Attitude 101 2026: Here are the 10 figures who made our ‘Fashion, Art & Design’ list

Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley, celebrates LGBTQ+ fashion, art and design figures who are shaping the creative industries.

The selection spans 10 sectors: Business; Fashion, Art & Design; Financial & Legal; Film, TV, and Music; Media & Broadcast; STEM; Sport; The Future (Under 25), supported by Clifford Chance; Third Sector & Community; and Travel, supported by Booking.com.

Honoured on this year’s Fashion, Art & Design list are 10 LGBTQ+ creatives shaping the cultural landscape with fearless imagination. See here for the full list of Attitude 101 2026 honourees.

Category leader: Louis Gabriel Nouchi

Award-winning fashion designer Louis Gabriel Nouchi has continuously challenged the status quo by placing queer desire and diverse bodies at the forefront of his collections. With inspirations that span literature and cinema, his collections have recontextualised the patriarchal protagonists of Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. His latest collection, explored power and submission vis a vis another Scott sci-fi masterpiece: 1979’s Alien. With S&M influences and a collaboration OnlyFans, Nouchi continues to challenge fashion without compromise.

Dara Allen

Among the Tumblr generation, Allen’s incomparable style and encyclopaedic knowledge of fashion have long been revered. Rooted in her trans identity, her approach to fashion is intuitive, subversive and deeply personal – she uses clothes as both expression and authorship. Over the past year, her portfolio has expanded dramatically, with Addison Rae and Hunter Schafer now among her star clients. Through Allen’s lens, fashion is a medium through which to explore emotion and radical self-definition. 

Pol Anglada

Like many gay artists, Spanish-born Anglada first found inspiration in the illustrations of Tom of Finland. A former artist-in-residence at the Tom of Finland Foundation, Anglada’s work differs from his influence, reframing queer erotica through his dreamlike style. His lush, pencil illustrations in vibrant watercolour hues present a radical intimacy rooted in tenderness. Last year’s solo exhibition in London, Walking on Eggshells, explored themes of voyeurism and vulnerability, presenting the heightened emotions (and enjoyment) of gay desire. 

Alex Margo Arden

Working across sculpture, photography and installation, Arden has solidified her status as one to watch on London’s art scene. The recent Royal Academy of Art graduate presented her solo exhibition By All Accounts at Frieze London 2025 with London art gallery Ginny on Frederick. Her installation took decommissioned mannequins of male workers from the National Motor Museum and bound them with rope. Her theatrical scenes invite viewers to question history, representation and performative male authority.  

Willy Chavarria

Mexican-American designer Chavarria is a driving force in challenging Eurocentric ideals of luxury fashion. His queer romanticisation of Chicano aesthetics, inspired by memories of the working-class men of his upbringing, repositions Latinx masculinity and style within contemporary fashion. Rugged workwear is transformed into poetic silhouettes that blur the line between the street and the couture salons of Paris. At the heart of his Paris Fashion Week shows is inclusive casting, pushing the industry to rethink traditional notions of luxury and who gets to define them.

Conner Ives

As transgender rights have become an increasingly politicised battleground, over the past year fashion designer Ives has used the runway as a platform for change. The London-based designer debuted his “Protect The Dolls” T-shirt at his Autumn/Winter 2025 show, donating 100 per cent of the profits to Trans Lifeline, a trans-led US charity. The tee went viral, and was worn by Pedro Pascal, Madonna and more. Continuing the momentum, his Spring/Summer 2026 show featured vibrant casting of transgender models in celebration of the “dolls” that inspire him. 

Maxmilian Raynor

Who do today’s sartorial risk-takers turn to when they want to make an impact? From Chappell Roan to Lady Gaga, Raynor has captured the attention of today’s gay icons through his unapologetic use of unconventional materials, sculptural silhouettes and exaggerated proportions. Since graduating from Central Saint Martins’ prestigious MA course in 2024, Raynor has reimagined historical dress through a gender-fluid lens, continuing London’s fashion legacy of individuality and performance for the next generation.

Paul Tazewell

Thanks to Wicked mania, there was one trend that defined the past year: pink and green. At the centre of this trend is costume designer Tazewell, whose designs for the film redefined character through colour. The Academy Award-winner drove his storytelling even further with the sequel, Wicked: For Good, with colour becoming a framework for belonging and resistance. Beyond the screen, his fantastical designs ignited the imagination, influencing fashion, branding and consumer culture alike. Tazewell’s work shows how powerful costume design can be in shaping culture and identity in ways that endure after the credits roll.

Mickalene Thomas

Contemporary artist Thomas made her mark in London last year with her solo exhibition, All About Love, at the Southbank Centre. Her large-scale portraits of Black women – family, friends and girlfriends – depict the vibrancy and vulnerability that connects Black womanhood. Desire and rebellion intersect in her mixed-media approach, where paintings (elevated with rhinestones and glitter) reclaim space and assert unapologetic empowerment. Within the art canon, Thomas puts Black queer identity and desire at the forefront, challenging the historical marginalisation that’s long defined art history.

Richard Villani

In his role at the Tom of Finland Foundation, Villani has committed himself to fostering the next generation of queer artists. From curating archival exhibitions to shaping the foundation’s Art and Culture Festival, Villani has taken a global approach to scouting emerging talent and providing them with platforms from which to expand their reach. This year, he upped the ante by founding Villani Studios, representing queer artists such as Sal Salandra and JJ Guest. 

---

The full Attitude 101 list appears in issue 369 of Attitude magazine, available to buy now in print, on the Attitude app, or through Apple News+.