot, the dapperQ team was immediately drawn to the Paul & Joe Spring/Summer 2015 collection, which included an eclectic mix of motifs: a large intarsia pineapple, micro-printed cherries, illustrated monkeys, and painterly palm trees. The line received mixed reviews in the fashion world, with naysayers such as Style.com claiming that Paul & Joe’s doodle prints featuring “I need my croissant every day” and “Parisian cat” thought bubbles were “clichés” and “struck a pitch that may be lost on some men.” We, on the other hand, did not find the collection to be at all clichéd, but rather an example of a bright, creative, and carefree dress that is often reflective of queer style. Who needs a doodle print shirt that says “Parisian cat” when you can rock a full-on cat or Bert & Ernie print top with PRIDE and also manage to make it look stylish as hell? So, we ignored all the haters and included Paul & Joe in the short list of other potential collections to pitch to the photographer.

Ultimately, photographer Asher Torres along with Anita Dolce Vita, selected Paul & Joe to be the final inspiration for this year’s Pride edition. Here’s what Asher had to say about the experience as a HS/WS photographer:

“It was personal for me to find people with voices in our community that create change. Each of these models is a leader in their own right, through their art or their self-expression, and in turn, their unique perspectives shape and enrich our queer community. My inspiration for the shoot was “bringing it home” by highlighting Brooklyn textures. I felt the summer line that I chose well represented the personalities of my models.”

Each edition of HS/WS is cross-published on Autostraddle. For model bios and outfit descriptions, visit the original post here. In the meantime, enjoy some never before seen images from the shoot. Happy Pride!