Italian luxury brand Gucci just released its latest shoe collection called Queercore. They say,

“Reflecting the spirit of the subculture, the styles are fitted with multiple straps, studs and metal embellishments, including the Dionysus buckle.”

The collection prices starting at $1,250, a lot of money for any punk. It was reportedly inspired by Homocore, an 80s gay punk movement. Filmmaker and musician G.B. Jones, a legend in the Queer movement played bands like Bunny & the Lakers and Fifth Column. She told LGBTQ Nation,

“Queercore didn’t ‘lend its name’ to Gucci for their shoes. I should know, I invented the term ‘Queercore’. They stole it, plain and simple. It’s theft.

I live on less in an entire month than it would cost to buy one pair of these shoes…

Together with Candaian actor, writer and filmmaker Bruce LaBruce Jones published J.D.s., a queer punk zine. After publishing a manifesto called Don’t Be Gay, which attacked both punk and gay subculture, Queercore began to emerge.

At first, it WAS called Homocore, but later it was renamed to the LGBTQ community’s diversity. Jones said it would probably put off the average Gucci buyer, if only they knew.

“I’m sure if half the people buying these shoes knew what Queercore was really all about, they’d return those shoes in a heartbeat.“

A number of activists joined in on Jones’ criticism of Gucci, but rather than sue, Jones has a different idea on how Gucci could help the LGBTQ community. She suggests they might use their advocacy, and the fact they have shops in a number of countries where homosexuality is punishable by death, to drive change – like in Qatar, or Saudi Arabia.

G.B. Jones

(via Gay Star News)