Woke couture is coming for our closets.
Wool from sheep that “prefer same-sex partners” debuted at a New York fashion show earlier this month.
On Nov. 13, a collection of knitwear by Los Angeles-based designer Michael Schmidt, called “I Wool Survive,” features garments created with wool from the world’s “first flock of gay sheep” in Germany.
It’s common practice for farms to cull rams — male sheep — that refuse to mate with ewes — their female counterparts. This grisly reality inspired Schmidt to create the sex-positive threads, effectively saving the homosexual rams from potentially unnecessary slaughter.
Scientists have estimated that as many as 8% of rams are sexually oriented toward other males — a statistic that led Michael Stücke to found Rainbow Wool, a non-profit entirely focused on the wool of gay sheep and rescuing non-mating sheep.
Schmidt partnered with Rainbow Wool and LGBTQ dating app Grindr to bring the 36-piece collection to the runway at Manhattan’s Altman Building — though he said that calling it a fashion “show” would be inaccurate.
“It’s an animal rights story,” the Los Angeles-based designer — who has styled A-list celebrities such as Madonna, Taylor Swift and Cher — told the New York Times. “And it’s a human rights story.”
“I don’t view this really as fashion,” Schmidt added. “I view it as an art project. It’s selling an idea more than a collection of clothing.”
“The idea it’s selling is that homosexuality is not only part of the human condition, but of the animal world. That puts the lie to this concept that being gay is a choice. It’s part of nature.”
Tristan Pineiro, the senior vice president for brand marketing and communications at Grindr, added, “You can’t say the sheep were corrupted by woke culture.”
Each piece, from traditional polos to male mini skirts, “reimagines gay identity” and will be auctioned to benefit LGBTQ+ causes.
“I really wanted to lean into the gay,” Schmidt said.
Pineiro noted that the collaboration is also “a metaphor for how gay people are treated across the world.”
“At Grindr, connection has always been our core,” Pineiro said in a statement. “Rainbow Wool’s story mirrors the experience of so many LGBTQ+ people, cast aside for being different, yet thriving through community. Together, we’re proving that connection can transform exclusion into celebratory expression.”
Stücke added that the collection “proves that being gay is part of nature itself.”
“The wool from these rams isn’t just material, it’s a message spun from animals who live freely and are loved.”
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