Fashion Queens
- Beatriz Leite
- Sep 30, 2017
- 2 min read
The fashion industry has a history of low diversity when it comes to its models. However, throughout the last years we have seen some progress, culminating in the as-diverse-as-ever edition of New York Fashion Week, Spring 2018, which happened from September 7th to the 14th, 2017.
Besides the fact that a record number of models of color and different body types were featured, gender diversity also received much deserved attention. For a long time the fashion industry has been interested in somewhat androgynous faces, but that was usually as far as it would go. Now, reflecting the growing queer fight for visibility, equality and justice in society, the world of fashion has been giving more space for people who are transexual, gender nonconforming or drag queens. This is a sign that the industry is opening up and I hope this becomes a strong trend around the world for the years to come.
As a drag fan, I have been observing the queens gaining space not only on the runway, but also in magazines. Miss Fame, a drag queen model and makeup artist seen on reality competition show Rupaul's Drag Race Season 7, was featured in Vogue Germany last August, a big step in the fashion world. She is signed to IMG Models and she is a recurring face at the most important Fashion Weeks around the world like New York and Paris.
Winner of Rupaul's Drag Race Season 7, Drag Queen Violet Chachki is an eye catching fashion queen, who has always been one of the best when it comes to the runway on the reality show. She is known for her burlesque aesthetic, looks that play on gender and her incredibly tiny waist.
Just as Miss Fame, she is constantly participating in Fashion Week editions everywhere and has been featured in important magazines. In January 2016, she was one of the models featured in a Vogue Italia article about the 1980's New York nightlife icon Susanne Bartsch. More recently she has walked the runway for designer Christian Cowan at the previously mentioned edition of NYFW.
It's great to see fashion evolving alongside the fight for visibility, equality and justice. More and more all races, sizes and genders will gain representativity in fashion and I can't wait to see it!
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