Founder and editor-in-chief Rain Laurent tells us more

Text Emma Hope Allwood

“In terms of magazines, and in terms of the established fashion world, there’s no place for lesbians, in a way,” says Rain Laurent, the editor-in-chief of new Paris-based fashion mag DYKE_ON. “We’re quite invisible.” She’s right – despite fashion being one of the most female-centric industries in the world, many people with even a passing interest would be able to tally up scores of high profile gay men working in it faster than they could think of even a handful of lesbians. Of course, that’s not to say queer women don’t work in every facet of fashion – you just might not have realised it. Part of that is probably to do with a pervasive, backward, and flat-out untrue idea that, somehow, lesbians just cannot dress themselves – despite fashion’s love of sexy gal pal editorials (hi Guy Bourdin, hi Helmut Newton) the idea that being a fashionable gay woman is an oxymoron remains. Counteracting that, and providing a host of wlw style inspiration, DYKE_ON actually began as an Instagram account dedicated to those Laurent deemed dyke icons. Orientation wasn’t relevant – think Sigourney Weaver in a white vest top with an open bow tie, Susan Sontag in relaxed tailoring, Isabella Rossellini in a power-shouldered blazer, Marlene Dietrich looking like a 1930s gangster. The praise Laurent received from followers encouraged her to take DYKE_ON to the next step, transforming it into a fully fledged magazine. Spanning fashion editorials, art, literature and more, this first issue contains a photographic portfolio by Rebekah Campbell, art by Katerina Jebb and Macarthur Genius Grant recipient Nicole Eisenman, and a personal essay by Julie Chance. There is also merch – like logo tees and scarves bearing phrases like “dyke is the warmest colour” and “make dykes great again”. At its heart, DYKE_ON is about capturing a way of looking at women that’s totally removed from the male gaze which dominates conventional fashion photography, and providing content that will resonate with its intended audience and others too. As for the title, using such a strong word (although not necessarily one people in Paris will understand) is an intentional act of reclamation. “Even though the word ‘dyke’ is quite offensive, when mixed with ‘on’ it can be ambiguous,” Laurent says. “Between me and my friends we wouldn’t take that as an insult. We’re reclaiming it completely.”

Photography Rain Laurent

Why did you start DYKE_ON? Rain Laurent: I work in fashion, and being gay myself, I never see women or girls portrayed a way that I feel they should be, as someone that I would really like to be or someone who would really influence me. Also, I have a lot of lesbian model friends, but people would never know that they are gay because they’re always portrayed as straight. You see them in shoots and it’s like, I can’t believe they put you in that! You’re posing in a dress with a guy, or else they cast you as the lesbian and you are playing that character, as if the lesbian look by itself can’t be something to desire. So I made the Instagram, which I started almost as a joke, a reaction against the industry. Then I decided just to do a few shoots. From there, we asked more and more people so it just developed into a whole magazine. Why do you think a fashion magazine like this didn’t already exist? Rain Laurent: There are magazines like Girls Like Us, and you have gay magazines, but they tend to be low fashion or they tend to be quite political. I don’t know why this didn’t already exist, but right now just felt like the time to do it. I think we have the advantage of already being in the industry, so we have the right resources. Also, people are just more open, more young people are coming out – it’s not a huge deal anymore. If I were to do this ten years ago, I don’t think I would have had the support, and I don’t think I would have had the audience. We have events now and a lot of young people come who just see it on Instagram. If we did that ten years ago I don’t think anyone besides my friends would come, people were still afraid to be outed. The stigma is much less nowadays. What makes a dyke icon for you in terms of aesthetic? Rain Laurent: I am anti-sexualising women with the male gaze. I feel I respect women who use the way they dress to reflect their intellect – I want to show that in the fashion shoots that we do. You are an icon to us because you command respect, you’ve done work, you’ve contributed to society, you’ve contributed to culture, you dress in a way where you are putting looks together that require a certain thought. It’s not just easy fashion – ‘I’m gonna wear the latest Supreme hoodie and this and that’, it’s anti-street style in a way. It’s letting personality matter rather than what someone is wearing. It’s kind of a contradiction because in a way we are a fashion magazine but that’s the balance we are playing with as well.

Photography Rebekah Campbell