SEA OUR FUTURE
Remember when Ariel turns a scruffily iconic look out of some upcycled rope and a sail in The Little Mermaid? With the help, of course, of her probably gay besties Flounder (a yellow tropical fish), Sebastian (a lobster, not a crab), and Scuttle (possibly a herring gull — an endangered species, FYI). It’s a scene that mesmerised already styleconscious baby gays like yours truly in 1989, and is broadly the vibe on today’s beachside, ocean awareness-themed Attitude shoot — a look our stylist more coolly describes as ‘Westwood shipwreck’. And who better to serve it than Bimini Bon “I’M VEGAN!” Boulash (they/them). The non-binary powerhouse is known for their daring sense of style and unbridled passion for the natural world — as demonstrated when they dressed on Drag Race UK season two as… an amoeba.
Posing up a storm on Europe’s largest shingle beach, Dungeness, the 28-year-old rocks sustainable ensembles by Vivienne Westwood and (they trill in their unmistakable Norfolk drawl) “Stella McCartney, whose mum made great vegan sausages!”
But today is more than a fashion parade. Bimini is joined by BBC wildlife presenter and director Dan O’Neill, who is a driving force behind the Sea Our Future project. Alongside them are two dynamic young LGBTQ+ eco-leaders — wildlife TV researcher and marine biologist Dawood Qureshi and Student Climate Network volunteer Noga Levy-Rapoport. Together they want to draw our attention to the plight of the ocean.
It may be a mysterious, unknowable abyss to most of us, but we need to get acquainted with Earth’s water world, and fast, on account of it being responsible for producing 50 per cent of the oxygen on the planet. Its health is fundamental to our existence, but overfishing and pollution are inflicting damage that is not easy to reverse.
Helping Bimini and Dan convey this message, 23-year-old Dawood (they/she) is also a
