Birmingham City graduate, Thomas Cox travelled around New York and London in order to further develop his creative self. Whilst in New York, he visited an exhibition called The Out and Bad Series at The Museum of Art and Design where he saw a piece called Swag Swag Krew, which consisted of a group of very masculine mannequins in masculine poses, juxtaposed with flamboyantly feminine outfits.

Thomas then went on to consider why was it that homosexual men are not considered masculine, strong or intimidating in society like a gang would be. For Thomas’ graduate collection he chose to create a uniform for a fictional gay gang. He achieved this through combining strong masculine silhouettes with traditional menswear tailoring.

He then fused a delicate drape of adorned floral prints across his material. Each motif resembles a penis that looks like graffiti found on walls from less desirable places. Every outfit also has an over exaggerated fastening to highlight the restrictions placed on gay men.