Surprise Drop: Maltese Fashion Designer Claps Back At Homophobic Priest In New Collection
A prominent Maltese fashion designer has clapped back at the homophobic comments made by a priest in the best way possible – by using his own words in his latest designs AND raising money for queer NGOs.
“Surprise drop!” Marco Parascandalo said as he shared a number of new designs featuring the word “gayyaġni”, which was the term used by fundamentalist priest Father David Muscat this week in the wake of the brutal murder of Paulina Dembska.
“Proudly living your truth is essential,” Parascandalo said. “So when someone is annoyed by your ‘gayyagni’, wear it on a shirt and own it.”
Parascandalo shared a number of designs including hoodies, shirts and caps – and noted that part of the proceeds from the new line would go towards one of Malta’s most important LGBTQIA+ NGOs, ARC.
“In turning a negative situation of hate speech into a positive fashion moment, a portion of the proceeds from these items will be going towards supporting ARC (Allied Rainbow Communities), an NGO based in Malta known for tirelessly standing up for the LGBTQIA+ community.”
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Taking back the power from those who try to oppress you is a strong way of tackling hateful elements in society; a few years back, a similar campaign had been launched to take back the derogatory word pufta, in another cool fashion design series.
Are you copping any of these pieces? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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