Queerness is everywhere in pop culture and fashion, but too often, the people who inspire it are left out of the story. For over a decade, the runway at dapperQ’s annual New York Fashion Week show has given credit where it’s due. Hosted at the Brooklyn Museum, dapperQ is a by-queer, for-queer celebration of our gifted community’s artistic talent.
For eleven seasons, dapperQ has cultivated an environment that not only recognizes the contributions of established queer artists, but also uplifts future generations of LGBTQ+ trendsetters: where queer and trans people are honored beyond the moodboard, taken center stage and calling the shots.
Just as magical as what happens on the runway of a packed Brooklyn Museum is what happens behind the curtains, where symphonies of affirmation and love surround you.
In a sharp contrast to the highly competitive, judgemental, and prejudiced spaces designers and models in the fashion industry often endure, the dapperQ culture encourages heartwarming interactions between everyone involved.
Backstage is a portal to an artsy, queer paradise. Angels are everywhere and they are queer, trans, and brown.
Geniuses are sit cross-legged, hunched over, with laser-focus, sewing together materials you would never dream of seeing in an art piece.
Sustainability, innovation, creativity are central. Artists take inspiration off each other and create something bigger and more beautiful together.
On the third floor of the Brooklyn Museum, the horrors and joys of the outside world are reflected in grief and resilience through the faces of the most beautiful people you have ever seen, creating their own historical exhibit in real time.
Legacy was a fitting title for dapperQ’s eleventh NYFW show and empowered all those fortunate enough to witness it for years to come.
