In conversation with .. 5!

In conversation with Pabllo Vittar, Adrien Weiss, Ella Boucht, Davi, Phoebe Bridgers and many more ...

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Pride. Pride. Pride.
I want to be proud. I want to be visible because visibility is not necessary - it’s vital.
I want to be visible to help at least one person to feel less alone, less misunderstood.
I want to be as bold as people expect me to be.
I want to be the fierce brown transgender woman I know I can be.
I want to be fearless.
I want to go outside without asking myself what people think of me.
I want to embrace myself. I want to love myself. Just want to be fully me.
But, I am afraid. Afraid of my transition, because even though I’m still at the beginning of this
process, I don’t know how it will go.
I am afraid to look like “A man in a dress” because for a cis woman, not to look like a stereotype of
femininity is okay. But for a transgender woman, not to look like a stereotype of femininity means
that you could die.
I am afraid not to “pass” and to have to always look behind my back in order to be safe.
I am tired. Tired of feeling unwell every time I have to go to the bathroom ‘cause there are no
gender-free bathrooms.
I am tired of questions that shouldn’t be asked from friends and strangers when I talk about my
transition.
I am tired of hearing that I am not really trans* because my story is not the same as other trans*
people.
I am tired of being unable to find clothes that fit my body dysmorphia.
I am tired of having to explain that yes I am also a victim of acts of racism, almost on a daily basis.
I am not here to educate anyone.
I am afraid that my mum will read this piece.
I am afraid to be visible.
I don’t have a choice, really. There is no way back in depression, only the possibility of going
forward.
I wish “our community” was more thoughtful and aware than it pretends to be.
I wish we were not celebrating femme boys, trans* and all womxn only during Pride Month.
Breathe. Baby steps, one day at a time - that’s how I live right now.
I want to make a promise. I want to try to celebrate myself every fucking day. That is what we
should all do. It’s time to come together and support ourselves every single day. Clearly, this is a lot
of work. So let’s get to it.
My name is Naikee and my pronouns are She/Her.
Happy Pride y’all.
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Photography by Andrés Agudelo Ganem @gravistoto
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Meet The Team
@marcel_schlutt @naikee_simoneau @nicphilf
@nicosutorfashion
@slaterkarl
Editor-in-Chief
Fashion Editor
Art Director
Art Editor
Music Editor
Fashion Editors
Marcel Schlutt
mschlutt@kaltblut-magazine.com
Naikee Simoneau
nsimoneau@kaltblut-magazine.com
Nicola Phillips
nphillips@kaltblut-magazine.com
Nico Sutor
nsutor@kaltblut-magazine.com
Karl Slater
kslater@kaltblut-magazine.com
Contributors
Mike Nasa, Lewis Robert Cameron, Anna Barr, Amanda M. Jansson, Yessica Klein
Proofreading by Amy Phillips and Nicola Phillips
On The Cover
Chris Flora photographed by Alberto Lanz
See the full editorial > p.74
All Copyright at KALTBLUT www.kaltblut-magazine.com @kaltblut_magazine
KALTBLUT MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY MARCEL SCHLUTT AND NICOLAS SIMONEAU
All of KALTBLUT´s contributors are responsible and retain the reproduction rights of their own words and images.
Reproductions of any kind are prohibited without the permission of the magazine, editor and each contributor.
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Ella Boucht > p.8 Pabllo Vittar > p.42
Mateo Velasquez > p.60 Phoebe Bridgers > p.68
Adrian Weiss > p.86 Davi> p.96
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Ella Boucht is Changing
at Queer Women in the
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How Fashion Looks
Post-Truth Era
Butch is beautiful. It’s diverse and
sexy in a way that is often overlooked
because it’s almost too authentic,
especially in an industry like fashion
where fantasy sells. Think of your
female queer friends in the industry
and its possibly more than ten fingers,
think of them as designers and you are
only left with one hand, then think of
them with their own label. Any fingers
up? Now think of queer men in fashion.
We can’t deny that gay men have been
designing binary clothing for women for
decades while the underrepresentation
of queer women in fashion still exists
and is even questioned in conversations
on style. I would even say that fashion
is finally having an identity crisis come
to terms with the fact that queer women
love fashion too!
27-year-old London based, Finnish
designer Ella Boucht recently graduated
from the prestigious Central Saint
Martins fashion department with her
Masters, but her name and pieces have
been growing momentum ever since
Rhianna was photographed in her baby
pink oversized puffer coat that quickly
became a meme, while still a student
at Swedish School of Textiles back in
2016. With deconstructed suits and
play on shapes creating gender fluidity
among structured cuts and tailoring,
her unapologetic evolution from bold
sportswear to designer for “butches,
dykes, female masculine and nonbinary
people” saw her on Dazed100
earlier this year with her intent on
bringing lesbian representation to the
runway and beyond.
Interview by Anna Barr @.annoula_b
Polaroids by Ella Boucht @ellaboucht
Portaits by Anya Gorkova @anyagorkova
Speaking from her new studio space
in London, Ella is young, smart, sweet
and ready to inspire us to own our own
bodies while her collections in many
ways will stand as a document for
future generations, she’s quietly louder
than she might think and ready to riot
even if she sets her own tempo.
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“Queer women
in history haven’t
properly been
acknowledged or
represented.”
Did you always want to work in fashion?
I wouldn’t necessarily say fashion, but
definitely the craft behind it. I’ve always
been drawing, doing illustrations,
working with my hands since I was a
kid. I went to a theatre school when I
was younger for several years and there
was one play where we had a seamstress
who made our costumes and we could go
into this huge wardrobe to find stuff to
develop our own character. That’s when it
all started. I understood that I wanted to
be more behind the scenes.
Growing up, did you see yourself in
fashion, especially when flipping
through magazines?
No, I would say that I didn’t really care
for fashion magazines, but I remember
the start of bloggers, how people were
posting their styles. There was this site
called Hel-Looks from Helsinki all about
the styles from the streets of Helsinki, it
was more interesting for me to see how
people were putting together their own
looks than the perfect world created in
the magazines. I used to also look at a
book by Pierre et Gilles, it was an amazing
world to see! Full of colours, queer
personalities and fashion. It’s an art world
on its own.
Queer women love fashion, but in many ways, they are invisible in the
industry. Do you feel there is a lack of representation and what that
stems from?
There’s definitely a lack in fashion, but also overall from series to films
in what the rest of society learns what queer and butch women look
like. People have developed a very stereotypical image. Queer women
in history haven’t properly been acknowledged or represented. There
aren’t many books, especially photography books from that time. It also
comes from the era of cross-dressing, trying to look for the opposites of
gender which made you either femme or butch. Today there is a much
broader way to identify. There are still lots of stereotypes in fashion, and
unfortunately, it is still very much male-dominated in fashion. There are
many gay men in high positions and great designers but I would definitely
love to see more women and queer women behind the scenes get more
representation of how we look and what we like to wear.
I know lots of women in fashion and queer women, but when it comes
to actually holding the title of designer, it is still dwarfed compared to
men.
When I was researching female designers through history, most of the
women I found identified as straight, especially straight white women.
Obviously, I have queer female friends in fashion but in the lesbian
community its not something that many women are interested in because
the fashion industry tough. With a lack of representation, it’s quite hard
for a queer woman to get up.
Do you feel there is an objectification of lesbianism in fashion?
Definitely, it’s not like for straight people you go and ask them about their
sexuality and if it’s correlated into how you dress. When it comes to queer
women, it’s like an exotification, that its something interesting and stems
from the male gaze rather than the female gaze.
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Even when you talk about the lack of photography
when we think of the masculine female, it conjures up
imagery by Helmut Newton which again is from the
male gaze.
When I was doing my research at the CSM library, there
were only four books focused on lesbian women or made
by lesbian women. You really have to start digging deeper
and go through archives or online because obviously there
was a time where it was dangerous to be out in society. A
