On Wednesday, September 4, Sam Smith did something he’s wanted to do for a very long time: He wore heels on the red carpet, specifically for the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London.
The “Stay With Me” singer donned a black suit with a sheer lace button up underneath. He paired the fierce fashion moment with a pair of shiny black heeled booties — and proudly showed them off to event photographers.
After the event, Smith took to Instagram to share the backstory behind the heels he wore to the awards show. He wrote, “I’ve just got home from a gorgeous evening and as I was walking to my front door I stopped and listened to my heels clonking against the floor. And I just thought ‘F–K YES’!!”
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He continues, “There was a time where I thought I’d never ever ever be able to be myself like this in front of the industry or anyone. It feels so good and I just wanted to share that with you all, and share a picture of my GORJ Gucci heels. They’ll always be my virgin heels.”
Several celebrities commented on his Instagram post with encouraging sentiments. Demi Lovato said, “So proud of you 😍” and Natasha Bedingfield wrote, “Love u and love this story so much!” Author Jeremy Kost said, “You are beyond an icon. You are a beacon of light in a moment when it’s needed most. The world is better with you in it Sam! 💙💙💙.”
This isn’t Smith’s first time wearing heels. In fact, he’s no stranger to showing them off on the ‘gram or in his music videos. In a behind the scenes vid posted earlier in the month, Smith showed BTS for the “How Do You Sleep?” music video, sporting a pair of super high-heeled boots, which appear to be his go-to style.
Smith came out as non-binary in March via an interview with Jameela Jamil on Instagram. Smith said, “I’ve always been very free in terms of thinking about sexuality, so I’ve just tried to change that into my thoughts on gender as well. […] When I saw the word non-binary, genderqueer, and I read into it, and I heard these people speaking, I was like, ‘F–k, that is me.’”
