I was very happy to see supermodel Cindy Crawford on her show, 'House of Style.' She put Kate Moss in a vintage handkerchief Halston dress, and she looked stunning! I'm sure that Halston would have been very pleased. I remember the rap group TLC as being very fashion-forward, hip, sexy and edgy. "The world of style and high fashion was key on MTV had now reached out to me. It had different and extremely expressive cultural voices."Ĭhris Royer, former Halston model, Halstonette "MTV was one of the last water cooler-type of shared experiences in a social landscape far beyond conformist society. It was very inspiring to see Elton John, Queen and many others reach out to the world."ĭavid Faulk, costume designer and Johnstone's life and business partner I remember Eurythmics, Bronski Beat and others bringing awareness of outsider aspects. "All of those professionals helped shed light on gay/queer culture. Soon, the ultimate question on MTV was who would outdo the other, utilizing the best and brightest in models, dancers, actors, costume designers, directors, makeup artists and hair dressers, to bring the prestige, sales and drama to a fevered pitch. Every ruffle, feather, shoulder pad, coif, crucifix and knowing look into the camera was thrilling for me. Youtube sensation and fashion curator Michael Schiavoni gleefully remembers, "I would run home from school every day to watch it. The channel, however, quickly picked up its stride and became the ultimate tool to affect advertising, beauty, self-image, fashion, sex and even politics, including the way we saw music, all using the allure of ambisexuality, a quality not lost on others, worldwide. Money can actually restrict creativity, because money often changes the requirements." When you're working in a system that does not have any concern about the actual product, that is when art and creativity happen. "In the channel's beginning, you saw huge expressions of great creativity produced for very little money, which was part of its charm. Whitney Houston, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, Cher The only way to keep anyone's attention is to go for both." The artists were the source of the glamour, and there has to be a mystery about what they are thinking and feeling about gender. The imagery itself, accompanying the music has a dreamlike existence of its own. On music videos and ambisexuality: "Music videos are actually separate from the music. Paul Parish, dance critic, Bay Area Reporter I reached out to some very talented, learned, passionate and educated entities about the channel, and their music video queer favorites. The book propelled the imagery of gay sexuality into the forefront of popular culture. One of the first to exploit the channel, Madonna, is currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of her extremely provocative book of fantasies, "Sex," photographed by Steven Meisel, the primary mastermind behind the supermodel phenomenon. The very concept of a 24-hour, 365 days per year music video channel, for decades, was beyond revolutionary. MTV came to Earth (and moon) as a technological stroke of genius. Several months ago, MTV celebrated its 40th birthday, with no mention of the subtext of the channel: The open exploration of the use of ambisexuality as a visual and cultural hook. Now that the film and music awards season has passed with more than a little controversy, let's discuss the greatest vehicle for the mass communication and marketing of LGBTQ culture. RuPaul, Elton John, Madonna, Freddie Mercury