Billy Porter’s Jampacked Trip to London

That’s a philosophy Porter has certainly taken to heart during his trip to London: He and his stylist, Sammy Ratelle, planned no less than 20 outfit changes over the course of his four-day stay. (An entire room in the suite has been reserved just for Porter’s wardrobe alone.) On Sunday, he changes into a purple opera coat by the demi-couture brand La Doyenne, accessorized with magenta gloves and a hot pink hat, to speak on a panel — and then throws on a sparkly Ashish number to sit in the front row of that designer’s show. Sometime around 8 p.m., he returns to his hotel suite with his husband, Adam Smith, to get ready for the evening’s event — a party at the Royal Opera House feting a capsule collection designed by Gareth Pugh for Richard Branson’s cruise-ship venture, Virgin Voyages. After selecting a daring, skintight black dress slashed to the thigh by the young New York-based brand Mannequin Concepts, which he pairs with a black hat and chunky platform shoes, he struts in front of the mirror declaring, “I feel slinky, I feel sexy, I feel like Naomi Campbell!”

As he attends fashion shows over the next two days, Porter draws a crowd wherever he goes, whether talking with the designer Erdem Moralioglu backstage at his show, posing with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alumnae Miss Fame and Aquaria or getting advice from Anna Wintour while sitting in the front row at JW Anderson. The significance of an out-and-proud black man so openly embraced by the fashion community is not lost on him. “Growing up, I had no idea I was meant to see myself reflected back at me,” he says. “It was always white people who did everything, and I wanted to be like them. It was only seeing people like André Leon Talley or Iman or Beverly Johnson that you realize you weren’t even in the conversation before that person got in.”

For Porter, dressing up remains the ultimate means of self-expression. “I’ve always embraced the masculine and feminine in my regular life, but for a large portion of my career, I was told you can’t be that gay, you have to be a more masculine person, otherwise you are dismissed, canceled,” he says. “So to be accepted now, and to be able to vibrate in the high fashion world, is a dream come true. I treat it with grace, with joy and honor. It’s special.”

Source: The New York Times

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Keywords:

Billy Porter (entertainer) • London • London • Opera coat • Haute couture • Magenta • Glove • Adam Smith • Royal Opera House • Gareth Pugh • Richard Branson • Cruise ship • Virgin Voyages • Model (person) • Platform shoe • Naomi Campbell • Erdem Moralıoğlu • RuPaul's Drag Race • Miss Fame • Aquarium • Anna Wintour • White people • André Leon Talley • Iman (model) • Beverly Johnson • Gay •