lot of the lesbian context was hidden or got destroyed or
letters where they took away the names so you wouldn’t
know who it
was written
from. In some
communities,
they didn’t
even want to be
out, like in the
documentary
Shakedown (by
Leilah Weinraub)
about this lesbian
strip club in
America where
they talk about
not wanting to
be in editorials
or articles
because it’s
for them. They
don’t care about
visibility because
they have their
visibility with
their people
on the inside.
There’s a side
where our
history has been
erased and then
there is a part
wanting to keep
it for us.
Gender labels
feel like it
should be
an outdated
concept, but at
the same time,
you just spoke
removing names
from letters and parts of history, have you yourself been
censored?
I’ve been censored when trying to upload, especially
imagery of female bodies overall. It went as far as
Instagram taking away my whole account and said it was
permanently deleted and I wasn’t going to get it back, but
after a fight and an article, we managed to get it back. I
use Instagram as such a big tool, not just for marketing,
but also how I find collaborators and other companies
to work with. I could also say that I censor myself in a
way, since being a kid, because I haven’t had the courage
or possibility to be out in the way that I wanted to. I was
afraid of not being enough and not enough for the queer
community. Censorship is everywhere. I feel that the
terms should be used in a fluid way, where one can swap
around and not be endangered if you want to change from
a butch to a femme more or the other way. It should be
more accepting to experiment with your identity. It’s a war
inside and a learning curve.
Just as women, in the female community, in the past
few months with Black Lives Matter, I’ve been thinking
about how
much black
women have
been excluded
from our female
community.
Especially when
it comes to white
feminism, we
have excluded a
huge part of our
community and
the same when
it comes to most
of the lesbian
photography that
I found, it’s mostly
white. Racism is
there as well as
it’s been erased
from the lesbian
history too. One
of the things that
people don’t know
is that a lot has
came from the
black community
as well. Just today
I was talking to
my friend about
the word “dyke”,
it’s a word that
many of us have
been using. It
comes from the
black community
where people
have been called
the “bulldyke”.
Now a lot of black
lesbians are trying
to take back their pride as well because we as white people
been taken away from where it comes from without having
even understood the history of where it stems from. We
have to learn, educate ourselves and be more aware.
What is butch for you?
For me, it’s about empowerment, a strong identity where
you feel very comfortable in where you are and how you
walk through life. You wear with pride. It connects the
inside and the outside in a way, body and soul. Butch is so
varied and so many beautiful people under the umbrella.
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We talk about diversity, but the industry
can be very misogynist, women are
usually overly sexualized as the
“housewife” or “whore” and definitely
as “straight”. I’ve seen huge changes
in this past decade, but there is still a
misconception that lesbians don’t have
style. Breaking those misconceptions,
let’s look at the past and talk about some
of the influences on your work.
Style-wise I look at non-binary icons like
boat racer Joe Carstairs had amazing style,
she showed that there were different ways
to show female masculinity. Obviously Jack
Halberstam’s book Female Masculinity
discussing all the different identities
was an eye-opener for me. Del LaGrace
Volcano’s book on drag and photography
overall was an influence, photographing
queer female sex scenes and just see
what female sex scenes look like in Sex
Works. When it came to finding different
types of styles (like in fashion), I couldn’t
find a lot. It was more that I could find
photographers and in their photography
find different styles. A lot of what I could
find was American based. Besides that, my
friends have been a huge influence, the
parties I go to in London, going out.
You could say that you design clothes to
wear to the club and leaving the club.
What role does club culture play for you
in your work?
I would definitely want to see them worn
to the club, but I would also say the clothes
can be worn in an everyday scenario. The
whole collection has an underlain erotic
feel to it that draws back to the club scene.
The club scene is definitely a big part of
who I am and what my life in London has
been like. During the lockdown, I realized
how much I missed all these queer spaces.
Going back to the club scene though, I still
find a huge lack of lesbian places, events
or parties. When I have been to all-female
queer nights, its such great energy, so
great being with all these people and then
you realize that there are lots of us out
there but we never meet because we are
separated in this huge city. The club is a
way of expressing yourself as well, you can
put on a character or look that perhaps you
aren’t in an everyday scenario. Also, I just
love dancing!
on board. They have been the most amazing people to collaborate with,
always so energetic, bubbly and happy!
You went viral with RiRi in your oversized coat in striking baby pink
while still a student in Helsinki. How do you feel about the colour
pink?
Weirdly enough, I don’t have a pink garment in my wardrobe, maybe a
pair of underwear. I love pink, I get drawn to pink for some reason, but I
would never wear it. For example with that jacket and the pastel pink, I
have in my collection now both of them were good mistakes. The Rihanna
jacket was supposed to be orange but it came out as pink because the
wadding inside of the jacket was neon orange and because of the white
fabric on top it became pink after washing.
What steps are you taking now to develop your business and in
terms of investors do you feel pressure to change your narrative, is it
important for you to have your own brand or would you like to work
for someone else?
I’ve moved into my own space now and starting to think about
production, but I don’t really have the backup funding. I definitely would
like to do my own thing and keep it as something on-going. I feel it is
important to show what I actually want to show because I am also a bit
scared that if I go into a big company, even though I would feel I have a
voice inside there, I would assume it would be more like a design junior,
so my voice there wouldn’t be that big. While with my aim of what I want
to do, having my own brand will help me put my voice out there, but I
would like to influence brands as well.
What’s the best advice that you received regarding the industry?
Probably that your first idea is the best idea.
Finally, what does Pride mean for you and did you do anything special
to celebrate this year?
Dance-pop duo Nimmo walked your
CSM graduate collection, how did that
happen?
Some of the people who walked are friends
of mine, but for Nimmo, I just contacted
them on Instagram. I told them what my
collection was about and if they would be
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Pride for me is about when I usually
go home or to Stockholm and I’m in
different Pride situations. Pride is a
celebration, a time to meet your friends
and be surrounded by all these amazing
queer people and Pride is also political.
We are still lacking so behind especially
now with a lot of Trans rights being
taken away in both the UK, USA, Poland
and so on. Especially now with Black
Lives Matter and Trans lives, it’s going
back to the riots at Stonewall. It’s going
back to its original meaning and not
about companies using it as marketing
tools. For Pride this year I was at a Trans
Lives Matter protest in London and it
was very beautiful, very powerful being
surrounded by everyone. Everyone was
dressed in flowers and had flowers with
the Pride flags. It was beautiful to see
the power of our community showing
what we want and pushing for it. Black
trans women have always been seen as
something less and something erased
from history and even within the queer
community. Some people don’t know that
it is because of Marsha P. Johnson and all
of the trans women that started the riots
we would not have the same rights and
privileges today.
Follow Ella Boucht @ellaboucht
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The garden
of Adam &
Evan
Photography and retouch Marcel Schlutt @marcel_schlutt
Models Marco Hunger @nomarcoisnthungry Tim Rühl @tiimmiit
Make-Up and hair Isabel Maria Simoneth @isabelmariasimoneth
Styling by Nico Sutor @nicosutorfashion Michael Hastreiter @micha_fast
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Blazer - Vincent Wong
Body - Effenberger Couture
Shoes - Anna Field
Blazer - Vincent Wong
Body - Effenberger Couture
Pants - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian
Shoes - Birkenstock
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Look - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian
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Facemask - Philipp Fritsche
Blazer - Vincent Wong
Shirt - Moritz Iden
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Coat -Timur Gapurov
Shirt - Moritz Iden
Pants - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian

