MACKAGE x Paper Give Back to Pride with Protector Collab

As a style-forward, difference-making tribute to Pride Month, MACKAGE and Paper Magazine have partnered with designer Curtis Cassell who has reimagined three MACKAGE pieces through the lens of queerness in all its many facets. The collaboration’s creative yield will go towards giving back to New York City-based LGBTQI+ youth shelter, Trinity Place Shelter.

As the creative director of on-the-rise luxury label QUEERA, Cassell takes a non-binary approach to design and pushes the boundaries on what timeless, imagination-driven fashion can look like. “My influences and references are all the queer moments I had as a child,” he says. “I romanticize and quilt them together into fantastical garments.”

Here, we reveal Cassell’s exclusive capsule with MACKAGE — a conceptual, completely authentic take on the idea of prideful design.

“Princess” 2022

“This seemingly half-made garment draped on the dress form is a tribute to queer fashion designers as well as the queer fashion moments in film and costume design. It’s a reminder to see Cinderella in all of us.”  The result a short corset puffer coat that is layered with sheer organza silk over it like an ethereal robe.

“The Rebel” 2022

“The Rebel screams, ‘You’re not my real dad anyway!’ The Rebel is the one that represents counterculture, protest and the strength of our community with Elton John and the Stonewall riots in mind. The result is a classic motorcycle torso bedazzled in crystals with feathers protruding outward from the coat’s shoulder.

“The Diva” 2022

“The moment I saw MACKAGE’s white poncho, the first thing that came to mind was an illustration by Erté, a queer, Russian-born French artist. It made me think about queer fine artists and performers who have influenced us for centuries: and embody the glamour we as artists try to emulate in our own style.”  The result a Mackage cape, adorned  with tassels and jewels, and accompanied with a headpiece that resemblesa flapper head cap.

Mackage

In keeping with our commitment to protect people and the planet, MACKAGE will be celebrating Pride Month with a silent auction event at our New York City Soho store. Guests are encouraged to bid on Cassell’s one-of-a-kind pieces where 100% of the capsule’s proceeds — plus 10% of the proceeds made during the event on the rest of the collection — will be donated to Trinity Place Shelter. An independent shelter staffed almost exclusively by social workers, Trinity Place Shelter remains one of NYC’s only long-term transitional residences where LGBTQI+ youth and young people can stay up to 18 months to escape the cycle of homelessness and establish a healthy trajectory.