At a time when trans rights are under attack and fascism is on the rise, Grindr, the largest gay dating app in the world, has launched a fashion collection using wool from gay rams to bring awareness to prejudice toward the gay community. Designed by Michael Schmidt with Rainbow Wool, a nonprofit German farm, the “I Wool Survive”collection is the world’s first gay fashion collection, according to Pink News.
The collection is made entirely from the wool of gay rams. What?
Indeed, the entire line is made from the wool of gay rams, who are often sent to be slaughtered for not fulfilling their “breeding role.” On average, one in every 12 sheep is thought to be gay.
“We rescue them before that happens,” a spokesperson for Rainbow Wool says, “giving them a safe home where they can live and love freely. Each year, their wool is crafted into fashion, with profits donated to the queer charity LSVD+”
Schmidt, who has worked with Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Madonna reveals the collection took a year to create. “It’s been a pleasure to create this light-hearted collection that also addresses a very serious topic,” Schmidt says. “The mistreatment of animals that exhibit same-sex attraction is a painful reminder of the prejudice that continues to affect LGBT communities worldwide.”
“Hopefully, by illustrating that homosexuality exists throughout the animal kingdom, we can help put to bed the false and damaging notion that being gay is a choice. The mistreatment of animals that exhibit same-sex attraction is a painful reminder of the prejudice that continues to affect LGBT communities worldwide.”
The Rainbow Wool collection was showcased at The Altman Building, in New York. “Gay archetypes, from firefighters’ suspenders to sailors’ crops, were refigured in wool,” according to Pink News.
Grindr will continue to support the Rainbow Wool’s mission in 2026 by auctioning some of the pieces for LGBTQ+ initiatives.
Though there are probably other ways to be reminded that the LGBTQ+ community continues to be attacked, the iconic gay dating app has chosen to use their resources to create a fashion line from the wool of gay sheep.
Photos courtesy social media
