Rob of Amsterdam: Gay Icon

Rob Meijer, known professionally as Rob of Amsterdam (c. 1940–1991), was the leather fashion designer whose flagship shop and RoB Gallery on the Weteringschans grew into an international brand with franchises across Europe and in New York and San Francisco. Jack Fritscher and Mark Hemry interviewed him on video on June 21, 1989 — flown into Amsterdam by Born to Raise Hell filmmakers Roger Earl and Terry LeGrand, who had hired them as camera crew for a European S&M video shoot — capturing what would become Rob’s final interview before his death two years later. In it, Rob discusses his transition from designing women’s dresses to founding RoB of Amsterdam in 1974, his galleries showing Tom of Finland and Robert Mapplethorpe (who photographed him), and his philosophy separating leather fashion from S&M. Fritscher’s full transcription is collected in Profiles in Gay Courage.