Chalk up another title added to POSE star Billy Porter’s list of accomplishments: the Tony Award-winner has been named one of PEOPLE’s Best Dressed of 2019.
And for so many reasons. The red carpet ninja killed it throughout the recent awards season.
From his stunning Christian Sirano designed black velvet tuxedo ball gown worn to the Oscars; to his embroidered suit complete with pink-lined cape at the Golden Globes; to his ‘Sun God’ inspired fashion for this year’s Met Gala; and his glorious hot pink/red Celestine Couture ball gown for the Tony Awards, Mr. Porter is just beginning to own his fashion statements.
“As a man, I really want to make a different kind of statement and show up in a way that could also be transformative, that could also be political,” Porter told PEOPLE. “My goal was to be a walking piece of political art. When I show up that’s what my goal is. Put a man in a dress and it’s controversial, doesn’t make any sense, but okay. Let’s keep having this conversation until we can change something.”
It wasn’t until he began working on his groundbreaking FX series POSE that he “realized how gender fluid” his fashion instincts had been.
“It kind of cracked my brain open and helped me get to a different space and understanding about myself,” said the 49-year-old actor. “The dilemmas I was putting on myself, even just about what I can wear, what was acceptable, what was masculine enough, what was acceptable.”
Porter also noted that he’s not the only public figure exploring gender-fluid fashion like Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and Grammy Award-winner Sam Smith.
“There’s a few of us trying to do it. But I think it’s really transforming something,” opined Porter. “It’s really making a difference. I’m seeing more and more men playing in that way.”
With his historic Emmy Award nomination for his work on POSE as ‘Best Actor in a Drama,’ Porter advises we all stay tuned for his upcoming look.
“It’ll be a fashion moment,” he assures. “I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s going to be a moment. It has to be a moment now! I’ve created something where I have to show up, it has to be a moment. I don’t know if it’s going to be a dress or anything like that but we’ll see.”
Congratulations to Billy for blazing his own trail and showing folks we don’t have to fit into someone else’s mold.
Here are a few more fashion statements by the Grammy Award winner.