Turtleneck - Timur Gapurov
Dress - Moritz Iden
Shoes - WSKEISP
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Blazer - Vincent Wong
Shirt - Eton
Pants - Timur Gapurov

Facemask - Philipp Fritsche
Blazer - Vincent Wong
Body - Myriam Hofmann
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Facemask - Philipp Fritsche
Turtleneck - Franziska Michael
Coat - Vincent Wong

Coat and Shirt - Gloria Hohmeister
Jacket - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian
Shoes - Timur Gapurov
Tights - Wolford
Biker Shorts - Nico Sutor
Underpants - Calzedonia
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Glasses and Dress - Moritz Iden
Bodysuit - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian
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Jacket and Skirt - Franziska Michael
Blouse - Myriam Hofmann
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Facemask - Philipp Fritsche
Blazer and Pants - Vincent Wong
Turtleneck - Nico Sutor
Bag - Moritz Iden

Coat - Gloria Hohmeister
Body - Effenberger Couture
Stockings - The Latex Collection
Shoes - Adidas
Gloves - Nico Sutor
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Blazer - Vincent Wong
Body - Effenberger Couture
Pants - Hani Haki by Mariam Mchitarian
Shoes - Birkenstock
Blazer - Vincent Wong
Body - Effenberger Couture
Shoes - Anna Field
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Ernst van Hoek
Berlin,
Germany
@ernst_du_coin
Inspired by Henri Matisse and the events of COVID-19, designer and artist Ernst van Hoek started to explore the world of
paper cut-outs. He approaches the creation of imagery in a personal and unique manner, with bright and contrasting use
of colour. A wide range of sources, photographs and real objects inspires his fascination (especially) with contemporary
representation of the queer body. Van Hoek sees the creation of the cut-outs as learning a new language, a way of
communicating between artist and audience, maker and client. He sees this art as a medium where he is open to collaborate
with fellow artists, designers and other creators.
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Spilling tea with
the world’s most
popular drag queen
Pabllo Vittar
Interview by Marcel Schlutt @marcel_schlutt
Photos: Special thanks to Sony Music
KALTBLUT spoke with Brazilian and global musical sensation Pabllo Vittar, the world’s most popular drag
queen. Currently self-isolating at home in Brazil, the latest COVID-19 hotspot. Pabllo talks to us about her
album 111, Rosalia and she celebrated Pride Month with her LGBTQI+ community in Brazil. Welcome the one
and only Pabllo Vittar at KALTBLUT.
Hello from sunny Berlin! And Happy
Pride Month to you! We at KALTBLUT
are big fans of your work. How are
you and what are you doing at this
moment?
Hi! I’m ok, staying at home with my
family in Brazil and taking care of each
other during these complicated times!
Congratulations on your Calvin Klein
Pride Campaign. Can you tell us how
this cooperation happened?
This is our third time together, I think!
We did some great content at Coachella
and World Pride together before and
they were all amazing experiences!
How do you celebrate Pride Month?
How important is this month for the
LGBTQI+ community in Brazil?
I am doing a live stream show on the
28th to celebrate with my fans, that
is the main project. Pride month is
always important because we are in
the spotlight and we scream louder for
our rights! But one thing is important,
we should not wait for June to do that
and we should celebrate and fight every
single day!
As an outspoken artist and performer that represents the
LGBTQI+ community in your home country, do you often
see yourself using your platform as an activist?
For me, it is my responsibility. If you have a platform in your
hands then you have to use it to make a world a better place
for everybody somehow. So I’m gonna use my voice every
time I can to raise awareness and fight for my community.
You’ve been proclaimed as a “beacon of hope for LGBTQI+
Brazilians” – do you ever feel any pressure with this title?
I’ve said this a couple of times to my fans and the people
around me. They are the reason I am here working right now,
they are the ones that give me support and the energy to do
what I do, I couldn’t be myself without them. My fans are my
beacon of hope, it is the opposite! We support each other, we
listen to each other’s issues and we try to overcome all of this
together.
Does this affect your music at all? Or does it encourage you
to be bolder and more vocal than before?
As I said, this is my energy source! If I wasn’t able to share it, I
don’t think I would be able to do it. So yes, it affects me a lot!
Being a political figure must be extremely exhausting.
What do you do to make sure you’re looking after yourself
mentally, physically and spiritually?
I’ve learned to not embrace hate or bad energies around me
and focus on what is good or the growth that a bad situation
can provide me.
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“If you have a
platform
in your hands then
you have to use it to
make a world a
better place for
everybody somehow.
So I’m gonna use my
voice every time I can
to raise awareness
and fight for my
community.”
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That’s the main thing, let the hate and the bad energy out of your life and keep up with
the good stuff and the good people. Hold on to what you love, stay close to the ones
you love and take care of your body the way you are comfortable doing.
Could you give us an insider’s perspective on how your journey started from a little
kid to becoming the “World’s Most Popular Drag Queen”?
I spent a lot of time working on not thinking that I am not good enough. That took time
but I never gave up. And talking about “world’s most popular drag queen”, I really don’t
think I am, that’s RuPaul and it always will be!
How did your family react when young Pabllo decided “I AM A DRAG QUEEN”?
My mom is the most open-minded person I’ve ever met! She said, “Ok, you can use my
make up to practice then!” [Laughs].
What kind of advice would you give to your younger self when you look back at your
life story?
Take a deep breath, calm down and keep doing your thing!
Let’s talk about your music. What would you say is the message behind your album,
111?
111 is my birth date (November 1st) and that was my inspiration about it! If you go to
Pabllo’s birthday, what would be playing? 111! [laughs]. So it starts with “Parabéns”
that means “happy birthday” in Portuguese and starts to grow with a lot of different
rhythms and it ends with “Rajadão”!
What is your favourite track of the album? And why?
I can’t say that! It’s like asking a parent what would be their favourite child, you know?
They are my babies and they will always be!
What inspired you to incorporate English and Spanish lyrics along with Portuguese
that your fans are used to?
My fans, for sure. I did a tour in Europe, North and Latin America last year and I was
amazed by my local fans trying to learn Portuguese so they can sing at the shows and
so that we could speak to each other! After that, I decided that it was time to make that
effort myself. I am still learning and I think it will take some time to reeeeally speak
English and Spanish, but I can sing and I am now able to have conversations with my
fans.
Along with bringing in multiple different languages, this album dabbles a lot of
different musical styles and genres. How do you look at the importance of “genre”?
Genres are important but it’s also important to mix them, to try new things and I love
to do that. I love Latin music, I love global pop music but I also love regional rhythms
of Brazil, so I’m always trying to mix them all up and create something “new”.
You’ve had some outstanding successes in your career. What’s one of your favourite
moments so far?
OMG! I think it was performing at the 2019 EMA’s. That was a dream coming true for
me! And in the end, I went to Spain, performed and won an award for Best Brazilian
Act. I was the first Brazilian to ever perform and the first drag queen to get an award.
That was one of the happiest days of my life!
What do you think your success says about the music industry as a whole, in terms
of mainstream acceptance of queer artists?
That it is starting to change but we still have a long walk ahead of us.
How do you feel about representing your country in the Latin music scene? I
mean you made history in 2018 as the first drag queen to be nominated for a Latin
Grammy. How did that make you feel when you found out the news?
When I got that news I couldn’t stop screaming at my manager’s face! [Laughs]. He
was the one telling me that! And you know, I feel blessed to be the first [drag queen]
nominated but I hope that we will have a lot of LGBT+ artists nominated and winning
the Grammys. There are a lot of super amazing talented LGBT+ artist all over the
world.
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We love your music videos! You deliver spectacular bold and sexy looks. Do you see a link between music and
fashion? And how important is fashion for you?
For me, especially as a drag queen, it is super connected. The music wouldn’t be complete without an amazing
video serving faces and makeup and looks. And the looks wouldn’t be the same without great music! [Laughs].
They are ways that I have found to express myself.
One last question: Who are some artists you would want to collaborate with next? I would love to see you
together with the amazing Rosalía!
OMG! ROSALIAAAAAA! I love her and I would love to do something with her! We’ve met a couple of times in
festival and awards and she is so cute and amazing! Rosalia te quiero y te extraño mi amor!
Follow Pabllo Vittar @pabllovittar
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“Serve and protect”:
How they sold us
on the mythical
policing in Amerikkka
from an African
American’s perspective
Photos by Agatha Powa @agathapowa and Foxy Film Berlin @foxyfilmberlin
Text by Mike Nasa @beigegawd
Mike Nasa is an artist from Sacramento, Ca who moved to Berlin in 2014. He left behind an unaffordable
city in San Francisco, unwanted by his country of birth, to concentrate on investing in himself. He delivered
a speech on his experiences at the “Speak Their Names” March on May 31st . A think piece on a much needed
movement.
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Since the beginning of time, human
beings have instinctively
covered their vulnerable areas
when under threat of attack.
How is it then, that police officers
worldwide assume that unarmed,
untrained civilians can, while being
beaten and choked, calmly
place their hands out in front of
them or behind their back? If you
thought that was a run-on sentence;
you’re probably right, but
we’ve got a lot of ground to cover
and only so much time, so keep
up. As I was saying, how can a
trained professional’s actions be
deemed excusable because they
were, “panicked in the moment”
or “scared for their well-being?”
Meanwhile, civilians are expected
not to flinch when a “rogue” officer
decides to finally live out their
wet dream of committing legalized
assault? Curling up in the fetal
position is not resisting arrest
– it’s an instinctual response.
Now that we’ve got that out of
the way, It’s impossible to go a
minute on social media without
seeing non-violent protesters,
being beaten and gassed by military-armed
domestic police for
merely exercising their constitutional
rights. Grown men beaten
and choked while calling out for
their mothers is not the cycle of
rebirth we so desperately need.
Crown Vics have been replaced
with unmarked SUVs and armoured
vehicles. “Serve and Protect”
has been replaced with body
armour and tear gas, a practice
banned in wartime by the Geneva
Convention. We witness the death
of democracy daily, ingesting it
with our morning coffee: a little
quarantine lockdown with a dash
of Marshall Law-induced curfew
and a pinch of PTSD to ruin your
mental health for the day. We
need to detox; something’s in the
water from Flint to Ferguson, and
the people we put in power aren’t
fit to serve.
Meanwhile, the gun-totingqueer-bashing-die-hard
Donny
fans protested quarantine health
and safety measures by bitching
and moaning about haircuts and
tattoos while cosplaying as Spec-
Ops. And unlike that fateful time
in 1967 when Bobby Seale and two
dozen Black Panthers marched
into the California State Capitol armed with guns to protest new discriminatory
gun restrictions, they were not arrested or even detained. So why are these champions
of freedom oddly silent in their stand for states rights against an oppressive
government regime? Is it because the victims are black and brown people, or maybe
because it’s easy to protest when your health and well-being aren’t at risk. I’m
reminded of the demonstrations that erupted in protest of The US Government’s
involvement in Vietnam; also, a poorly handled moment in America’s dark history.
Speaking of history, oh how we grew up on tales of European discoverers bravely
setting out to settle a new continent! A nicely packaged lie to whitewash the arrival
of colonialism on our fair shores. “When Christopher Columbus arrived on his
three ships, the Live, the Laugh and most importantly, the Love: a de-melanated
version of U.S. history” was shoved down our throats; made to swallow like bitter
medicine that fed the fear in our hearts. America doesn’t have a problem with racism;
America was founded on racism. It was black hands that toiled the dirt and
black blood that fed the soil. America expanded on racism; it murdered and disenfranchised
a vast majority of the indigenous population of a continent. The Trail of
Tears runs through America like the mighty Mississippi, carrying black and brown
bodies out into the gulf, washed clean from our minds and our textbooks.
Now influencers drive to marches to snap a quick selfie before going home to decide
on a catchy caption like...“In the age of information, ignorance is a choice”–
Donny Miller. We’re continually assaulted by unending information, insulated
during this quarantined lockdown. Some of us are lucky, some are stuck with
racist family members, abusive partners, or sometimes worse, ourselves. It’s an
unprecedented time in history; I see people starting to rub the sleep out of their
eyes. I see the lightbulb go off and the realization dawn that we might just have
the ability to shape our future but it’s going to take a concentrated effort, hitting
them from every angle to storm their ivory towers. We need peaceful protests,
signed petitions, divestment from companies with counter agendas and investment
in community groups and small businesses just as badly as we need frontline
soldiers, bond money and legal representation for those willing to sacrifice their
bodies for the cause.
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- We need to organize to dismantle the racist structures
on a local level.
- We need to protest at the racist monuments in our cities
and dismantle them.
- We need to set up housing initiatives for black and brown
people. (housing group for
black/brown in Berlin)
- We need to address diet and exercise.
- Mental health.
- Financial literacy
- Intersectionality
- Trans/homophobia
- Rape culture
- Relationship counselling
- Black/brown self-defence classes for men and especially
women
If they put their knee on our necks, we put our foot on the
gas.
If I’ve learned anything in this age of information; the
truth will always come to light. The real question is, which
side of history do you want to be on? We still have a long
way to go in the fight for equality; I hope we can heal as
a people when that day comes and walk down that road
ahead, hand in hand.
“And they are lucky, that what black people are looking for
is equality, and not revenge” - Kimberly Jones We need to
shift the narrative. Too often, we’ve been passive, allowing
the media to call us “looters” but white folks “survivors.”
We need black ownership. We need black book clubs and
businesses outside of just barbershops and hair salons.
We can’t wait for our oppressor to unlock the cage for us,
otherwise, we’ll enter into a world of freedom which, unbeknownst
to us, is just a larger cage.
We aren’t thugs or criminals or hoodrats or ghetto. We
are kings, queens, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters. We
are librarians and bus drivers; we’re essential workers;
we’re nurses and teachers and pilots. We need to paint
our own history going forward or we’ll be forever fated
to repeat our past.
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59

