Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2023 från Attitude Magazine

Taylor Miller PHOTOGRAPHER When going to the theatre, I love nothing more than seeing one of my personal gay icons in a leading role. This past June, I saw Sarah Jessica Parker in Plaza Suite and she was so incredibly talented and hilarious; her performance brought me to tears multiple times. A true legend. Joseph Kocharian ATTITUDE’S FASHION DIRECTOR I’m very specific with my trips to the theatre. I have never met an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that I didn’t loathe, so I tend to avoid those, but I do love a beautifully crafted classic by Rodgers and Hammerstein, such as Carousel and The Sound of Music, or Stephen Sondheim (see West Side Story). Most recently, my favourite has been the phenomenal Cabaret, which Callum Scott Howells, on this month’s…

SET THE TONE After a successful inaugural collection, Uniqlo have teamed up once more with Marni to create a vibrant range inspired by the kaleidoscopic 60s. Reflecting on the line, Francesco Risso, Marni’s creative director, said: “I wanted to investigate the aesthetic perception of the 60s, flirting with cliches.” As a result, you’ll find the Marni aesthetic in patterns on Uniqlo’s impeccably designed LifeWear, as well as psychedelic prints and colour-block designs on HEATTECH outerwear. The tonal palette means you can mix and match your pieces and really get your 60s groove on. Available from 1 December. uniqlo.com/marni LIGHT MY FIRE Curators of fine homoerotic male imagery, BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! proudly present their debut candle, teasingly entitled BUM, by Timothy Han/Edition. Meticulously crafted, its fragrance has wild top notes of…

Matt Cook, writer Sexual labels are a double-edged sword. They clarify and confuse, support and suppress, empower and enslave; many find strength in embracing labels while others prefer to cast them off. For me, this has turned out to be the former, marking the end of a long, bitter fight with my scared, meek arch nemesis: myself. My school years entailed a nervous string of attempts to walk the heterosexual tightrope. I pretended, I conformed, and I scrambled around making sure any questions about my sexuality were killed dead. The whispers continued, though, and I knew that people were making their own conclusions. By the time university rolled around, it was crunch time: I had to accept who I was before the world figured it out. Admitting I was bisexual…

1st Manila Luzon We relate the most because we channel a lot of the same inspiration. We understand the importance of references to build a layered look. I could tell her: “We’re going 18th century, a touch of McQueen…” and she’ll understand it. 2nd Alexis Mateo I love Alexis Mateo’s drag because it’s a complete brand. Her and I have that in common: we have our signatures and there’s a confidence that comes from knowing this is a look that is so her. I love that she is willing to take risks. 3rd Shangela Shangela is a huge talent. Her drag is more about that flawless beat and look. I relate a little less to this because I like to get messy and string things together by hand. There’s power in both approaches.…

“I do 100 push-ups every morning,” reveals 85-year-old George Takei, causing this 36-year-old interviewer (with dismal upper body strength) to gasp audibly. “You’ve got to,” he adds. “The more you age, the more your muscles atrophy. Strength training is important.” We’d be fools not to ask George for his tips on ageing gracefully. Not only is he as handsome as he was in 1966, when he first boldly went where no man had gone before as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, but he’s almost as fit, too. In January 2023, for example, he’ll take on a West End stage run — a physically gruelling challenge for an actor of any age — in Allegiance, a musical partly based on his own life. “I’m a fish and fall person: lots…

“Good morning,” says Luke Macfarlane cheerily as we log on to our Zoom call. For me, it’s late afternoon on a crisp autumnal day, while Luke is calling in from sunny Los Angeles. Clad in a dark baseball cap, he confesses, “I just literally woke up and jumped on.” Not that you’d guess this from his appearance — the 42-year-old Canadian actor and star of Bros looks as handsome as ever, with kind eyes, a warm smile and a scruffy beard that’s giving off hot-daddy vibes. He doesn’t just look good, either; as I discover during our hour-long conversation, he’s charming, sensitive, and thoughtful, too. We don’t even talk about Bros — the film he’s promoting — for 20 minutes. First, we discuss our feelings about needles (despite fearing them,…

