June marks Pride Month and this June is extra, extra special in New York City - where Private Policy showed its SS20 collection. On June 29, it marks the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which thought of by most as being the most definitive time in LGBTQ+ history. This year's Pride March in NYC is also World Pride Day where an estimate million-plus people are planning to descend on the concrete jungle to celebrate. Private Policy's latest collection pays homage to the on-going effort to bring full equality to this community, especially in light of a barrage of anti-LGBTQ+ efforts by many governments. Private Policy also honors two trans-activists: Marsha Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

So, what of the collection? It was about celebration, freedom but also about struggle. It was not all rainbows and feather boas and tropes of LGBT life but instead a thoughtful look at the lives, wardrobes and struggles of the community.

Every season, GQ China sponsors a label to show during London Fashion Week and for FW19, they chose Private Policy. For its London debut, the label offered a theme that's quite universal: money and the cycle of it, from those who make it, to those who distribute it and to those who steal it. Mixed in this collection are men in luxurious clothes, men in restraints, and men in uniform, such as police and bank workers. Together it offered a collection that hits multiple notes and will appeal to a wide range of men, from those who are drawn to the shiny and shimmering layers of gold and orange to those who wear business casual outfits to work to sportier looks such as denim jackets, hoodies and sweats.

Noting the current state of the country and its politics, Private Policy's SS18 collection subverted the hallmarks of American culture from cowboys (and Native Americans) to the plastic bags often handed out to customers at stores around the country that simply say "Thank You" to create a very sellable collection, with plenty of accessories. As for the clothes themselves, they reeked of sex from the model's stances to the body-bearing layers while the shiny fabrics on cowboy outfits or chaps or a bomber evoked the shiny promise of a better life while the "Thank You" trench highlighted the consumerism and waste created by the country. From just 11 looks, the label conveyed a lot and offered ready to wear many people would actually wear. Kudos to the label.