VELASQUEZ LEATH
Designs and styling
Mateo Velasquez
@_mateovelasquez
Photography
Paolo Steve
@paolosteve
MUA
Raffaele Romagnoli
@raffaeleromagnolimakeup
Model David Prada
@davidprada_
60

ER BOYS PART ONE
Text by Lewie Robert Cameron @lrcfashionstylist
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KALTBLUT chats to Colombian born fashion designer Mateo Velasquez, a talented London-based
graduate of Central Saint Martin’s, on his new series “Leather Boys”, on the
topics of homoeroticism, hyper-masculinity and his self-exploration of his own queer
identity.
Hi Mateo, how are you?
Hey! I’m well, trying to keep myself busy
in these trying times.
How’s lockdown life treating you?
Mateo: To be honest it has been sort of
a blessing in disguise. A much-needed
break to stop and reconsider, evaluate and
decide what’s worth going back to, and at
what pace, once this is all over.
How are you staying motivated as a designer?
I take it as an opportunity to start fresh
with thoughtful actions, re-visit old projects,
exercise and keep mindful about
what I can bring on next.
What’s your earliest fashion memory and
when did you know you wanted to create
your own designs?
I remember my grandmother customising
clothing for my father back in Colombia,
then throughout my teenage years I was
obsessed with Jeremy Scott. I saw myself
identifying with the non-conformity of his
work, but it wasn’t until I arrived in London
at the age of 17 when I first became
interested in making. I started sewing
clothes for myself as I could never find
things I actually wanted to wear.
You recently dropped the first part of
your ‘Leather Boys’ collection; talk me
through the main inspiration for this series?
I found the initial reference for this project
on ‘Casa Susanna’ a series of documentary
snaps discovered at a flea market taken in
the mid-’70s depicting a group of ‘heterosexual’
men who would travel to a refuge
outside New York where they were allowed
and encouraged (often by their own wives)
to dress as women; that took me into researching
further into subcultures where
flexibility in gender behaviour is allowed,
where the hyper-masculinity atmosphere
allows for homoerotic behaviour, sexual
fluidity and expression.
What can we expect from Part Two?
The collection has been developing organically.
Part One explores the more feminine
and fragile side of the story and it
develops into the sexual and the exposed,
giving way to explorations of queer identity
and the leather archetype based on
non-acceptance and rebellion coming in
Part Two.
How would you say Leather Boys differs
in comparison to your previous collection?
When I started this project I knew I wanted
it to have a holistic view all-around, making
garments, not for the sake of producing
and self-satisfying my creative pursuits
but instead, making it responsibly
by up-cycling most of the materials from
garments found at car-boot sales, charity
shops and so on.
Have you expanded or developed any elements
from your previous collections?
I’m influenced by my own queer identity,
so the running themes of gender and exploration
of queer culture, as well as some
multicultural elements, are something innate
within my aesthetic and design process.
As a young designer, how do you think
you can stay unique and stand out in
your own way?
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Stay true to yourself. No one else out there has experienced
the things you’ve been through, and all
of those small realities within yourself, those very
authentic and personal stories are what make you
different and hopefully, that will be reflected in your
work with a strong sense of rooted identity.
When you aren’t designing, where would MV be
and what would he be up to?
I’ve been boxing for a while now, creatives often
tend to constantly overthink, overwork and overrun
things in their minds, so it’s good to find a way to
switch off even if just for one or two hours a day.
What does masculinity mean to you?
As most things, just a social construction. Something
we, as a society and as individuals, need to redefine,
deconstruct and accept in all its myriad forms and
complexities in order to liberate ourselves from societal
expectations, gender norms and gender hierarchy.
Well said. Do you have a favourite piece from the
new collection?
I’ve quite enjoyed deconstructing things and finding
new ways of presenting tailored jackets, which, unintentionally,
becomes something quite symbolic at
the same time.
What is your favourite city to visit and why?
I love going back to Medellin, they call it the city of
eternal Spring. It feels like that joy we all love and
have when Spring comes back, but all year round,
and also, the kindness and charm of the people.
What is the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
I love seeing how other people re-interpret my garments,
making it an open conversation, which is always
evolving. There’s nothing more gratifying than
giving people the opportunity to self-express themselves
in one way or another.
What’s the most important thing you have learned
so far in this industry?
To believe in myself.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Don’t stress out if it seems like some things don’t
work out the way you wanted them to, let go and
things will fall into place in ways you never thought
possible.
Finally, describe Leather Boys Part One in three
words or less.
Deconstruct hegemonic masculinity.
Follow Mateo Velasquez @_mateovelasquez
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67

