Jaleesa M. Jones

USA TODAY



Valentijn de Hingh has long used fashion to get her story across. But recently, the transgender model used her celebrity to amplify the stories of others in the LGBT community.

As part of the opening walk for Amsterdam’s annual EuroPride Parade, de Hingh — the parade’s first trans ambassador — modeled a patchwork gown made of flags from 72 countries where homosexuality is still outlawed, effectively transforming the celebration into a moment of protest.

The statement-cum-call-to-action was fashioned by designer Mattijs van Bergen and artist Oeri van Woezik in partnership with the COC Nederland, an Amsterdam-based LGBT advocacy organization dedicated to global LGBT equality as well as the decriminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In an Instagram post, de Hingh explained that the dress was still a work in the progress and that the collaborators hoped to replace individual flags with rainbow flags as legislation evolved.

For now, Dutch photographer and director Pieter Henket was present to capture the original tribute, which he shot in front of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.