As a professional gardener, Dean Bolton-Grant has worked in some very fancy locations. After starting his career at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, he went on to work for Danish royalty, before managing the grounds of properties belonging to the prime minister and president of Malta. In the past couple of years, he’s set up his own gardening school based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, and very recently he returned to Malta as horticultural consultant and garden designer for the 18th-century Palazzo Parisio. Here he shares his tips for the green-fingered among us and reveals what people get wrong about gardening. Have you always had green fingers? I think I have. I started off being in the garden, getting my hands dirty in the soil. My parents and grandparents have owned landscaping…

SAFE HARBOUR The Moxy Hotels chain are known for their small but smart rooms that encourage guests to enjoy the stylish communal spaces and bars. Moxy Chelsea, one of their six locations in New York City, have partnered with the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) to become the first-ever hotel designated with an official Safe Space certification by the LGBTQ+ non-profit organisation. The hotel was recognised for its ongoing advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community through its inclusive programming, accessible accommodation and gathering spaces, as well as providing a supportive platform to amplify the voices of the community. This and future Safe Space locations will be expected to maintain its standards through donations, implementing gender-neutral public toilets and other inclusive policies and procedures and by committing to ongoing growth through…

“I got my morning stiffies back!” It’s not every day your friend tells you that at a party (I was taken aback), but the joy on his face was unmistakable. No one should judge their value based on their morning glory, but this small (and sometimes not-so-small) detail is a big deal for anyone who suffers from testosterone deficiency. This condition occurs when the body can’t make enough of the hormone, which leads to a number of symptoms. An absence of morning erections is one of the most prevalent signs, but they can also include loss of libido, lack of energy, brain fog and even low mood. Testosterone deficiency is estimated to affect up to 40 per cent of men at some point in their lives, especially after the age…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH JAGUAR From her award-winning BBC Introducing show on Radio 1 Dance to championing female, trans and non-binary young people in the music biz with Future1000, as a broadcaster, DJ and journalist, Jaguar is breaking boundaries Which track are you loving right now? A tune called ‘Off World Vehicles’ by Kassian. They’re a duo from London I’ve been supporting on my show. It’s SUCH a sick dance-floor weapon. That drop! Which track introduced you to dance music? Loads of 90s/00s dance music that my older brother showed me, but ATB’s ‘9PM (Till I Come)’ sticks out. It will forever remind me of youth club. My mum was a youth worker at my local youth club in the Channel Islands where I’m from, and she used to take me…

Code rainbow Spring/Summer 23 is shaping up to be a festival of colour. Sparked by the Barbie pink seen at Valentino last season, for next year, the whole rainbow gang is on board. Louis Vuitton, Moschino and Dsquared2 are all going bold and bright, with tie-dyes, prints and patterns on the runway, while the likes of Raf Simons and Versace are using colour blocking to finish things off with a flourish.…

Where it all began Founded in 2005 by Christiaan Ashworth and John Parker, END. have carved their own niche in the fashion world. Originally established to bring internationally renowned luxury fashion labels, unearthed brands and emerging designers to the north-east of England, they’ve since expanded their empire with stores in London, Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester, as well as online. What END. delivers are carefully curated pieces from sought-after big names such as Balenciaga, Burberry and Gucci, which are balanced with skatewear, trainers and collaborations with the likes of Patta, The North Face and Carhartt WIP. END.’s portfolio doesn’t stop at clothing, either, with a handpicked selection of beauty products, accessories, bags, books and homeware also stocked. Essentially, everything on their site and in their shops screams “Buy me!”, a call…

It’s a grim time, but glimmers of hope are breaking through. An emboldened minority begins to assert itself, seeking to reject traditional ways of living as they seek to blur gender binaries, pulling apart the rigid constructs of what society says a man and a woman should be, and how they should behave. Women are speaking out and making greater strides towards forging their own path in life. There’s a long way to go before we achieve a fairer world, but there is hope in sight that the rigid confines of a straight/male-dominated society can be dissolved and a new one envisioned. Through the arts and on the fringes, sexuality is also being celebrated and embraced in a way that’s never been seen before. However, all is far from rosy.…