Phoebe Bridgers
Talks About Her
Second Album,
Punisher,
And Her
Quarantine
Plans
Interview by Yessica Klein @yessicaklein
All photos by Olof Grind @olofgrind
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Phoebe Bridgers is 25 years old and had an impressive 3-year career. Her
debut album, Stranger In The Alps (2017) attracted the attention of fellow
musicians around the world and has kept the singer-songwriter quite busy
throughout the following years. In 2018 she released the boygenius EP with
Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, and 2019 saw the birth of Better Oblivion
Community Center, a surprise collaboration with Conor Oberst (Bright
Eyes), whom Phoebe also thanks for emotional and lyrical support in her
second album, Punisher, released on June 19th. We talked to her to know
more about her next album, her quarantine plans in LA, and a very special
playlist.
Hey Phoebe! How is your
quarantine going?
It’s interesting. I mean,
today has been interviews,
which are basically like I
have a real job, so I guess
that’s good.
Kind of normal, to some
extent.
[laughs] Yeah, exactly.
Except that I had to talk
about it all day. I don’t know
what’s going to happen...
Well, we can talk about
your record, which is a
much more positive topic.
Cool.
I would like to start with
one of your bios - it was
written by Carmen Maria
Machado. How did that
happen? That’s amazing.
I’m a really big fan of her.
We reached out to see if she
would [write her bio] and
she did. It was very, very
cool. I was surprised she
wanted to.
Was it that easy? All you
had to do was ask?
Yeah. I think she knew I was
a fan because I went to one
of her book signings. But we
met very briefly and then my
manager reached out. She
said ‘yes’ which is very cool.
Do you have a favourite
song on your new album?
Hmmm... I think right now
it’s probably ‘I Know The
End’. Just because it was very
fun to play. I can’t wait to
play it live and it means a lot
of things to me.
It sounds like a concert
ending song.
Totally, yeah! I’m very
excited to end a concert with it someday.
How does that feel to release an album and
not tour immediately?
I mean, I’d definitely rather be on tour... But
if it was between not putting out the record
and putting out the record, I would pick
putting out the record just because it gives
me something to do. It gives me something
to focus on. And I don’t know, maybe people
will have more time to listen to it than they
would. There are a lot more people listening
to more music right now, which would be
cool. I would like that.
Can you tell me more about the
songwriting process for Punisher?
Yeah, I wrote a lot of these songs on tour,
like with other bands or by myself. It takes
me a long time to write songs. For example,
I have ten songs on this record and I only
had eleven new songs. Like, including the
ten on the record. I just wrote one like
a week ago or something... I write them
slowly. It’s kind of a cumulation over the
past four years in my life.
And I was reading that a lot of Punisher
is about heartbreak, but not necessarily
pining - the songs are more about a
cerebral kind of heartbreak… I wanted
to ask you if that’s how you see it, or if it’s
more like a process that you reach after
the heartbreak.
No, I think so. I think it is how I see it.
I think that songwriting helps you sort
through a lot of your feelings about things.
And this is just what I ended up with. I think
about what the songs are about way later
than when I was writing them.
Since you mentioned you were a fan of
Carmen Maria Machado, what other
writers or songwriters are you a fan of or
inspired by?
I really, really loved Watchmen. The TV
show. I also loved Fleabag. I felt like that
was very important to me. It started finally
getting into Joan Didion, very late in my
life. I feel like she helped me fall in love
with Southern California again. I love Sally
Rooney’s books like everybody else. Very
personal, emotional books.
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“It’s cool to release
something that people
understand… it totally
cured a big portion of
my depression.”
Do you have a favourite?
By Sally Rooney? I like Conversations With
Friends more than Normal People, I think.
I just related to it more. I mean, Normal
People is beautiful but Conversations With
Friends was a bit more concise and I felt more
connected to it.
You seem to be a fan of writing, not just as a
songwriter. Would you see yourself venturing
that way?
Phoebe: I’d love to! I actually just got
a Masterclass, the Margaret Atwood
masterclass. I’m going to try it out soon and
maybe it will give me some homework.
Awesome!
So, yeah, maybe in quarantine I’ll decide to be
a writer.
You already have a long list of collaborators,
including a band with Conor Oberst, which
is quite impressive. Are there other people
that you’d like to work with?
Totally. I mean, everybody whose music I love,
you know. Grouper - it would be cool to make
like an instrumental record. I don’t know...
Everyone from Grouper to like, Billie Eilish,
I think she’s sick. So, yeah, just everybody
whose music I love, it’d be fun to collaborate
with.
I always ask musicians what their future
plans are... But that’s kind of tricky now, isn’t
it?
[laughs] Totally. I don’t know what my plans
are. I guess it’s just maybe making some more
stuff, you know? Make more recordings. Try to
read more - stuff that I can’t do on tour.
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How different was it to create your second album?
It was way better! I think I was more scared of releasing my first album because I didn’t
really have a day job and I was afraid people weren’t going to like it. But now that people
pay attention to me [chuckles], it’s like I’m releasing something and something instead of
something and then nothing. So it just made me more comfortable, like making stuff.
Personally, how did your first record change you? Pretty much overnight you had all
these huge music names like Ryan Adams and John Mayer tweeting about you and
saying you would be the next big thing - which happened...
I don’t know! It was awesome. I mean, it has weirdly cured -- I mean, not weirdly, it
totally cured a big portion of my depression, feeling alone or whatever. It’s cool to
release something that people understand. It’s there. It’s like the ultimate reward. I
mean, it’s hard, it’s hard to believe. And I’m super grateful and can’t believe it every day.
But it’s also... It’s great! I’m like, fuck yeah, now I have this kind of job security where
at least people will give a shit about what I do for a long time. You know, it feels good. It
feels like - I don’t know. I like releasing music to actual people!
Did you feel any pressure releasing the second album after such an amazing
response?
I felt way more pressure with the first album because I was unsigned when I made it and
then Dead Oceans bought it. This time I have this huge support system. And I think I
know what kind of music I like to make now.
I’d like to talk about the visuals of your music videos because I think they’re quite
unique and they relate to the songs quite well. Is that something that you come up
with or...?
Well, my little brother makes music videos. He’s made two videos for me now, they are
kind of similar in vibe... I don’t really come up with stuff. I kind of lean into other people
to make cool stuff for me. I’m very opinionated. Once I’ve seen it, I have a lot of input,
but I don’t make videos myself. So yeah, I kind of look for cool artists, another cool thing
about L.A... Like Nina [Ljeti] who did the Kyoto video. She’s a mutual friend and I knew
she made cool videos. You know you don’t have to look super hard.
Any other names that you’d like to work with? Visually speaking?
Hmmm. I want Phoebe Waller-Bridge to make a music video for me. I think that would
be funny.
Last thing about this thing that we’re all living right now. What have you been
listening to?
I actually made a Spotify playlist, that -- if I may flatter myself -- is very good. It’s
called ‘Catch Me Inside’. It’s everything that I’m listening to. I’m finishing this Brainiac
documentary and really loving that. And I watch some of the Ken Burns country music
things. I’ve been listening to stuff I haven’t listened to in a long time like Elliott Smith.
It’s all on the playlist. This band Clinic I’ve been really liking... And then I also just love
podcasts. ‘My Favorite Murder’ is my favorite podcast, ‘Reply All’ has some really good
stuff, ‘This American Life’...
Do you like making playlists?
I do, it’s always been one of my favorite things.
Yeah, it’s very therapeutic.
Totally, you kind of check out, you’re not thinking about other stuff.
Anything else that you’d like to add about the record or a future tour?
I’m trying to get creative. I would say probably most of the stuff I will do for a long time
is going to be online. So I guess just stay tuned! Maybe I’ll start doing more online shows
and see what I can think of to get people excited. I want any more stuff like that. It’s a
cool tool.
Punisher, Phoebe Bridger’s second album, was released by Dead Oceans on June
19th and is available for streaming here.
Follow Phoebe Bridgers @_fake_nudes_
73

Ora Pro
Nobis
Photography Alberto Lanz
@lanznakebackup
Model Chris Flora
@chrisjhonflora
Agency PARAGON
@paragonmodelm
Stylist Daniel Furlong
@furlongfurlongfurlong
Make-Up Guillermo Perez
@guillermovoodoo
Assistants Osvaldo Padilla
@osvaldopadillaa
Maria Karla
@mariakarlau
Pants and Hat - CENTRO
Blazer - OSCAR DE LA RENTA
Top and belt - STUDIOV87
Shoes - BRANTANO
74

Total look - PLY SHOWROOM
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Jewelry - FERNANDO RODRIGUEZ
Corset and Pants - STUDIOV87
Coat - CENTRO
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Body - CENTRO

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Coat - STUDIOV87
Body - CENTRO
Accessories - LA SANTA JEWERLY
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Vest - STUDIOV87
Jeans and Bag - MOSCHINO
Earring - LA SANTA JEWERLY

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Vest - STUDIOV87
Jeans and Bag - MOSCHINO
Earring - LA SANTA JEWERLY

