Freak to Chic: “Gay” Men in and out of Fashion after Oscar Wilde

Description

In this unique intervention in the study of queer culture, Dominic Janes highlights that, under the gaze of social conservatism, ‘gay’ life was hiding in plain sight. Indeed, he argues that the worlds of glamour, fashion, art and countercultural style provided rich opportunities for the construction of queer spectacle in London. Inspired by the legacies of Oscar Wilde, interwar and later 20th-century men such as Cecil Beaton expressed transgressive desires in forms inspired by those labelled ‘freaks’ and, thereby, made major contributions to the histories of art, design, fashion, sexuality, and celebrity. Janes reinterprets the origins of gay and queer cultures by charting the interactions between marginalized freaks and chic fashionistas. He establishes a new framework for future analyses of other cities and media, and of the roles of women and diverse identities. Cover Half title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Illustrations Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: In Search of Lost Times The Arts and Media Self-Expression After Oscar 2 Freak Shows Decline and Fall 3 Freaks in Vogue George, Georgie, Georgino Mio 4 Bright Young Things Freak Parties The Uprise of Cecil Beaton 5 Divas Mariegold in Society 6 The Floral Closet From Orchids to Pansies Open for Trade 7 Conclusions Oscar Wilde Revamped Notes Bibliography Index