Here in the UK, the LGBTQ+ community enjoys the freedom to express our thoughts — and our love — openly, but in many other countries and cultures the LGBTQ+ community are leading hidden lives. In China, for instance, life continues to be difficult for queer people, but the launch of the Chinese edition of Attitude magazine in 2021 marked a huge step forward in giving a voice to its LGBTQ community. Its editor Fan Li has highlighted how a different approach is needed in engaging with its readership. “Our editorial mission is that we want to show our friends and family that our community in many ways is no different to the rest of the Chinese society,” Li told Chinese outlet Dao Insights earlier this year. “We share the same…

It’s easy to get cynical when you’re in the business of show, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone as positive, inspiring and grateful as the talented Kadiff Kirwan. Born on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat (population: approx. 5,000), he was whisked away to a Preston council estate as a child, an experience he describes as “beyond culture shock”. Although Kirwan attests to having zero trouble from his peers, the fish-out-of-water combo of being the only Black person in school, with a thick Caribbean accent, religious parents and identifying as queer led to some youthful acting out. “I was bad in school,” Kirwan admits. “I was suspended a couple of times. I put it down to the fact I always knew I was queer. When you’re encased in a…

A strange silhouette emerges ahead of our 4x4, rhythmically bouncing just like in a cartoon. It’s a shape somehow removed from reality, confounding perceived laws of balance — how do they stay upright?! — but instantly recognisable from countless company logos and a character in Winnie-the-Pooh. Kangaroos are an everyday sight for most Australians, but for the rest of us, they’re fantastical creatures, and the most beloved marsupial of all. My tour guide from Exceptional Kangaroo Island is living up to his company’s adjective. With his wits very much about him, he expertly swerves out of the animal’s path, no sweat. With some 65,000 kangaroos calling Australia’s third largest island home, such traffic is common. (Although, with a permanent human population of just 4,417, mostly concentrated in the teeny town…

What is Father Alfie Romeo’s role in Death Drop: Back in the Habit? He’s the narrative anchor and the one we’re following as events unfold at the Saint Babs convent. I’m really enjoying playing somebody who is a bit of bastard. My drag persona is very much like “Everybody must fall in love with me”, but there’s no chance of that with Alfie. It’s a wonderful moment to just lean into being awful. How do you account for the popularity of the Death Drop franchise? It is platforming British drag in a way we haven’t seen before. It’s a full drag cast, with cast members from RuPaul’s Drag Race —and it’s always exciting seeing them do more than walk up and down a catwalk and lip-synch. And we don’t discriminate the…

With his sharp suits, distinctive voice and trademark wit, Tom Allen is one of the UK’s most popular comedians. In his entertaining, life-affirming new memoir, Too Much (reviewed in Books overleaf), Tom writes candidly about finally moving out of his parents’ house at the tender age of 38, embarking on a new relationship, and dealing with the grief after his beloved dad died unexpectedly in late 2021. Following his last sell-out tour, Tom is back on the road in February with Completely, a brand-new stand-up show where he dives into such life dilemmas as that feeling that you are turning into your mother; the responsibilities of maintaining a guest bathroom; the pleasures and pitfalls of a vegetable patch; and the protocol of inviting friends with children over for dinner. As…

June 2004, Jake Shears On page 133 of this issue, we throw it back to 2004 with a retrospective of the Scissor Sisters’ blockbuster self-titled first LP. So, we dug out the band’s Attitude cover suite from the same year for a further sashay down memory lane. Jake Shears, rocking skin-tight leather trousers, told us: “People always think I’m on drugs — I’ve come off stage before and people have said: ‘Wow, how much blow did you have to do to get through that?’ And I’m like, ‘None.’ Because my eyes are really poppy, they think I’m rolling on ecstasy all the time!” Jake and co.’s effervescence helped them score a total of four top 10 studio albums in the UK. “I don’t know [what ‘Laura’ is about,]” added Shears…