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86

One To Watch:
Adrian Weiss
Models Negro @negrophil
Shivani @shivani_s17
Styling by Krzysztof Komorowski @christopherkeyy
Makeup by Paulina Olivia Rosa @beautybehindthebrushes
Hair by Lukasz Michalak @lulaszmichalak
Thanks to Adas Engel @yourbabe3000
Interview and Portraits by Marcel Schlutt
@marcel_schlutt
Tell me a little bit about how ADRIAN
WEISS came to be and how it all started?
Back in 2016/17 I was unemployed,
recovering from years of depression and
being sick and I was sewing and creating
stuff every day and night, but mostly
for myself and for fun. At that time, the
Jobcenter asked me what I wanted to do.
So I wrote a business plan and became
self-employed (sounds easy, it wasn’t)
and got some more support from the
Jobcentre since we whole-heartedly and
mutually wanted to be out of each other’s
lives.
I’d been thinking about transitioning since
2013, so it all happened at the same phase
of my life when I decided to establish
the label and get into more detail about
medical transition. Therefore I didn’t want
to use my birth name because I knew I
wouldn’t be keeping it. Finding a name for
both myself and my label was really hard
at that time. So I combined the names
of two of my family members - Adrian,
which is one of my brothers’ second name
and Weiss, my grandmother’s birth name.
I work very intuitively and as I started
selling items regularly, I got a lot of
good feedback from people - that really
encouraged me to move on and focus on
all-gender clubwear, bold prints, one-off
items and upcycling material. All items
are handmade by me.
Please tell us a little about yourself and
the journey that led you to this point.
Hellooooo I’m Emrah, I’m turning 35
on July 21st (Cancer sun, Leo rising), I
was born and raised in Germany, I’m
transmasculine gender non-conforming /queer (labelling
myself is so hard) and my pronouns are he/him.
I was studying product design in Offenbach, Germany,
when in 2010 I participated in a collaboration project
at my university - that’s how I accidentally started
sewing. During that time my mother, who I loved a lot,
was dying of cancer. It was so hard and I went through
very painful years of deep grief. Sewing literally kept me
alive and let me move on and gave me hope and solace
and joy when I couldn’t find it anywhere else. I’m a very
impatient and impulsive person, but the moment I start
to work, it makes me calm and patient and lets me find
some inner peace. I have found so much meaning in
this kind of creative work.
How did you get to where you are today?
Hard and consistent work, passion, patience, trust in
myself and the will to learn because I’m mostly selftaught
and didn’t really have anyone to ask. I invest
most of my time, money and energy in my label. When I
first started, I was basically always broke, so I upcycled
old clothes, bedsheets, curtains because I couldn’t
afford to buy new fabric. Being creative is very much
about to find ways to make things work and to find
ways and solutions to realize dreams or visions, not just
about handcrafty skills.
There were also people who loved me and trusted in
my skills and appreciated and supported me and my
work when I was hopeless. Transition is playing a big
role, too! I would definitely not have made it without
transition.
What’s your inspiration behind your work?
There’s so much! I buy mostly offline so I get very
inspired by seeing and touching material or finding
some unexpected color- or fabric combo. Being able to
upcycle material is very inspiring since I never know
how an item is going to turn out until it’s finished.
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“I want people
of any gender,
age, body size to
feel comfortable
in what they’re
wearing and to
support them in
expressing their
identities with
clothes.”
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Before COVID-19, I used to love going
out. Berlin’s (queer) club scene is a
whole inspiration itself. Watching people
dance, move, see what they wear, how
they like to represent themselves is so
much fun and great inspiration.
The most important inspiration comes
from being queer, gay and trans* and
having a different perspective on bodies,
different body issues than cis people
and dysphoria about certain body parts
cis people most likely don’t have. In
commercial shops, lots of cute, fun and
sexy items are available in small (“girls”)
sizes only which is very frustrating for
people of bigger sizes or bigger bodies,
because it’s not easy to find comfortable,
affordable and gender-affirming clothes.
I want people of any gender, age,
body size to feel comfortable in what
they’re wearing and to support them in
expressing their identities with clothes.
What would you say this is the biggest
influence to your design process.
Planning in advance is not really
my thing and often items turn out
differently than I expected; I like the
randomness about it. When it comes
to creativity and just doing it, I trust
myself deeply and I’m not afraid to make
mistakes. I don’t do seasonal collections
and I never draw styles/designs in
advance. My head is full of ideas and I
literally never run out of inspiration.
People’s feedback is very important for
me and I really need it to know what
items, styles and sizes to focus on.
Also, (trans*) body issues have a
huge influence on my work. I’m a
transmasculine person and my boobs,
which caused me to suffer a lot, let me
become very creative when I wanted to
find a way of dealing with them better
via clothes.
Who would you most like to see
wearing your clothes?
I used to be really excited and happy
to coincidentally see people in a
club wearing clothes I made (when
they didn’t even know it was me who
made them). Now, I’d love to see more
transfeminine people and fat people/
people with bigger bodies wearing my
clothes.
What’s the best piece of advice you
were ever given?
“If someone’s offering you money, just
take it.”
My former roommate and friend gave me
this piece of advice a few years ago when I
was insecure and self-conscious about my
work as a creative person and didn’t know
the worth/value of it. It’s not about being
greedy or getting rich, but about being
humble and grateful and still knowing the
worth of my time, my skills and the energy
I put into my work. I used to be very bad at
understanding this concept, many femme/
AFAB people are socialised this way but
that’s a whole different topic though.
Why did you become a designer?
I want to do this for the rest of my
life because it combines my skills and
interests and things I’m good at. Creativity
is unlimited and so is design, and since
there’s more and more queer, trans*
and non-binary people asking for the
clothes I’m making I feel so grateful and
confirmed and I do really see a point and
sense of going on with my work.
Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Nooo, of course I don’t! But I might have
a really ‘unpopular’ taste of music. I
especially like trance, acid hard trance,
and do you know the 90s German band
Scooter? Still waiting for someone to take
me to a concert.
What superpower would you love to have
for 24 hours?
I’d love to learn and speak any language in
just 5 minutes and also I’d love the power
to replace the orange menace by a queer
Black trans woman.
Which flavour of ice cream best describes
your personality?
Ice cream has been my favorite food of all
times ever, so I guess my personality IS
ice cream, like a whole mix and variation
of all the delicious and more chocolatey,
caramel and creamy flavors. I need some
right now!
June 2020 was Pride Month, and this year
Pride was something different. How did
you celebrate?
I didn’t celebrate Pride this year (had
hot gay trans sex instead), and I haven’t
really participated in the past except
for a walk at the dyke march. It is, of
course, nice to celebrate queerness, but
its more important to create sustainable
visibility, representation and safe spaces
for those of us who are less privileged
than able-bodied, white cis gay men and
to make it more critical. I think there’s a
lot of double-standard when it comes to
celebrating pride.
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“It is fucked up that we
have to let (mostly nonqueer/straight,
binary,
heteronormative, undereducated)
cis people decide
about our bodies, our health,
our lives and identities.”
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How important is Pride for the trans* community?
It was black and brown trans* women fighting for our rights at Stonewall
Riot which is now known as Pride - there would be no Pride without trans*
people.
The umbrella term of LGBTQIA+ is very controversial and there’s a lot of
discrimination and transphobia amongst the so-called community. We
trans*/non-binary people constantly have to validate ourselves to be seen,
but not to be seen too much, we try to pass but still be visible, we want to
express ourselves but be safe on the streets or public transport, we have
to fight about pronouns and names with families and even queer friends.
We’re scared to be outed or harmed, or even killed. We try to prove we’re
trans* enough to be part of the community even though some people won’t
or can’t do medical/physical transition. Non-binary people experience
discrimination/misgendering/transphobia from other trans people, and
there are only a few spaces to be seen and to actually feel and be safe. We
have to come out to families, friends, doctors, bosses, strangers, it’s a long,
humiliating and for many of us a never-ending journey. In some countries,
we’re getting erased from the system, we´re held apart from medical care,
we have to discuss and fight and die just to have the right to live.
And we cannot even fully rely on the support of people within the
LGBTQIA+ community since there’s lots of highly under-educated and
transphobic cis people who just don’t care.
Pride and the support from cis people
is very important, and not only when its
Pride, but always.
Do you think the fashion world is open
enough for trans designers?
I wish. It’s not just about the designers but
the whole system of how the fashion world
works. I wish that the fashion world was
open, but transphobia, sexism, ableism,
racism and patriarchy is everywhere and
there are trans people (mostly (Black/PoC)
trans* women) getting murdered simply
for the fact that they’re trans.
So how can the fashion world be open if
the world is full of hate and disgust for us?
In commercial fashion the cis, white,
skinny, able-bodied, young model is the
default. Trans*models are ok, if they
look cis. I don’t even know where to start
because people’s perception on what
beauty is, even on what diversity is and
looks like is shocking.
It’s a huge industry based on
heteronormative, eurocentric beauty
standards, based on the exploitation of
people and resources worldwide.
It’s not only about trans designers.
It’s about the people in high positions,
decision-makers, managers, stylists,
photographers, hair- and make-up artists,
editors, model agents, models, retailers,
and so on. Trans people are people and
we are fucking everywhere but many of us
don’t even get the chance to get into these
positions because the system or society
doesn’t let us access these spaces in a
meaningful way.
As a male passing, German (& German
citizenship), white, young, able-bodied
person with access to health care, healthy
food and a great social network of
supportive friends and (chosen) family I
am super privileged and one of the only
trans* designers I know. (Maybe the others
are too shy and didn’t come out to me?) So
how can the fashion world be accessible for
someone with less privilege?
Trans* designers are rare in the fashion
world. What can we change in the system
that Trans* designers are getting more
support?
Before medical and physical transitioning
and my official name and gender marker
change, I was too insecure, dysphoric
and scared to be visible with my work
and to put myself out there because of
the constant fear of getting misgendered,
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“We trans*/
non-binary
people
constantly
have to
validate
ourselves
to be
seen.”
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deadnamed, mistaken, and afraid of not
being seen as who I feel like when my
outside didn’t match my inside.
Being a self-employed designer comes
with bureaucracy, tax stuff etc. which
requires someone’s legal name and
gender all the time. All the fucking time,
everywhere.
The process to get the change though
was very long, exhausting, expensive and
when I was recently thinking about it, I
cried. After repressing those feelings, I
remembered how extremely humiliating
it was to prove that I’m really trans - to
psychologists and doctors and to the
court and to my health insurance, to be
afraid of telling psychologist that I’m gay
in case they might possibly doubt my
gender identity because of my sexuality,
to be afraid they just wouldn’t believe
me. I honestly don’t even know how I
managed to get all that shit done and to
make my business work at the same time.
it´s not really my or other trans*people’s choice to be trans*. I just wanna
be myself and live the best life I can.
What does the future hold for Adrian Weiss?
From August 2020, I´ll have a bigger studio/co-working space and
showroom/shop in Berlin. I want to open my online shop, and I absolutely
want to make more clothes for trans people, I want to get better at
making binders, to make some underwear and swimwear for trans
bodies’ needs and I want to make more clothes for fat people/people with
bigger bodies and maybe some genderless kid´s wear.
I also want to work on my pricing system which mostly offers a sliding
scale for people to pay according to their budget, since not everyone can
afford handmade clothes but they still want to look and feel cute and
seen.
Thanks for the interview and for your interest in me. It only took me only
5+ hours to finish answering these questions and my boyfriend has been
adding some of their spare time to help with my funny German to English
translation lol.
Follow Adrian Weiss @adrianweiss_berlin
In many cases I was embarrassed for
being trans and tried to hide it (thinking
that people wouldn’t know… I guess they
did). Since top surgery (for which I’d
been desperately waiting 18 months) in
January 2020, I feel more proud of being
who I am and what I have achieved than
ever before (I tend to forget about that,
so this is a reminder to myself) and I
feel ready to put myself out there and
stop hiding from the world, which is
good and sad at the same time, simply
because I couldn’t have done it without
transitioning.
To answer the question of what we can
change in the system - for all trans
people, not just for trans designers: the
right to choose name and gender without
huge effort, more visibility, more role
models/transgender people in politics, in
analog and in digital media, in daily life,
everywhere, more early and consistent
education in school for both teachers
and students, more education for
doctors/people working in the medical
field, more education for cis people in
general, and less need to prove who
we are and what we feel and who we
identify as. It is fucked up that we have
to let (mostly non-queer/straight, binary,
heteronormative, under-educated) cis
people decide about our bodies, our
health, our lives and identities.
People keep on telling me how brave I
am for going through transition. I wish I
would never have to hear that again since
95

