Meet Mic. Carter of the ungendered brand L’Uomo Strano.
What the Torontobased designer and educator is wearing, observing and admiring right now.
every morning was probably why I began to think, ‘Oh, there’s something queer about the way I show up in the design world.’”
Carter launched his brand upon returning home from the U.K. and has since developed a non-binary design course for Ryerson University with the goal of encouraging gendernonconforming and non-binary fashion. He points to studies about the connection between mental health and a young person’s ability to express themselves. “Fashion is a tool for identity creation for queer and trans individuals,” notes Carter. “Before you potentially have access to surgery or hormones to affirm your gender, you have access to thrift shops or stores that make affordable clothing. You’re able to creatively assemble a representation of your gender or identity in a way that’s so personal.”
Carter says that when he was growing up, basketball star Dennis Rodman was a potent influence in terms of embracing style as a means of self-expression. “As an adult, I know that there are a number of problematic elements of his personhood, but when I was a child, my dad would receive his Sports Illustrated and Dennis Rodman would be on the cover in, like, a wedding dress,” recalls Carter. “I thought, ‘This is exciting—the possibility of what you can do with your hair and what you can do with clothing in a normative space to disrupt it.’”
Being forward-thinking is one of the greatest disrupters of all, and it’s mainly the concept of Afrofuturism that defines Carter’s fashion vision. “I just live in that Afrofuturist perception,” he says. “The idea that we look toward the future to see what Blackness can look like. Black masculinity, Black action or just Black safety. Afrofuturism looks toward what is possible as opposed to what is now.”
Who do you think is the most influential person in the fashion industry right now? “The Black woman. Her sartorial ingenuity and its inherent political nature is forever inspirational because beyond its aesthetic value, it is wise and ancestral as well as simultaneously being thoroughly energetic and futuristic. It has been incredible cheering on multiple Black woman fashion vanguards as they develop platforms and brands that explicitly dismantle white supremacist tropes that at times have governed many areas within fashion. Furthermore, their entrepreneurial grit has often motivated me to access resilience throughout the process of building L’Uomo Strano.”
If money was no object, what item would you want to add to your wardrobe? “It’d likely be a toss-up between something timeless, classic and luxe—like a crocodile Birkin bag—and something in white gold and diamond encrusted, like a grill—which would be such a vibe—or an obscenely large L’Uomo Strano logo pendant chain.”
Who is your favourite designer and why? “I have so many favourite designers, but the two fashion artists who really cemented my love of fashion are Nick Cave, an African-American fabric sculptor who creates these wonderfully colourful and futuristic “Soundsuits” that he then animates through performance art and dance, and Jonathan Anderson, whose [JW Anderson] Fall 2013 collection affirmed for me that dynamic clothing that empowers different gender expressions can find a space on the runway.”
What’s the best piece of style advice you’ve ever been given? “I’ve been told a couple of times that one should take off at least one accessory before leaving the house, but, to be honest, I pretty much always do the opposite and throw on another, because sometimes more is definitely more.”
What’s your favourite item in your wardrobe that was given to you? “An upcycled skirt made of vintage ties and created by my dear friend R. Kelly Clipperton, a Toronto musician and artist. When I wear it, it almost feels like I’m wearing a lovingly made quilt in that it is handmade, methodical and historicized.”
What’s the most recent fashion item you purchased? “A diamond tennis bracelet. Every time I look at it, I think of the Kash Doll song ‘Ice Me Out.’ I still haven’t learned the TikTok dance for that song, but it’s definitely on my to-do list.”
What fashion item in your wardrobe do you treasure the most? “A couple of years ago, my mother started gifting me with Pride-themed T-shirts at the beginning of Pride Month, and they are so important to me. My parents have grown into extremely engaged allies of both the queer community and L’Uomo Strano, and I treasure these T-shirts as mementoes of this incredible support.” n