Since I read Tom Rasmussen’s excellent book, First Comes Love, LGBTQ+ relationships have been on my mind. In the book, they question the origins of marriage from a queer perspective, and suggest replacing ‘love is love’ with ‘Give us our fucking rights, you fucking fucks.’ ‘Love is love’ doesn’t make sense. As Bobby says in Bros: “It’s just something we told straight people so they’d like us.” Our love has never been the same as straight love. Our love held us together in the HIV and Aids epidemic when lesbians and allies cared for gay and bi men and trans people as they died. Our love exists in the kindness of charities like elop, who offer mental health support for LGBTQ+ people, and in Rainbow Migration, who work to keep…

You’ve started a cult, what is it about? Duality. Finding a balance. A connection to nature. But also super-duper loving high-end and luxurious things as well! What do you want on your gravestone? I don’t think I’ll have an epitaph for myself. It doesn’t sound right. I’d prefer my ashes spread somewhere important — the ocean in Indonesia. What’s your earliest memory of living in Bali as an infant? Playing marching band with makeshift instruments with my older sister and some of the children from the neighbouring village, through the grid of rice fields over the fence of our house! How would you describe your relationship with spirituality? I’m connected to the higher power, but I don’t subscribe to anything in particular. How did you spend your All Stars winnings?…

3 queer-friendly video games The Sims 4 Everybody’s favourite game is getting queerer! Following an update in May you can now completely personalise the pronouns of your Sims 4 characters. Aside from he/him and she/her, players can now choose their own unique alternatives, for example: ze/zir/zirs. What makes this update even better is that makers Electronic Arts worked with It Gets Better Project and GLAAD to ensure that all genders and non-binary identities are represented. Arcadia Fallen Ever fancied playing a young alchemist apprentice who is “unwillingly bound to an illegal spirit”? If so, Arcadia Fallen is the game for you. This visual novel follows the aforementioned apprentice as they’re drawn into a war between humanity and magic and must find a way to save the world. With Japanese-inspired anime…

“They have porn star martinis on draught in there” declares a wide-eyed Callum Scott Howells of legendary drag bar The Glory, the riotous drag hotspot in east London’s Haggerston (or Faggerston, as per the high concentration of gays who live there). Unsurprisingly, there’s no such fabulousness juice on tap (“I’ll bring it back”) in his hometown of Treorchy in Wales (population 7,681), the actor tells Attitude over smoothies in a plush south London members’ bar. (“What’s acai?!” he asks aloud, with pure puppy energy, and a thick Welsh accent we hope he never loses). The actor is recounting his introduction to London nightlife via his friendship with his co-stars in last year’s rabble-rousing TV hit, It’s a Sin, recently named the second-best Channel 4 TV show ever after Big Brother…

In belted lemon bodysuits and blonde wigs, Nordika the Queen and The Vilita lip-synch and high-kick their way across a stage as Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s ‘Rain on Me’ blasts in the background. This video clip from 2020’s Tallinn Pride party marks the Estonia-based drag duo’s first performance. Since then, they’ve collectively totted up around 3,500 Instagram followers and are navigating a diary full of paid events as a burgeoning drag scene takes off in the Estonian capital. In some parts of the world, drag has been a cultural staple for centuries, beginning in theatres before becoming commonplace in pubs, bars and, lately, on almost every TV channel or streaming service. “We tend to think it is a recent phenomenon that must have originated in the past 30 years,…

POWERED BY The lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, queers and all the multitudinous colours of the enduring rainbow — along with our invaluable allies — gathered once more beneath the iconic Grade II listed dome of the Roundhouse in London for the 11th annual Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards, powered by Jaguar. Throw in a dame, plenty of divas and a clutch of drag queens in the form of the entire cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 4, and the scene was set for one of the Attitude Awards’ finest moments yet — and that’s saying something given a previous roster of attendees that includes Cher, Idris Elba, Kylie, Dua Lipa, Whoopi Goldberg, Taylor Swift and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The Attitude Awards were created to celebrate queer excellence by…