IT’S DAVI,
BITCH!
Photography + Creative Direction Karl Slater @slaterkarl
Stylist + Words Lewis Robert Cameron @lrcfashionstylist
Grooming Sogol Ravi @sogolmakeup
Model Davi @itzjustdavi
KALBLUT chats to queer and proud Instagrammer/cowboy curator Davi - a singular title like Madonna, Cher and
Rihanna but with more muscles, more tattoos and more bodysuits combined with discussing issues on combating
racism, staying authentic and finding confidence in loving and accepting who you are. Both inside and out.
[Whispers] It’s Davi, bitch!
Hi Davi, tell us a little about yourself and what
brought you to London?
Ooh about myself, I am just a queer man making
his way through this world. I’m in London quite
often, I love the city, the energy, it’s always good
to me. One of my dearest friends lives in London
also so I visit and hang out with her a lot. Especially
during the summertime [wink wink]. London has
fashion, art culture music and youth tribes, it’s a
whole vibe.
This issue of KALBLUT is our Pride issue, when
we look at you we see a strong, proud, queer,
black man. Have you always felt this way?
Confidence, for me, comes from within. I didn’t get
to experience trying to find confidence, I moved
out from home at age 15 and I had to have the
confidence to survive. Any insecurities had to be
put aside. I have to be confident and strong and be
a voice for all those queer black kids who don’t have
anyone to look up to.
Personally, I think that’s a major important element
in the LGBTQIA+ community. Not everyone is
strong and not everyone should be expected to
be, I do think that continuing my journey and
staying true to who I am will definitely show queer
black kids out there that you can be beautiful and
confident regardless of what society “expects” of
you. Some people may be intimidated by confident
queer people, but you either spend your life for
others or for yourself.
Have you ever felt that you have to look or act a certain way as a
black queer person?
No, I do my own thing, I don’t really fit in any boxes, I am like
a wild-card I think the queer community sometimes “tries”
to say how one should look, act, think or feel and that’s not
something I’ve ever fallen into. I’ve always done my own thing,
and I consider myself queer because I am artistic and I relate
way more to queer people and I think in that respect ones’ race is
irrelevant.
Have you felt you’ve had to overcome any issues of racism and
homophobia within the fashion industry?
I’ve always been into fashion, but I never really truly pursued it
because I was an athlete; football player, the goal was to go pro,
but art just kept finding its way into my brain, and I knew it was
a sign. I’ve only been immersed in the fashion scene for the last
two years. So this is just a very beautiful beginning for me.
Thankfully I think the fashion industry is changing, I am
relatively new to the fashion industry so I haven’t fully
experienced anything as far as homophobia or racism but I know
it exists and it happens. I’m grateful that things are changing so
now I can explore the industry being my true self and feeling
100% accepted.
Have you ever felt fetishized by the queer community?
I’m black, tatted and muscular so yes, in some people’s words I’m
a walking “fantasy”. It’s constantly BBC or a thug or a prisoner
or whatever bullshit that these racist gays have to come up with.
Like I’ve said, I am very thick-skinned so I can handle a lot of
shit, you can’t help ignorant people, you can try but they’ll stay
ignorant regardless.
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HAT - NICOPANDA
BELT - MOSCHINO
EARRINGS - HOUSE OF LOLO
CHOKER - RECLAIMED VINTAGE
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HAT - STETSON
FACEMASK - DIESEL
BRACES - TOPMAN
GLOVES - PRTTYBOI
BELT - VERSACE
CHAPS - ASOS DESIGN
UNDERWEAR - ASHLEY CHARLES BURR
FOOTWEAR - BUFFALO

HAT - SAINT LAURENT
SCARF - CHANEL
TOP - HOMO
GLOVE - PRTTYBOI
UNDERWEAR - MANSTORE
TROUSERS - CHEMA DIAZ
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HAT - BEYOND RETRO
GLOVES - PRTTYBOI
BODYSUIT - PUBLIC DESIRE
CHOKER - RECLAIMED VINTAGE
BELT - DIOR

