Ervin Latimer's debut show at Pitti Uomo was no drag

"We are not a unisex brand. We are not a gender-fluid brand. We are a brand that does clothes for performances of masculinity," Ervin Latimer – founder of the new Finnish ready-to-wear brand Latimmier – cheered into a microphone at the brand's debut runway in Florence during Pitti Uomo. "It is not usual for the designer to be in the centre of the stage", the creative director told me, laughing over a video call a week later. But at Latimmier's presentation, the designer gave much more than a shy bow at the end of the show. Dressed head to toe in full scarlet drag, Latimer presented the models one after another during the ballroom-inspired AW22 presentation.

The presentation was unconventional, inspirational and full of exceptional energy from the designer and the gender-inclusive casting. You could tell that the designers and models were having fun. It was a memorable show, especially for Pitti Uomo, which is more attuned to the traditional idea of menswear, masculinity and suits. "We wanted to do something different," Latimer says. "We knew that we're going into this setting, and we knew that we kind of wanna shake things up a little bit there".

Beloved TV series like Rupaul's Drag Race and Pose have brought ballroom culture into the mainstream and inspired other brands to utilise pieces of the culture for their shows. Nevertheless, there was no ballroom show for Latimer without actual people from the ballroom scene."I think what was key about this whole presentation was realness. That it was actual people, and it was the actual culture. What it was actually the performance of masculinity." In the presentation, we saw seven models Latimer knew from the Finnish ballroom scene as well as two local models from the Italian scene, sourced by Dj Coco Ninja, of the legendary 'House of Ninja' who handled the music at the show.

The collection consisted of traditional Western menswear elements stretched to new dimensions. There were oversized suits with cut-out details, heavy knitwear and dresses, skirts and shirts with loose collars. Ervin had looks in mind when it came to the styling, but his focus was for the models to present masculinity in their own, authentic way. The process was a collaboration, as Latimer asked the models questions like, "Are you coming as a drag character or yourself? Up to you, let's make this work for you" The resulting authenticity was palpable when the models hit the runway confident, beautiful, and 100 per cent themselves.

Latimer first discovered the ballroom scene in 2016 while living in New York. "Obviously, I had been seen documentaries, but for the first time, I was in a space with other queer brown people. I could actually see that there's a community there". Ever since, Latimer explains, he has wanted to host a runway show dedicated to the community. Hosting the runway in drag was always a given for Latimer. "That was kind of how my relationship with gender and identity performance through clothing started. I found that path through the ballroom scene."

Inspiration for the presentation partly came from an event Latimer has hosted in drag during Helsinki Pride since 2018, a celebration specifically for queer people of colour. When it comes to his drag persona, he tells me he isn't one of the polished picture-perfect queens. "I'm the type of drag queen, where there's broken glass on your elbows and cigarette butts in your wig".

Drag is all about performative fashion, a concept near and dear to the designer. "The tagline of the brand is for the performance of masculinities," he explains. "It's really about what you want to present and perform with the clothes. Me personally I'm more interested in design taking its starting point in traditional "menswear" but it's not for men. I don't care who it's for." For Latimer, it is irrelevant to think that he would be designing menswear or womenswear

"Gender fluidity is often used as a term in fashion when something doesn't seem to quite fit in the norms of a given gender," Latimer goes on. "A great example is Harry Styles, whose style is often labelled as gender fluid. I think it's a bit of a shame, as I see his style as the future of masculinity." Latimer believes that it's always easier to communicate whenever you can put things into boxes – such as menswear, gender, fluid, womenswear, and unisex.

Yet Latimer and his team decided to do things the hard way. "People ask me what it is that I do? Menswear or unisex? And my answer is yes and no at the same time." Latimer aims to step away from the traditional with his work and break the ideas of norms. He wants to forget about gender and focus on the actual body of the wearer.

Fashion was never the obvious career path for Latimer, who was well on his way to becoming a professional basketball player before studying fashion at Aalto University. But having worked for fashion brands like 1017 Alyx 9SM and Heliot Emil after graduating has cemented his aspirations for Latimmier. Especially for his first collection.

Latimmier's debut collection is solid in its sartorial statement. "I have to be honest, I'm really proud of the first collection." Latimer finds it hard to choose when I ask about his favourite garment or look. "There is this burgundy coloured suit - kind of oversized with has these loose cuffs and the trousers with kind of slashed legs. And this loose collar and tie with this cock ring. That look maybe has most of what I think is at the core for me as a designer. The starting point is traditional Western menswear, but we try to give it a new subversive meaning."

With his work, Latimer ultimately wants to create a platform that can renew how we approach gender in fashion and masculinity in fashion. Furthermore, the brand also wants to expand what Nordic design looks like and show more than the stereotypic idea of Nordic style. "I know the types of creatives we have over here, and I know that there's so much more to see," he says.

When it comes to the future of Latimmier, we should expect more gender subversive fashion. But Latimer is also hoping that, as a brand, they can start conversations beyond clothes. "Brands need conversations like these, and they're conversations that are often missing," he says, "A conversation between the designer and the community that they represent."