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Queer style took center stage Thursday at the opening of New York Fashion Week, as more than 1,000 people lined the Beaux Arts Court at the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate DapperQ magazine’s seventh annual fashion show.
Gay hip hop artist Kex Da Killa kicked off the fashion party with a musical performance that included dancers in boxer shorts and cornrows on the runway. The event, known as “Extraordinary Fashion,” highlighted models of all genders, sizes and ages.
The show featured eight LGBTQ fashion designers, including Project Runway Season 17 runner-up Hester Sunshine. Mickey Freeman, of Freemen by Mickey; and transgy supply.
This year’s theme is Bloom to use fashion to highlight the ways LGBTQ people can find joy and flourish despite a wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation, including violence against trans youth in sports and healthcare.
Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which limits discussions of sexuality and gender identity in the classroom. Meanwhile, in Texas, authorities began investigating parents of transgender youth.
Anita Dolce Vita, owner of queer style magazine Dapperki, said the show was a statement against efforts to limit the rights of LGBQ people across the US.
“We’re in direct opposition to that,” Dolce Vita said, citing the proliferation of anti-LGBTQ laws. “Standing in our reality and showing our most authentic selves is beautiful, but it’s also dangerous. So it’s important to create this space because it’s a safe space.”
Devin-Norrell, a brand created by designer Stony Michele Love, graced the runway with black male trans models in stuzo clothing, with the words “Protect Trans Kids” on their arms.
Devin Norell said of the gender-affirming care ban: “It’s very sad that these children’s mental health is at risk.” “I think the friends I destroyed were disrespected, they were targeted. … When you attack trans kids, you attack us.
Julian Gavino, a 26-year-old disabled trans model from Philadelphia, says he wants to be a role model for others who are invisible in the fashion industry.
“Being queer and disabled, I’m usually not represented at the airport,” said Gavino, who uses a wheelchair. “I do this for my younger self and other young people who think ‘no one looks like me’ and I thought ‘no one looks like me’.
“Like a family reunion.”
The event’s return to the runway this month marks its first show since the outbreak. LGBTQ designers and models, including B.Hawk Snipes, said they were excited to see the queer fashion community again after a two-year hiatus.
“It’s like a family reunion,” said Freeman, a celebrity fashion stylist and designer who donned a red feather jacket and sunglasses. Compared to the original, we rarely get such events. So whenever we get a chance to be celebrated, it’s always good.”
Snipes, who uses the pronouns “they” and “she,” walked the show for four years. LGBT designers and models, Snipes said, should be seen in the industry.
“We need to focus on us,” he said, adding that “it feels good to be among the community and family” after a two-year hiatus.
Kiwi Queerdo, 32, of Brooklyn, New York, echoes that the fashion industry often lacks spaces that include gender-fluid fashion.
Querdo, which uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” says, “is a great way to show gender expression without having to explain who you are, where you’re from.” “It’s a big deal because we don’t have things like that.”
Model, actor and activist Jarry Jones made headlines as a trans model for Calvin Klein in 2020 and previously walked in dapperQ shows. But this time, she returned as a spectator cheering on her friends and colleagues from the front row. Jones asked fans to fund organizations that bring queer and trans models to the spotlight.
“If you’re a partner, that’s how a fund shows up,” she said. “When we start to see more representation of ourselves, other people start to humanize us—that’s how we change laws, that’s how we change society.”
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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