Bars and Baths

Branko Brand — Gay Bars & Baths Collection

This collection is an archive in cotton.
A tribute to the gay bars, bathhouses, and after-hours rooms that shaped queer life long before it was safe, legal, or trendy to do so.

Each piece begins with real history — defunct bars, legendary baths, forgotten neighborhood hangouts, and underground institutions that once offered refuge, community, pleasure, and survival. Some were loud and wild, some were quiet and discreet, some were polished, some were rough around the edges — but all were essential.

The graphics are carefully restored from original ephemera: matchbooks, napkins, signage, newspaper ads, flyers, and vintage T-shirts.