Upworthy

Never has discrimination looked so beautiful. Sometimes a fashion statement says so much more than “I’m fierce.”

When Dutch designers Mattijs van Bergen and Oeri van Woezik joined forces for EuroPride, they knew they wanted to contribute something that spoke volumes. As visual artists, it was important for that message to be conveyed through the power of a single image.

Or in this case, a single dress.

The “Rainbow Dress” is 52-feet long, with a skirt made up of the flags from the 72 countries around the world where homosexuality is considered a crime. Appropriately, the “Rainbow Dress” is being modeled by world-renowned transgender model, Valentijn de Hingh.

While the skirt was constructed of flags from countries where being gay is illegal, the bodice of the dress was constructed from the three flags of the city of Amsterdam, so as to honor “the free spirit of Amsterdam and the safe shelter Amsterdam provides for lesbian and gay people all over the world,” said Van Woezik in an email.

After Amsterdam’s annual Pride Parade, Arnout van Krimpen and Jochem Kaan of the COC Amsterdam (a Dutch organization for LGTBQ rights) reached out to them and asked if they could do something interesting with Amsterdam’s flags. Van Bergen and Van Woezik had been friends for years, and they saw this as the perfect opportunity to put their creative minds together and build something truly unique.

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Picture by Jochem Kaan

The concept of the dress is to take the idea of freedom of expression and turn it into a mirror that shows where in the world the freedom to be LGBTQ is lacking.

“Mattijs, Arnout, Jochem and I felt the need to do something impactful in the context of our craftsmanship. We all live in Amsterdam which considers freedom of speech and expression a universal right for everyone,” wrote Van Woezik.

Of the 72 countries represented on the skirt of the Rainbow Dress, 10 consider homosexuality an offense that can be punishable by death. In Yemen, married men can be sentenced to death by stoning for having sexual intercourse with a man. In Qatar, Muslims can be put to death for extramarital sex of any kind. According to a 2014 report, certain homosexual acts can be punishable by flogging, a fine, or prison time in Sudan.

As a port city, Amsterdam has always been a safe haven for people from all backgrounds and of all orientations. The dress is meant to be a reminder to citizens that while the country encourages freedom of self-expression, its citizens should also be proud and supportive of that message.

Such freedom should not be a privilege that only some countries’ citizens get to enjoy — it should be a given. Hopefully this bold statement will get the necessary politicians to say “yes” to the dress.

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Gay Star News

To highlight the predicament of LGBTs living in places where being themselves may be illegal or even life-threatening, Dutch womenswear designer Mattijs van Bergen and artist Oeri van Woezik constructed a ‘rainbow dress’ made from the flags of 72 countries that outlaw homosexuality.

The flags were said to be collected by COC, a Dutch organisation for LGBT men and women. Van Bergen and Van Woezik then went to work to piece the flags together to form a giant dress.

Van Bergen described his creation as ‘a statement for equal rights and against homosexual prosecution.’

The dress was worn by transgender model Valentijn de Hingh in a photoshoot with photographer Pieter Henket.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIkngClA8C9/

Henket said that he chose to shoot the dress in front of one of the most beautiful paintings in the world, ‘The Night Watch’ by Rembrandt, inside the Het Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

De Hingh was EuroPride’s first transgender ambassador.

Modeling since 2008, the 26-year-old Amsterdam native had walked down the runway for major fashion houses such as Comme des Garçons and Maison Martin Margiela.

She is also the first transgender person to have ever been represented by IMG Models.

‘That little lady wearing the big dress is me,’ the model wrote on Instagram. ‘Every country that changes its legislation will have its flag replaced by a rainbow flag. Let’s hope this dress will represent a patchwork of rainbows sooner rather than later.’

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The Independent

For Europride 2016, this fantastic flag dress was created to show how far we still have to go for LGBTQ rights around the world.

Images of a dress made from the flags of countries which still ban homosexuality, have already been shared 1000s of times.

In a post to Instagram, the photographer Pieter Henket explained that the dress is made up of 72 flags for the 72 countries in which homosexuality is still banned. In 12 of these it comes with the death penalty.

The flags were part of the opening march of this year’s Europride, and they were then collected by Cultuur en Ontspanningscentrum (COC), the oldest centre for LGBTQ rights in the world. COC joined up with designer Matthijs van Bergen and the artist Oeri van Woezik to create the dress. The dress was modeled by Valentijn De Hingh, the first transgender model to be signed by IMG models, and also Europride’s first trans ambassador.

The shoot took place in Amsterdam’s prestigious Rijksmuseum, in front of the Rembrandt painting commonly known as the Night Watch (1642).

img_8332Picture by Jochem Kaan

Speaking to Indy100, the designer Mattijs van Bergen explained how he and spatial designer and artist Oeri van Woezik came together for the project.

Arnout van Krimpen and Jochem Kaan with the COC Amsterdam asked us… to develop a concept and find a new destination for those national icons… The gay pride is of course about cheerfulness and party. But it is also a moment of explicit consideration and reflection. Oeri, Arnout, Jochem and I felt the need to do something impactful in the context of our craftsmanship. We all live in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands which considers freedom of speech, expression as a universal right for everyone.

He described the other parts of the rainbow dress, which in addition to the national flags include the flags of the city of Amsterdam.

In our Amsterdam Rainbow Dress we wrap the cruelty of restricting ones happiness by prohibiting free choice of love, in beauty and elegance. The body of the 52 feet long dress is made out of the flags of the city of Amsterdam, with the three st. Andrew crosses. Honoring the free spirit of Amsterdam and the safe shelter Amsterdam provides for lesbian and gay people all over the world.

Van Bergen also discussed the strength of the collaboration.

The co-operation between COC, Oeri van Woezik, Pieter Henket as a dutch well known photographer and the Rijksmuseum appeared to be a powerful combination. The model… in front of the world famous painting Night Watch of Rembrandt went viral all over the world.

The dress is intended to be a living art work. As well as a reminder of how far the world still has to go to achieve equality before the law for all people, the intention is for the dress to be updated as the laws against homosexuality are changed. Writing on Instagram, Valentijn de Hingh explained:

Every country that changes its legislation will have its flag replaced by a rainbow flag. Let’s hope this dress will represent a patchwork of rainbows sooner rather than later!

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