From the moment he went to see a musical revue in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, aged nine, Nick Adams’ heart was set on becoming an actor. After cutting his teeth on Broadway in shows such as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, La Cage Aux Folles, and Falsettos, he’s turning to TV and film, and earlier this year illuminated gay rom-com Fire Island as the delightfully wicked Cooper. Here he talks about his early days in the world of theatre, his ever-evolving relationship with the gym, and Jonathan Bailey. What did you make of the first show you saw? I remember it like it was yesterday. The excitement and the presence that I felt, just hanging on every word and lyric and lighting up. I said to Mum afterwards, “I…

HOMOBLOC, MANCHESTER Gay time + Greek Cypriot time + general faffing about picking outfits = arriving at Homobloc much later than planned. Last year, we sauntered through the front doors minutes after the club opened and watched as the vast Warehouse Project venue went from chilly, empty cavern to pulsating, hedonistic club throwdown. This year, we’ve arrived with the party in full (unabashedly queer) swing just after 7pm. Donna Summer sings out as we walk into the Depot, the venue’s main dance floor, as 10,000 LGBTQ+ revellers swish and sashay with hands aloft to the big-ass beats of Horse Meat Disco. We set off to find our friends: a text says they’re over in the Archive room. In terms of actual proximity, it’s just next door, but what with all…

The genre-hopping, popper-sniffing debut of New York glam rockers Scissors Sisters is something of a bible for post-millennium queer pop. Forged from the ashes of polished 70s disco, merged with the DIY sensibilities of 00s garage rock, the five-piece’s self-titled debut is regarded as one of the best pop records of all time. The eclectic fivesome, fronted by lead vocalists Jake Shears and Ana Matronic (real name Ana Lynch), cut through a wave of landfill indie rock flooding the charts to create a monster hit. Album opener ‘Laura’ is a punchy, piano-led bop, setting the sonic template for the LP, which was: anything goes, as long as it’s catchy. Next single, ‘Take Your Mama’, inspired by Shears’ coming-out experience, dials up the camp as he takes his mother on a…

The New Life Tom Crewe/Chatto & Windus More than 70 years before the first brick was thrown at the Stonewall riots, a small band of English intellectuals dared to envision a new world, where same-sex desire was accepted without stigma as a natural aspect of sexuality. The New Life is a sumptuous and richly imagined novel inspired by the lives and work of real-life Victorian academics John Addington Symonds and Henry Havelock Ellis, co-authors of Sexual Inversion, the groundbreaking first English medical textbook on homosexuality, which was originally published in German in 1896. This atmospheric debut novel by Tom Crewe is beautifully written. It tells the story of two men’s marriages and two dangerous love affairs. When Symonds and Ellis decide to write a book together, arguing against the criminalisation…

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CRACKING THE CODE Armani have tweaked the formula of their ever-popular Armani Code fragrance with a new parfum iteration. Keeping Code’s woody aromatic, sensual identity, it features vert bergamote and bergamot heart top notes which give the scent a fresh feel, before the heart notes of clary sage and newly added iris lend a delicate tone to the aroma. The fragrance is grounded in the Armani Code DNA, with strong tonka bean absolute and cedarwood so it still feels like part of the family. Making the scent even more swoon-worthy is the face of the campaign, actor Regé-Jean Page, who perfectly embodies the reinvented perfume’s strong yet sensitive vibe. Armani Code Parfum, 50ml, £75. armanibeauty.com REVIEW LOVE THE SKIN YOU’RE IN Dr. Barbara Sturm’s eponymous brand is taking over the…

Who’s the most unlikely celebrity you’ve partied with? Dame Shirley Bassey, at a house party. My friend kept calling her DSB. “Want a drink, DSB?” 5/5 Who have you been most nervous about interviewing? Rihanna, because I really like her. She’s effortlessly cool. Whenever I interview her, I’m the worst ever at my job. She’s funny, charming — and late. When someone’s late, you start worrying. But you can’t let her know. It’s like if you get near a horse… If she smells [your fear], it’s game over. Rihanneigh! 5/5 Which revelation were you in two minds about sharing in your book, Soft Lad? The moment of falling in love. I thought it was too personal. But it was needed, because I’d written about the years I’d struggled to process…