In 1972, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies took to the streets of London for the capital’s first-ever Pride protest. The event, which was attended by around 200-500 people, was heavily policed – but that didn’t stop protestors from taking to the streets.

Fast-forward 50 years and London has just hosted its quinquagenarian Pride, with an estimated 1 million people – including representatives from more than 400 LGBTQ+ community groups – taking to the streets this weekend to stand in solidarity with the queer community. London mayor Sadiq Khan’s office has touted it as the biggest London Pride ever.

Anybody who had the pleasure of being in or around central London yesterday will have seen the sea of dancing rainbows, clouds of glitter and high-octane sartorial shimmer that the LGBTQ+ community, and its allies, were sporting as a nod to the rainbow shades of the queer flag.

It’s not all rainbows, glitter and shimmer, though. Navigating the minefield of simmering tensions between the police and the queer community, the regressive attacks on the trans community and the current government’s voting record on LGBTQ+ rights, means that identifying as a queer person in today’s world isn’t always easy. It’s made even harder by trying to establish your own visual identity, of which fashion is a key part.

“Fashion reminds me that I’m free”: 9 LGBTQ+ people on what fashion and self-expression means to them