How Fashion and Beauty Brands Are Giving Back for Pride Month 2021
Each year, fashion and beauty brands celebrate Pride Month by rolling out their Pride-themed collections. This year, however, more brands are taking their Pride Month initiatives beyond the rainbow merchandise and making greater efforts to support the LGBTQ community.
Many companies are looking inward for the 2021 Pride Month, focusing on further educating their employees and creating safer and more inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ community. PVH Corp., the parent company behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for one, is expanding its initiatives to offer year-round education and awareness of the LGBTQ community for its employees. The company will also be sponsoring six Pride events throughout the year and is supporting the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Historically Black College and Universities program.
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Other brands are making their Pride-themed offerings and donations a year-round initiative, including Happy Socks, which is donating 10 percent of sales from its rainbow-colored socks to InterPride throughout the year, and Pink, which has expanded its offerings for its gender-inclusive Pink for All collection that debuted earlier this year.
Fashion and beauty brands are also continuing their support of major charities and organizations focusing on the LGBTQ community, like GLAAD, the Trevor Project, the Hetrick-Martin Institute and GLSEN, among others.
Here, WWD looks at how some fashion and beauty brands are giving back for Pride Month 2021.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is continuing its 11-year partnership with the Trevor Project — an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention organization — with a new Pride collection. The 24-piece collection features T-shirts, hoodies, jackets, shorts and accessories designed in tie-dye, paint splatter and rainbow styles. The collection also includes a Pride-themed version of the brand’s Fierce fragrance. The brand will be donating $200,000 to the Trevor Project through the collection.
Alo Yoga
Alo Yoga is releasing its first Pride Month collection this year to support the Trevor Project. Called “Love Is Love,” the collection includes hoodies, sweat shorts, tank tops and accessories that range in price from $18 to $120. All proceeds from the collection will benefit the Trevor Project.
Balenciaga
Balenciaga is releasing a Pride Month capsule collection with 15 percent of sales benefiting the Trevor Project. The collection includes varsity-style hoodies, T-shirts, innerwear and baseball caps.
Becca Cosmetics
Becca Cosmetics is releasing its last product launch for Pride Month before the brand shutters in September. The brand is releasing a special-edition shade of its best-selling Shimmering Skin Perfector highlighter exclusively on its website for $38. Becca Cosmetics is donating $50,000 through sales to the Trevor Project.
Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers is teaming with GLSEN — an organization that works to end discrimination, harassment and bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity — this Pride Month. The brand is releasing a Pride Month collection with T-shirts, pocket squares and ties with 100 percent of sales going back to the organization. The collection retails for $49.50 to $89.50.
Coach
Coach released its “Pride Is Where You Find It” campaign starring the likes of Bob the Drag Queen, Miles Heizer, Jack Mizrahi, Stasha Sanchez and Rina Sawayama, who appear in the campaign video talking about where they find their Pride.
Additionally, the brand is launching a Pride collection of bags, T-shirts and footwear featuring rainbow versions of Coach’s signature patterns. Coach is also donating to organizations like the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the Albert Kennedy Trust, the Point Foundation and the CenterLink Community of LGBTQ Centers.
Diesel
Diesel is re-releasing its Pride collection this year to support Diversity, an Italian-based organization that promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The 20-piece collection includes rainbow-themed swimwear, tank tops, T-shirts, boxers and accessories.
Fabletics
Fabletics’ 2021 Pride Month collection is called “United in Pride.” The 11-piece collection includes apparel in rainbow and tie-dye prints and features messages that express unity and inclusivity. The brand is donating $50,000 from the collection to GLAAD and prices start at $17.95.
Fossil
Fossil is releasing 10 Pride-themed watch straps this month, including one in a rainbow colorway and another in a blue, pink and white colorway meant to reflect the colors of the transgender flag. The brand is donating all proceeds from the collection to the Trevor Project with a minimum donation of $25,000. The Pride watch straps retail for $20 and a Pride watch and case retail for $75.
Fourlaps
Men’s fashion brand Fourlaps is teaming with the Hetrick-Martin Institute — an LGBTQ youth organization that provides basic needs, health, education and career services — this Pride Month. The brand is donating 100 percent of sales of its “4Love” and “Love Finishes First” T-Shirts to the organization. The shirts retail for $50.
