Further, LGBT stores across the world are shutting down due to the presence of e-commerce websites like Amazon. If there is any sort of controversy, they will definitely say no. Running an LGBT store is difficult in a city where even a normal boutique finds it hard to survive. Vikram Doctor, one of the organisers of Gay Bombay, which aims to create safe spaces for the city’s gay community, said: “Stores like Azaad Bazaar and D’kloset used to be a meeting place for the young LGBT crowd. My passion has enabled the entire family to come out of the slum and stay in a better locality.” “My father died when I was three years old, and my earliest memories were of my mother struggling to bring up three children in a slum where even clean water was considered a luxury. “Looking back at the start of my life in Golibar, it’s painful to realise that I never really had a childhood,” said Vhatwar. Inder Vhatwar in the doorway of his old house in the Golibar slumĪt first Vhatwar didn’t tell his family about D’kloset – but when a front-page news article featured his shop, he called his sister and told her to show the family. He opened D’kloset in December 2010 with stock from Bangkok and China, later moving in to clothes production. “When I asked for skinny jeans, store representatives would bring the jeans from the women’s section and pass snide remarks.” When some of Vhatwar’s friends wanted to invest in a start-up in Mumbai, he floated the idea of a gay fashion store that would offer the community a place to shop without any inhibitions – sparked by his own negative experience shopping in the city’s malls.
Gay men fashion stores code#
After the Delhi high court struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in 2009 for violating fundamental human rights, gay culture in India became more open – with pride marches, gay magazines, dating sites and gay-friendly stores making an appearance. We have stopped going out a lot and invite friends home instead.” He says another gay couple were evicted by their landlady, and tales of blackmail are rife.Ī few years ago, none of this was a problem for Vhatwar. “I stay with my partner in a rented apartment and after this, we lead a low-profile life. But it is not just finances that worry Vhatwar: the ban on same-sex relationships affects his daily life.
Since D’kloset shut its doors a month ago, Vhatwar has been selling clothes to regular customers from his apartment.