‘Divine (Harris Glenn Milstead), was quite simply larger than life. He was in every sense—as a man, a performer, a personality and a body. To me, he is the embodiment of self-determination.

Labeled as the filthiest person alive and seen in such movies as Pink Flamingos, Hairspray and Lust in The Dust and in theater plays such as The Neon Woman, Divine has had a huge impact on popular culture. He preempted the glorification of trash, the mix of high and low, the fantastic erasure of gender barriers. I thought it was time to celebrate him, the LOEWE way: with a limited edition collection inspired by his looks and a museum exhibition honoring his artistry.

Divine Collection (unproduced), 2020 © 2020 The Estate of Richard Bernstein / VEGAP, Madrid © Greg Gorman © Divine Official Enterprises LLC © Clay Geerdes — **Divine Collection (unproduced), 2020**
© 2020 The Estate of Richard Bernstein / VEGAP, Madrid © Greg Gorman
© Divine Official Enterprises LLC
© Clay Geerdes

Of course, current events have impacted the scale of our efforts. Due to the ongoing global pandemic, production was halted in order to keep our artisans and workers safe. And right now, LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations all over are recalibrating, as organizers and activists work to rightfully reclaim these avenues as a form of protest, joining the movement for Black Lives. We support their efforts.

To better meet this moment, we have staged an online exhibition of Divine memorabilia and pictures, which was initially planned as part of our exhibition for PhotoEspaña Madrid at our Gran Vía store in Madrid. The virtual exhibition now comprises a showcase of Divine memorabilia shot by the legendary Greg Gorman, portraitist extraordinaire to pop royalty and Divine himself, and made possible with the gracious help of Noah Brodie from Divine’s estate. These images will be accompanied by the LOEWE Divine unproduced collection that never was (but eventually, may be) shot on mannequins wearing Divine’s signature makeup look.

The Divine memorabilia, ranging from the infamous white dress to a mechanic tool-like vanity case, from the World Tour jacket to the gold record to posters and magazine covers, is overwhelming. It bursts with color, trash, fantasy, outrage, glamour, and freedom. That’s what we tried to capture in the collection that never was, which is so different from what we usually do at LOEWE: a merging of our sense of ease and Divine’s proclivity for camp. There are patent platform pumps and a bevy of feathers splashed onto a miniskirt, or edging the sleeves or hem of a maxi t-shirt. We printed Divine’s provocative face on tops, dresses and even on an apron, and we used the posters of his performances as allover prints on t-shirts and dresses.

Divine T-shirt in cotton

I was so excited to honor Divine in the expansive way that he deserved—and maybe there will be a better time for this in the future. In the meantime, we have developed a limited edition collection consisting of three t-shirts and a Cushion tote bag, which will be sold online. Fifteen percent of the proceeds will be donated to Visual AIDS, an organization which utilizes art to fight HIV/AIDS by provoking dialogue, supporting artists living with HIV, and preserving a legacy. We know from our ongoing partnership with Visual AIDS that the HIV/AIDS crisis is not over. We join them in their ongoing fight against the virus and their efforts to preserve our history.

Additionally, we are pleased to make a donation to Baltimore Pride, which is important to us for two reasons. Firstly, it is the hometown of Divine and the setting for the film Hairspray. But additionally and more importantly, Baltimore Pride is a Black-led LGBTQ+ organization and celebration. We are honored to support their work.

This project has been an exciting creative challenge. I think it is a timely initiative, in that it is a celebration of creative freedom and challenging the world order. That’s what Divine was all about: creating his own incredible world, no matter what. Now more than ever, that’s what we all should do.’

Limited edition collection available from 25 June on loewe.com and Greene street store in New York. The online exhibition will run from 25 June until the end of September at loewe.com.

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Loewe Releases Divine Limited Edition Collection

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