Most people encourage you to blend in and be part of the majority, but there are a few who inspire you to be the most eccentric you possible. This post is dedicated to Diane Goldie, who is certainly one of the second kind and the designer of my skirt. I met the London artist, feminist, former puppeteer and maker of wearable art on the Spitalfields Market a while ago. There is no way I could have overseen this remarkable free spirit of a woman with her rainbow necklace, her arms full of bangles and her hair full of flowers.

From the first second, there was a bond between us, a certain kinship only found among fellow artistic, bold and quirky people. We queer ones don’t need a passport or an own country; one glance is sufficient to recognise our kind among millions of people.

So we talked like old friends about relationships, arts, fashion, politics and many other things. I was overwhelmed by the kindness and warmth emerging from this woman and soaked up her words. Diane embraces the awkward, the colourful and the diversity of people. “It’s ok to be just as you are” seems to be the universal message behind her words and they touched my soul. I wanted to evolve into an even brighter, more colourful version of myself and raise the flag of uniqueness high above my head.

Suddenly our encounter came to an end: Diane said she had to go home to her sewing machine. Only a few hours later my phone rang and a picture appeared on its screen, showing me this amazing skirt. She said she turned what she saw in me into a piece of fabric. And what a creation it was! Wearing it makes me a living and walking piece of art, signed with the name of Diane Goldie. Isn’t it a liberating thought not to confine art to museums, but to bring it out into the world, to make it part of our lives? I still have the spark of energy Diane passed on to me in my heart and I’ll keep it alive.

My Outfit: