H&M + OUT Present Pride OUT Loud

For many, celebrations of Pride have long been linked to specific imagery and traditions: drag queens blowing kisses from floats; men in crop tops waving signs of love and protest; rainbow flags snaking their way down confetti-coated streets. These cherished touchstones won't be leaving us anytime soon, but the notion of Pride has evolved alongside our ever-broadening queer community.

This year, with our vibrant new "Pride Out Loud" initiative, OUT will be teaming with H&M to trumpet that evolution, and to spotlight the new traditions sprinkling into our culture. Today, pride is a supportive mother shopping for her newly out son. It's a genderqueer teen who'll happily browse both the men's and women's departments. And it's an unwavering, stylish expression of identity that LGBTQ people--and their allies--can rock all year round.

Photography by Eric White

To demonstrate the broad spectrum of pride as it is now, five fresh voices from queer culture have joined OUT and H&M to share the diverse, empowering ways their own pride has propelled them. Singular pop star Kim Petras, who's become a meteoric trans icon, found salvation in music as an ostracized teen in Germany. Now, at 25, she's redirecting that toxic energy into bubbly, infectious bops that are yielding millions of listeners.

Photography by Eric White

Beloved Olympian Gus Kenworthy, who made history with his uncompromised views--and a show-stopping kiss--at this year's winter Games, went from a closeted life in Telluride, Colo., to being awestruck by New York's Pride parade in the arms of his boyfriend.

Photography by Eric White

As a black, albino gay man, game-changing model and musician Shaun Ross has always seen pride as multi-faceted, and, for him, whether it pertains to race, gender, or sexual orientation, it's an inner light that can accelerate change.

Photography by Eric White

Artist Gabrielle Richardson, the queer founder of Art Hoe Collective, has used her liberated embrace of gender-fluid style to empower other creatives via the mighty tool of social media. And RuPaul's Drag Race alum Aja, who grew up in Brooklyn beset by gender confusion, sees pride as a means of survival--one that's led her around the globe and traces back to her mother's wisdom.

Photography by Eric White

Though these people hold unique places in the public eye, they demonstrate the now countless ways that pride can manifest, and the myriad individuals who can make pride their own--through fashion, creativity, and simply raising their voices. With "Pride Out Loud," OUT and H&M are using their combined legacies and bold visions to broadcast one common message: When it comes to Pride, there's no wrong way to wear it.

Video by Paul Bui

Shop the Pride Collection at H&M.