How do these experiences
make you feel?
I feel sad certain people
can’t look at others and find
them beautiful, they have to
go off a fetish or a fantasy.
It makes me sad for people
who want to be truly loved
and loved for who they
are, not for their race or
whatever comes with that.
HAT - NICOPANDA
BELT - DIOR
BODYSUIT - FIORUCCI
What advice would you
give to young black artists/
creatives looking to be
more visible online?
Be authentic! Do not
compare yourself to others!
Post your art! Post what
you want! Hashtags lol! Do
collabs! Reach out to other
artists! Make sure others
tag you! Post your authentic
art, stand out, don’t do what
everyone else is doing.
What have you learned
about yourself from
creating your own online
identity?
I think as individuals we are
constantly learning about
ourselves. I will say that
as I get older my artistic
mind expands, which is
nice because I love showing
the variety that I curate
online, most recently my
queer cowboy content for
example. I want to inspire
people and excite people
with my content. Take
people on a little tour of my
mind.
Have you ever had any
prejudice online?
Well, I use my Instagram
for my personal platform,
and what’s frustrating is
being a black man I have
to try twice as hard as a
white man and I keep telling
myself “you’re a star, your
time will come”. If someone
is talented, then focus on
that, not their race. You’ll
have a white guy and a black
guy and just because the
guy is white he will have
more likes, more followers,
more opportunities, more
shout outs. We all see it,
no one wants to call it out. but I will. Unfortunately, there will always be racist people
online. I’ll continue to show my art because my art will take me to the next level, my race
is irrelevant in that respect. I am who I am. An artist.
What does equality mean to you?
That everyone is treated fairly AND given the same opportunities in every area of life, no
matter their race, age, gender or how they identify etc.
Have the BLM protests and movements touched/empowered you in any way?
Ah this is a tough subject, and we’ve been at this for 401 years. I’m happy that we are
FINALLY being heard. This has been a very long time coming, however, this is just the
beginning and everyone needs to keep pushing and fighting and doing what needs to be
done for BLMs!
Who has inspired you the most in your life so far?
No one particular person has inspired me in all honesty. I think we all pull inspiration
from one another, that’s the beauty of Instagram, however, if we are going off of my own
aesthetic the four things that really spark my interest are Tom of Finland, Tim Burton,
cowboys and Matadores. I gravitate towards all these elements from the way I pose my
body to how I visually present myself. And I try to consolidate all of them into creating a
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queer artistically vibrant man :)
Finally, some parting words of wisdom to live by. A Davi motto if you will.
You have to live for yourself, you’ll regret it if you don’t. I know it’s easier said than done, but truly I think one thing
we all want in life, is to be happy.
Thank you Davi.
Xxx
HAT - SAINT LAURENT
SCARF - LOUIS VUITTON
EARRING - &OTHERSTORIES
NECKLACE - RECLAIMED VINTAGE
TOP - BEYOND MAN APPAREL
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HAT - ASOS DESIGN
BELT - VERSACE
BEADED SKULL CAP - RECLAIMED VINTAGE
TOP - HOMO
UNDERWEAR - VERSACE
GLOVES & DENIM CHAPS - PRTTYBOI
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Earrings - ALIGHIERI
Shirt - Palomo Spain
available at VERV LONDON.
Blazer - PAUL SMITH
Crystal
Talent Crystal @crystal.will.see.you.now
Photography Darren Skene @darrenskene
Styling Lewis Robert Cameron @lrcfashionstylist
Grooming & Make-Up Artist Dan Delgado @dandelgado_
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Earrings - COMPLETEDWORKS
Necklace - Swarovski
Shirt - Bogdan Daria
Shorts - Ana Ljubinkovic
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Blazer - TED BAKER
Choker - &OtherStories
Earrings - House of LoLo
Bodywear - Calvin Klein
Panniers Vintage - Fiorentina
Costuming
Socks - Calzedonia
Earring - COMPLETEDWORKS
Necklace - Swarovski
Dress - Ana Ljubinkovic
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Earrings - House of LoLo
Blazer - SAINT LAURENT
Tulle Top - PRTTYBOI
Skirt - ERDEM
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Earrings - COMPLETEDWORKS
Coat Dress - Lacica
Necklace - Swarovski
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Earrings - ALIGHIERI
Shirt - Palomo Spain
available at VERV LONDON.
Blazer - PAUL SMITH
Balaclava - CHEMA DIAZ
Earrings - PRTTYBOI
Necklaces - NotOnTheHighStreet
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Hey Tom!
An Homage to Tom of Finland
Photography Pablo Solano @pablosolanophoto
Models Damian Garcia @damiigarcia - Pablo Solano
@pablosolanno - Letal @soyletal
Make-Up Letal @soy letal
Harness Uriel Urban
www.tomoffinland.org
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As Tom of Finland himself has once noted,
during his whole life, he did nothing
but interpret his dreams of ultimate
masculinity, and draw them. Combining
his love of machismo with his natural
artistic talent, he created a groundbreaking
body of work that celebrates
the idealized male form.
A grandmaster of homoerotic art of the
twentieth century and beyond whose
images of masculine gay men helped
smash stereotypes and produce new
diversity, not only did Tom of Finland
create new role models for gay men, but
he also had an impact on global culture,
style and attitude towards liberated
sexual expression.
By day a senior art director at an advertising
agency McCann Erickson, Touko
Valio Laaksonen aka Tom of Finland
spent his spare time drawing his sexual
fantasies that featured homoerotic archetypes
such as lumberjacks, sailors,
bikers, blue-collar workers, policemen
and men dressed in leather. Growing
up in Kaarina in rural Finland, he began
drawing cartoons of rough and masculine
labourers at an early age. His fantasies
were fueled by his experiences
in World War II, in which his country
fought on the side of the Nazis. Although
he despised the ideology, he became
deeply drawn to uniformed men of
authority. His eroticism subversively
reclaimed this style and reaffirmed
his position as part of the gay culture,
and from his earliest pieces onwards,
his subjects were ecstatic, gushing and
ejaculating.
As a way to avoid homophobic censorship
law in Finland in the 1950s, he
started submitting drawings as “Tom”
to the Bob Mizer’s publication Physique
Pictorial from Los Angeles. Soon, the
Tom of Finland legend was born and his
global career as an iconic gay figure was
jumpstarted. Inspired by biker culture
that embodied rebelliousness and danger,
he created illustrations that capitalized
on the leather and denim outfits
which separated his subjects from
mainstream sexual cultures. His works
fuelled both the sexual fantasies and
the aesthetic of many gay men, and the
emerging gay leather scene inspired his
works further and made them evolve.
His increasingly erotic drawings of hyper-masculine
men were distributed
worldwide in dime stores, sex shops or
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ars through an international underground of fans, despite
laws against the distribution of such explicit material.
Travelling extensively to Europe, Laaksonen himself
sold and gifted his drawings to men he met in the local gay
scene, thus further proliferating his work while establishing
an underground distribution network and the base of
admirers.
Exploring and dismantling the representations of maleness
and gender-assigned attributes in mainstream media,
he turned these reference pages towards the exact
opposite of their origin. Depicting oversized phalluses
and muscles, his drawings challenged the existing symbolic
order of heterosexuality, at the same time creating a
fearless portrait of homosexual desires.
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Photographers ROKOVOY @littlesuicidecandy
@volk.kinetshniy
studio-rokovoy.com
Model Lil Botox @lil.botox
Stylist Yannis Kyriazos @yannis_kyriazos
MUA Cathy Jones @katerina.peftitsi
Hair using Label.M Yannis Kyriazos
Assistant Eileen Nakashima
Top - HEMNOID
Headcrown and Earrings with Swarovski - ARTWEAR DIMITRIADIS
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QUEEN
OBSCENE
Interview by Amanda M. Jansson
@littlesuicidecandy
Fall in love with Eugenio Andrade
Schulz and his 70s-80s inspired sinister
photographic universe! The 22-year-old
Mexican artist mostly works with fashion
labels, fashion weeks, magazines, and
musicians. Using his images to interpret
his surroundings, he poses questions
regarding social, religious,
and sexual issues.
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Jeans Coat and Sock - ELENIKAV240791

Top, Pants & Kimono Coat - HEMNOID
Platforms - ZARA
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Vinyl Pants, Backpack and Top- HEMNOID
Tshirt - ELENA FONIADAKI
How did you first get into drag?
I started doing drag, perhaps kinda accidentally. I used
to perform and dance at shows as a boy on heels. One
day a friend of mine, from Athens, came, saw me, and
asked me if I wanted to do a show at a shop he worked.
To appear as a man in the first show and then in the
second act appear in drag. I did it, and people loved
Lil Botox as much as I did. I started as a small-town
drag queen with more and more guest appearances in
Athens. From September, Lil Botox will be permanently
in Athens working on as many shows as possible. Right
now, she is on vacation. She will be back tanned and
hungry for action.
Who is Lil Botox and how does she, as your persona,
differ from your everyday personality as Manos?
Lil Botox is an elegant creature with great aesthetics and
constantly seeking to arouse the world around her and
catch all eyes. Everybody is after her body trying to tell
her how horny she makes them. Now, Manos is calmer.
He doesn’t listen to Greek songs like my persona.
Actually, when I think about it, these two characters are
complete opposites.
How would you describe the drag scene in Greece at
the moment?
Even though drag is growing in popularity, in Greece,
there are not many clubs and venues that will support
drag. As a result, many of us are unemployed when it
comes to that area. Also, the mentality of people when
they see a drag queen is not like in some countries
abroad. For drag performers, the money is little. Last
year, after much effort, I had managed to persuade the
anti-racism festival to add me to the schedule as the
second-day headlining act, which enabled me to do a
show in the biggest, most central square of Larissa. 5
minutes after I had come out on the stage, the square
was packed! So, I have hope things might change if we
keep pushing for change!
How is the situation regarding LGBTQ+ rights in
Greece? How does it feel going out as Lil Botox?
Not good! We have almost no rights. We must refrain
from expressing ourselves freely in order to be accepted
within Greek society. There is no protection from
anywhere. And when something happens between an
LGBTQ individual and a straight person, it’s always
viewed as the LGBTQ person’s fault. We are made
to feel like a minority. Also, transphobia is still very
present. Especially trans people and sometimes gender
non conforming people are faced with even worse
behaviour.
I don’t feel safe when I go out alone, especially in drag.
I usually choose to have some people go with me just in
case. Even in a taxi.
What do you feel should be the role of drag when it
comes to activism and raising awareness?
Through drag, you can do a lot of activist work and
motivate others, as long as you want to. You can put on
a garment that says something. Or the music pieces you
choose. The entire show can and should be done with
activism in mind. As Lil Botox, being an activist is part
of my identity. I actively support all LGBTQ rights and
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Dress - ELENA FONIADAKI
Tights - H&M
Sandals - ZARA
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all human rights we have to fight for. I am not silent, and so I have
often been in confrontations with homophobes and other fascists.
What are your future plans as Lil Botox?
I don’t have specific plans. I’m not so much a person of dreams
because they never come true for me! The only thing I know is that
someday I will transition from Lil Botox to Lady Botox.
Follow Lil Botox @lil.botox
Tshirt - ELENA FONIADAKI
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Kimono - HEMNOID
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Baby boy
Climax of Madness
Model Sammy Finn Cullis signed at PBM Agency
@pupperbitch
Photography & Art Direction Jacopo Marchio
www.jacopomarchio.com @jacopomarchio
Camera Assistant Vesta Lotuzyte
@misstothewest
Hair Andrew Chen
www.kramerkramer.com/andrew-chen
@andrewchen_hair
Styling StevenHuang
@_stevenhuang
Make-Up Artist Nicki Buglewicz
www.nickibugsmakeup.com
@nickibugs
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Candy person shorts - ULLAC Oy
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Top - Tíscar Espadas
Trousers - Tíscar Espadas
Cutout boots - Arthur Michard
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Coat - YMMOT
Trousers - Arthur Michard
Cutout boots - Arthur Michard
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Distressed knit sweater - CMMN SWDN
Denim shorts - Arthur Michard
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Distressed knit sweater - CMMN SWDN
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Distressed knit sweater - CMMN SWDN
Denim shorts - Arthur Michard
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Candy person shorts - ULLAC Oy
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Top - Alexander McQueen
Trousers - Arthur Michard
Cutout boots - Arthur Michard
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Top - Alexander McQueen
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Hat - Tíscar Espadas
Shorts - Arthur Michard
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Jacket - YMMOT
Trousers - CMMN SWDN
Cutout boots - Arthur Michard
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Blazer - CMMN SWDN
Trousers - MEISUN
Cutout boots - Arthur Michard
Red harness - Prowler Red
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#PROUDINMYCALVINS
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Six Black Trans
Women Were
Found Dead in
Nine Days.
Their names were Brayla Stone,
Merci Mack, Shaki Peters,
Draya McCary, Tatiana Hall,
and Bree Black.
#BlackTransLivesMatter
#SayTheirNames
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