Between the late 18th century and the 19th century, the LGBTQIA+ community didn’t really have space for them to publicly exist, as it was morally condemned. As a result, people had to find other convoluted ways to express themselves, which they found through the Romanticism movement.

As said in the sentences above, even though the LGBTQIA+ community was known, it wasn’t acknowledged and considered. That is where art comes into play, especially fashion and textile, allowing the community to express their identity. At this period, there was indeed a questioning around gender and sexuality norms. We could find this need of emancipation through the shapes: they were neat, non-stereotypical and subtil. It was the opposite of a harsh masculine silhouette, more common at this time. For women, the pieces of clothing were aerial and elegant. A way for the community to distinguish itself was also to wear specific jewelry types, gloves and scarves.

Regarding textile, there was this desire of flowy and soft fabrics, like silk or corduroy, to show abstract gender and identity.

The LGBTQIA+ community expressed Romanticism through a subversive and subtil way of using fashion. This was almost a form of poetry with symbolism that allowed them to express themselves without going outside of the norms and catching attention.

At that time, some famous persons wore, for instance, clothes from the opposite gender, disrupting the cultural norms, showing that fashion was a way to blur the rules on gendered garments.

Nowadays, we can see this idea of expressing without telling in fashion and art in general. Designers such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, definitely show inspiration from Romanticism.

LGBTQIA + community in Romanticism

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