Billy Porter: Fashion an expression of who I am
POSE star Billy Porter sees fashion as an “expression” of who he is.
The Pose star made waves with his iconic tuxedo dress at the 2019 Oscars and he has revealed he has “always wanted” to express himself in his clothes “differently”.
Speaking to Allure, he said: “It was always an expression for me. I always wanted to do something different.
“And I always had great taste. And expensive taste. When I was 10, I could walk into a store for my Easter suit and scan the suits” – he mimics pointing to one – “and it would inevitably be the most expensive suite in the store.
“My family said I had champagne taste on a beer budget. I understood they couldn’t give me the s**t I wanted.”
The 50-year-old actor previously confessed he knew his iconic tuxedo dress, designed by Christian Siriano, would “change” the world.
He said: “It was during fashion week. We went to Christian Siriano’s fashion show a half hour after I got the call. I remembered why I love him. He’s always been the designer who understands that everybody on the planet wears clothes, whether you’re a size 0 or a size 400.
“We had already been coming up against a wall with many designers because I wanted to do this genderbending, fluid thing.
“We just got flat-out no’s from a lot of people. ‘We don’t think you should be wearing that.’
“That kind of silencing thing that happens. I’m older now so I knew what it looked like.
“I’ll do it anyway. I knew I needed to wear a ballgown and
Christian is the only person who would look me in the face and say ‘yes’.
“He did it in nine days. It was my idea to do the top and the bottom, playing with genders. I didn’t know what the shot was going to be.
“I thought if it’s shot from the waist up and it looks like a traditional tux, and then you pull out and see it’s a ballgown, the world will change.”