Gay men dress in so many ways that are beyond just the ‘feminine’: Filmmaker and fashion fiend Mozez Singh

Mozez Singh, an influential LGBTQ+ personality, does not mince his words when he says that there are certain stereotypes that are associated with the community and how it is represented in the mainstream media. He calls it “utter nonsense” when a gay man is presented in an effeminate manner. “Gay men dress in so many ways that are beyond just the ‘feminine’,” he tells this outlet.
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During a recent interaction with , the filmmaker, who has been hailed for pushing the boundaries of Indian cinema with unconventional and hard-hitting stories — including the medical thriller ‘Human‘ that released this year and was headlined Shefali Shah (which Singh co-directed with Vipul Amrutlal Shah) — talks about his sartorial choices, what he thinks of fashion in Bollywood, his appearance on Netflix’s ‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives‘, the representation of LGBTQ+ community in films and fashion, and why actor Ranveer Singh is “at the head of the race” when it comes to acing androgynous and gender-fluid ensembles.

Excerpts:
How would you define your personal style?
Eclectic, adventurous, fluid, expressive, comfortable.
Along the same vein, what does fashion mean to you?
Fashion, to me, is one of the greatest forms of self-expression and self-love. The clothes never inhabit me. I inhabit the clothes and then find a way to channel my personality through the fashion I am wearing. This empowers me because it allows me to feel and be who I am. It is very liberating.

Tell us about your outfit of choice during an episode of ‘Fabulous Lives…’ There was some fun banter between you and Bhavana Pandey.
I had two scenes in season 2 of the show. For the first scene, I wore a really-cool and outré outfit Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda, and for the second scene, I wore a fabulous upcoming Indian design brand, Bloni Atelier. And all my jewellery in both the scenes was the best Indian jeweller Hanut Singh, whose work is just so ‘wow’.
I was keen to wear one really established international designer and one upcoming Indian designer for the scenes and I am glad I achieved that goal. My personal wardrobe is full of known and unknown brands, and so what I wore on the show was an extension of this, of me.

What is your take on gender-fluid fashion, given that many big global names and brands are endorsing it?
I love it, and totally endorse it. I have always felt that gender definitions limit humanity and, therefore, this fluidity in fashion is a great leap forward towards expression and equality, and merging and balancing of all gender types.

According to you, which actor in Bollywood can and has aced androgynous fashion? Would you call Ranveer Singh a frontrunner?
Yes, I think Ranveer is definitely at the head of the race in this category and more power to him! I hope he never stops. It is so much fun to watch his sartorial choices.

What are some fashion no-nos for you, be it on the red carpet, or otherwise?
Other than showing up on the red carpet with dirty shoes (unless the dirty shoes are a part of the look), I have no fashion no-nos. People should wear whatever fills them with joy. There should be no rules in fashion. Full throttle, ba!
Talking about fashion in the LGBTQ+ community, or how it is represented in the mainstream media, what are some stereotypes or myths that you would like to bust?
That gay men only dress in a feminine manner and that gay women do not have much fashion sense. This is utter nonsense. Gay men dress in so many ways that are beyond just the ‘feminine’, and I have seen some lesbians with the most impeccable style.

Generally speaking, whom do you find most (or least) fashionable in the Indian fashion circuit, including Bollywood?
I am totally into my own vibe and my deep love for fashion, and that is because I understand fashion academically. So I guess, the answer to this question is ‘me’.

As a filmmaker, and given the stigma faced the LGBTQ+ community in India still, what role can films play in de-stigmatising it, in terms of storytelling, representation, etc.?
Films can play the biggest role in ending all this stigmatising. Ultimately, the LGBTQ experience is just the human experience, and films can play a very big part in highlighting this showing that the experience is not to be treated like the ‘other’, but something that is completely normal, like anything else. We all have the same heart, the same brain — we are one.

Finally, a film or show — Indian or otherwise — that you watched in the recent past and thought did justice to how queer characters are represented…
Two Indian series — my own ‘Human‘ and also ‘Made In Heaven‘ — correctly nailed queer representation. And, of course, the now seminal film, ‘Call Me Your Name‘ is a modern-day epic queer romance that I just cannot get enough of!
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