by YING HUI TOI
Pierre Davis is the first transgender fashion designer to debut in the recent AW19 New York Fashion Week (NYFW). [1] She is the founder of the brand NO SESSO, based in LA. The name NO SESSO means ‘No Sex’ in Italian, which stands for the direction of it is brand being an agender, creating a gender-fluid collection that caters for people with any pronoun and gender identity. [3] Davis’ goal is to “inspire people to be more community-minded and to realize not everything is just about aesthetics or commerce. It’s also about humanity.” [4] During the fashion week, her collection is worn by transgender models, male and female model of all size, showing that No Sesso is a fashion brand is all about inclusivity. [5] No Sesso might just be the catalyst of making the fashion industry to be more open-minded. In an interview with Pinterest, Davis states that her creativity comes from looking inwards and exploring self-thought then showing it to the outside world. [2] Despite being in a competitive industry, Davis insists to stay true to herself and work with her peer to design clothing that accommodates to the LGBTQ+ community. [6] No Sesso pushes the boundaries, where she sees her creation a form of art.
You might be wondering, why would be Pierre Davis a forgotten hero when she on the right track while holding on the title of being the ‘first transgender design’ in NYFW? Just when I was all thrilled about this news and decided to go on to Youtube to look for more interviews with Pierre Davis, but sadly there isn’t any. The only two videos that showed is the video of the runway, nothing more in-depth. A blog post dedicating to Pierre Davis’s show in Elle’s site states that CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) claims Davis’s being the first transgender designer showing their collection in NYFW would be ‘making NYFW history’. [1] Ironically, so little attention was given to this transgender designer. During NYFW, Pierre Davis was all over lifestyle magazines and online newspapers, in content in most of it are similar, and some even exactly the same. Immediately after NYFW, her name faded away. To an extent, the purpose of the post published is questioned, as only a few shares an in-depth story of Pierre Davis and her brand. In Cultured Magazine, Davis claims that representation of non-cisgender people is often used as a marketing tool for companies. [6] The brutal truth is, do they really stand for the LGBTQ+ community? All and all, Pierre Davis isn’t a name for companies to use to attract a broad diversity of market. She is a female fashion designer that needs to be remembered for what she has accomplished and continues to strive for a better future in the fashion industry for her community.
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- “The First Transgender Designer Just Showed At New York Fashion Week”, ELLE, Last modified 2019, https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/a26151490/pierre-davis-transgender-designer-new-york-fashion-week/.
- “My Creative Mindset — Pierre Davis”, Vimeo, Last modified 2019, https://vimeo.com/304930661.
- “NO GENDER, NO SESSO — DRØME”, DRØME, Last modified 2019, https://www.wearedrome.com/no-gender-no-sesso.
- “New York Fashion Week Debuts First Ever Transgender Designer”, The Independent, Last modified 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/new-york-fashion-week-transgender-designer-pierre-davis-no-sesso-autumn-winter-2019-nyfw-a8765481.html.
- “Pierre Davis Is The First Transgender Designer To Debut At NYFW | V Magazine”, Vmagazine.Com, Last modified 2019, https://vmagazine.com/article/pierre-davis-is-the-first-transgender-designer-to-debut-at-nyfw/.
- “No Sesso’s Pierre Davis Is Creating Her Own Definition Of Success | Cultured Magazine”, Cultured Magazine, Last modified 2019, https://www.culturedmag.com/no-sesso-pierre-davis/.
- “Pierre Davis Is The First Transgender Designer To Debut At NYFW | V Magazine”, Vmagazine.Com, Last modified 2019, https://vmagazine.com/article/pierre-davis-is-the-first-transgender-designer-to-debut-at-nyfw/.
Design Practices 