Brooklyn, NY – On Thursday, September 11th, nearly 1000 expertly-clad fashion aficionados gathered at the Brooklyn Museum to attend the DapperQ 10th Annual Queer New York Fashion Week Show, an LGBTQ staple of the iconic sartorial event. While mis- and disinformation about the LGBTQ community continues to proliferate, this celebratory event offered a look back on ten years of bold creativity, radical visibility, and unapologetic queer joy, staged in direct resistance to the rising tide of censorship facing LGBTQ+ art in cultural institutions across the United States. As one of the largest LGBTQ+ fashion shows in the world, this Brooklyn staple features LGBTQ designers and models, and challenges attendees to push gender norms and the limits of fashion in celebration and resistance.
Executive Producer Anita Dolce Vita states, “As queer visibility faces unprecedented attacks—including the soft censorship of exhibitions being postponed or toned down—it is essential that we reclaim our narrative on the runway. Our 10th Annual Show is not just fashion; it’s defiance, celebration, and survival. We are proud to have Brooklyn Museum continue to stand for inclusive values and provide a platform for incredibly talented designers to showcase on a worldclass runway.”
This year’s featured designers were ALEGRÍA, BoiPKG, DYKEMINT, Zoe Grinfeld, Hesta, Soid Studios New York by José González, and Transguy Supply represented by trans, nonbinary, and queer models including DevinNorelle, Mila Jam, and Jari Jones, among others. Notable attendees included model and activist B. Hawke Snipes, ACLU Deputy Executive Director AJ Hikes, and actor Rahne Jones. Event partners Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Pride, INC. joined sponsor and trans-owned bar Henrietta Hudson to bring the runway to life.
At a time when free expression feels limited, it’s events like the DapperQ fashion show that create space for LGBTQ people and our allies to celebrate and feel celebrated by reveling in the creativity and imagination that fashion provides. Whether on the runway or off, the evening gave attendees an opportunity to embody joy as resistance with transgender, nonbinary, and queer designers and models breaking fashion molds and inviting attendees to do the same.
See more photos from photographer Molly Adams here, and learn more about DapperQ here.
