Run Wild with Unicorns: Queer Magic in the Untamed Herd

The unicorn has always been a creature that refuses to be tamed. It exists somewhere between the real and the imagined, the wild and the magical - and for queer people, that’s a space we know well. When I set out to design the Run Wild with Unicorns bandana, I didn’t want a single, solitary unicorn. I wanted a whole stampede of them, tearing through the darkness with flames at their heels.

In queer life we’re so often depicted as the token. The only one in the room. But we’re not alone. We never have been. There’s a whole herd out there and finding each other is electric.

So why unicorns?

Unicorns have been turning up in queer culture for decades, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re mythical, beautiful, and completely uncatchable. In medieval heraldry, the unicorn represented purity and wildness in equal measure - a creature that could only be approached on its own terms. The royal coat of arms of Scotland features a chained unicorn, and there’s something deeply queer about that image of a magnificent, untameable beast whose power has attempted to restrain and restrict.

In mythology, unicorns have appeared across cultures for thousands of years. Ancient Greek writers described them as real animals living in distant lands. In Chinese tradition, the qilin - sometimes translated as ‘unicorn’ - is a creature of profound good fortune, said to appear at moments of great significance. In the Chinese zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Horse, and this bandana is my way of celebrating that energy - the fire, the freedom, the forward momentum - through the lens of the unicorn. It felt like a natural connection: the horse as a symbol of power and movement, the unicorn as its queer, mythical sibling. I wanted to honour that spirit without borrowing from traditions that aren’t mine, so I’ve kept the focus on what the horse and the unicorn mean to me personally - wildness, resilience and the courage to run free.

By the time unicorns hit mainstream culture in the 2010s - all rainbow hair, glitter and pool floats - queer people had already been claiming them for years. The unicorn became shorthand for rarity, for magic, for the refusal to be ordinary. And while the mainstream flattened it into something cute and consumable, for queer communities the unicorn still carries an edge. It’s not just sparkly. It’s fierce.

Not just one - a whole herd

One of the things I kept coming back to while designing this piece was how rarely we see unicorns together. It’s always the lone unicorn - rare, isolated, special. And while there’s power in that, there’s also a loneliness to it that didn’t feel right for what I wanted to say.

I wanted the Run Wild with Unicorns bandana to show what it feels like when you find your people. When you’re not the only one any more. The unicorns in this design run along the borders, circle the edges and gather around the central figure - a rearing unicorn surrounded by a ring of fire. They’re not standing still. They’re moving, together, with purpose and joy.

There’s something about a herd of unicorns that feels both familiar and powerful. It’s the Pride march where you finally see your community stretching out in front of you. It’s the queer bar where everyone knows your name. It’s the group chat, the chosen family, the people who see you without you having to explain yourself. That’s the energy of this bandana.

The words on the bandana

The design is framed with four phrases: ‘Run Wild’, ‘Live Free’, ‘Burn Bright, Queer One’ and ‘Untamed & Unafraid’. I wanted these to feel like incantations - words you could carry with you, quietly blazing from a bandana tied around your neck or pinned to your wall.

‘Run Wild’ is about permission. Permission to take up space, to be loud, to stop shrinking yourself to fit someone else’s idea of acceptable. ‘Live Free’ is about authenticity - the kind of freedom that comes from finally being yourself, whatever that looks like. ‘Burn Bright, Queer One’ is a direct address, a reminder that your brightness isn’t too much. And ‘Untamed & Unafraid’ is the one that ties it all together - the refusal to be domesticated, to be polite about your own existence.

These phrases aren’t just decoration. They’re affirmations. They’re the kind of thing I wish someone had said to me when I was younger, and they’re the kind of thing I want to put out into the world now.

All that fire and luck

Alongside the unicorns, the bandana is filled with flames, horseshoes, stars and sparks. The fire represents transformation - the burning away of what no longer serves you, the warmth of community, the intensity of living honestly. The horseshoes are for luck, but also for the road - for the journey queer people take to find themselves and each other. And the stars are there because queer people have always looked to the skies, whether for navigation, for hope or simply to feel part of something bigger.

The whole design is printed in white and rose on black cotton, which gives it a bold, striking feel. It’s not pastel. It’s not gentle. It’s designed to be seen.

How to wear it

The Run Wild with Unicorns bandana is printed on 100% cotton and measures 56cm x 56cm. You can wear it however you like - around your neck, in your hair, on your bag - or frame it as a piece of art. It’s stocked at Queer Britain Museum in London, and you can also pick one up from my shop.

Take a closer look at the Run Wild with Unicorns Bandana