Gap
Gap is tapping three employees to design the latest iteration of its Gap Collective line for Pride Month. The collection includes rainbow-designed T-shirts, baseball caps and socks ranging in price from $14.95 to $34.95. Gap is donating $50,000 from the collection to GLAAD.
H&M
H&M is releasing its “Beyond the Rainbow” campaign for Pride Month. The campaign stars MJ Rodriguez and Chella Man, who tell their personal stories and talk about what Pride means to them. The campaign is meant to inspire others to tell their own stories and support efforts for equality and transparency.
Additionally, the brand is releasing a new app where individuals can scan any rainbow pattern and find stories from the campaign from people in the LGBTQ community. H&M is also participating in a match campaign throughout June where it is matching donations made to the Trevor Project.
Happy Socks
Happy Socks decided against putting together a Pride Month ad campaign this year and instead donated its campaign budget to InterPride, an organization that produces Pride events around the world. The brand has also released four rainbow-colored socks it is selling year-round with 10 percent of profits also going to InterPride.
Hollister
For the fifth year in a row, Hollister is celebrating Pride Month by teaming with GLSEN. The brand is releasing a Pride Month collection co-created with GLSEN’s National Student Council Members, who helped design the 40-piece collection of loungewear, swimwear, apparel and fragrances. The collection ranges in price from $9.95 to $49.95. Hollister is donating $250,000 back to the organization.
Kate Spade
Kate Spade is teaming with the Trevor Project for Pride Month, releasing a rainbow-themed collection that benefits the organization. The collection includes T-shirts, sweaters, shoes, handbags and face masks, and retails for $25 to $198 with 20 percent of proceeds going back to the organization.
Lord Jones
CBD brand Lord Jones is releasing a Pride Bundle this month, which includes the brand’s limited-edition Pride Hemp-Derived CBD Gumdrops and its Lord Jones Pride Sweatshirt for $98. The brand is donating 50 percent of sales from each bundle to L.A. Pride to support the organization’s training program, PLATform, which supports and educates the transgender and nonbinary communities on how to engage in activism and police reform.
Macy’s
Macy’s is launching its Pride + Joy campaign for Pride Month, where the retailer is honoring the LGBTQ community through a customer-centric give-back program to benefit the Trevor Project. The retailer is also releasing a Pride Month collection of apparel, shoes and accessories with 10 percent of sales benefiting the Trevor Project.
Neiman Marcus Group
The Neiman Marcus Group is launching several initiatives for Pride Month. The company is participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for the first time and is updating its policies and plans to expand its protections and benefits for LGBTQ employees.
The company is additionally making donations to the Human Rights Campaign, the Trevor Project and True Colors United, as well as displaying Pride-themed window displays in its 37 Neiman Marcus stores and two Bergdorf Goodman locations.
The North Face
The North Face is releasing its first Pride Month collection this year. The collection includes Pride-themed versions of the brand’s best-selling apparel items, like hoodies, T-shirts, totes, slides and other items. The brand will be donating $70,000 from the collection to Brave Trails, a non-profit summer camp dedicated to LGBTQ youth leadership.
NYX
Makeup brand NYX Professional Makeup is celebrating Pride Month with a new collection and social media challenge. The brand is releasing a collection of eye, lip and face offerings in bright colors and metallics ranging in price from $8 to $15 and is donating $100,000 to various LGBTQ organizations, including the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
The brand is also hosting its #NYXCosmeticsBall, inspired by the underground LGBTQ ballroom scene, where contestants can submit a video showing their makeup look and performance for a chance to win $5,000. The winner will be announced on June 28.
OGX
Hair-care brand OGX is in its fourth year of the company’s Care With Pride program. This year, the brand is releasing a limited-edition collection of products exclusively at Target that support the LGBTQ community. From every purchase of the eight-item collection, the brand will donate $1 to Family Equality, an organization that protects and supports LGBTQ families.
Pink
Pink is releasing a rainbow capsule collection for Pride Month, as well as adding new styles to its gender-inclusive Pink For All line that released earlier this year. The brand is also donating $100,000 to Campus Pride, an organization that works to build safer and more inclusive college campuses across the country.
PVH Corp.
PVH Corp., which owns brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and others, is expanding its Pride Month initiatives to focus on year-round education and awareness for the LGBTQ community. The company is sponsoring six events focused on the LGBTQ community throughout the year, including the Human Rights Conference and Black Queen Townhall this month. It is also expanding its community engagement by supporting the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities program and by partnering with PFLAG to help educate its associates.
Calvin Klein is supporting Pride Month with the campaign, #proudinmycalvins, which tells stories of people in the LGBTQ+ community. The brand is also releasing a Pride Month collection of underwear, apparel and accessories and is donating to organizations like the Trevor Project, the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and others.
Tommy Hilfiger is releasing a nine-piece gender-neutral Pride collection and will be making a donation to Ilga World, a global organization that brings together LGBTQ groups.
Rue21
Retailer Rue21 is releasing its most expansive Pride Month initiative to date. The initiative includes the release of a limited-edition, gender-neutral fragrance called Unity, Pride-themed T-shirts and accessories, as well as a $50,000 donation to the Trevor Project.
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is teaming with the Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative for Pride Month. The partnership includes special window installations and in-store experiences that celebrate Pride Month at the retailer’s Fifth Avenue flagship. Additionally, Saks is making a $50,000 donation to the organization’s Safe Spaces program, which partners with entertainment venues, stores and restaurants to help create safe and inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ community.
Savage x Fenty
Rihanna’s lingerie label is releasing its first Pride collection this month. The collection’s campaign features 13 people from the LGBTQ+ community and was photographed by Quil Lemons. The collection includes lingerie, crop tops, smoking jackets, boxer briefs and other styles ranging in price from $16.95 to $69.95. Sales will be donated to several LGBTQ charities, including GLAAD, the Audre Lorde Project, the Caribbean Equality Project and the Trans Wellness Center, among others.
Stuart Weitzman
Stuart Weitzman is teaming with the It Gets Better Project — a nonprofit that works to empower LGBTQ youth globally — this Pride Month. The brand is releasing its Ollie Heart Sneaker and Ollie Heart Bootie Sneaker (priced at $275 and $295, respectively) for the initiative and is donating 100 percent of profits to the organization.
Target
Target is supporting GLSEN for the 10th year this Pride Month. The retailer is donating $100,000 to the organization, marking roughly $2 million that it has donated over the decade-long partnership. Target is also releasing its most expansive Pride collection to date, with offerings across apparel, accessories, footwear, home decor and more.
Toms
Toms is releasing its third Unity collection for Pride Month. The collection includes Pride-themed versions of three of its most popular footwear styles reimagined with rainbow-colored details and three rainbow-colored sunglasses. The brand is donating a third of profits from the collection to several organizations focused on the LGBTQ community, including Brave Trails. The collection ranges in price from $49.95 to $54.95.
Ugg
Ugg tapped rapper Lil Nas X and actress Hari Nef as the faces of its 2021 Pride Month campaign, called #UggPride, where they modeled rainbow versions of the brand’s popular Fluff Yeah sandals. The brand additionally hosted its fifth “Proud Prom” event with the Pacific Pride Foundation and GLAAD. Ugg also released a Pride collection featuring rainbow-colored footwear, hoodies, T-shirts, skirts and socks and is donating up to $125,000 from sales to GLAAD.
Vera Bradley
Vera Bradley is releasing its Love Stripe collection for Pride Month in support of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that promotes visibility and education for the LGBTQ community. The collection includes the brand’s new Recycled Cotton Utility styles in a rainbow colorway and ranges in price from $14.99 to $65. Vera Bradley is donating $20,000 from the collection to the organization.
Versace
Versace is showing support for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, which focuses on the mental health of young people, this Pride Month by releasing a replica of the leather jacket the singer wore during her “Born This Way” tour a decade ago. The jacket will be auctioned off and all proceeds will benefit the foundation. The design house is also releasing limited-edition, rainbow-designed pieces, like a T-shirt and beret, that will partially benefit the foundation.
Read more here:
LGBTQ Population Skeptical of Brands’ Pride Initiatives
Designers Open Up on LGBTQ Rights Movement, Charting a Path Forward
Brands Must Think Beyond Pride Month
WATCH: Stonewall and Fashion Pride
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