Imagine the style of New York Fashion Week, infuse it with the energy of a ballroom extravaganza and you might get a sense of Queer AF, an annual fashion-art spectacular that earns its mantle as the “Queer Met Gala of Massachusetts.”
Last year, more than 700 guests filled Mechanics Hall in Worcester to ogle couture looks by LGBTQ+ designers, all served up by models representing an uplifting, community-based mission to smash antiquated beauty standards.
The 2024 installment’s theme, “I’m With the Banned,” is an unapologetic retort to censorship of queer art across the country. Proceeds from the party, meanwhile, support parent organization Love Your Labels and its programs—including Threads, a fashion education and self-discovery initiative—here at home.
The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 6, at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. More: loveyourlabels.org/queeraf
Every garment on the runway is a battle cry for freedom from censorship and discrimination under this year’s theme, “I’m with the Banned.” Through fashion and art, the show is fighting back against a long history of erasure targeting books, queer health care, and more.
“Book bans and censorship efforts across the country attempt to silence our voices, minimize our identities, and remove us from communities. I feel that our art and fashion show, Queer AF, is more important than ever right now,” says Joshua Croke, cofounder and president of Love Your Labels.
“In the midst of these attacks on our rights, families, and communities, this show is about being our authentic selves — loudly and visibly. I’ve seen firsthand how this show has impacted people on their own journeys of self-discovery and expression, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Jackie Cox (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12) and Jan Sport (RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 6, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12) headline this year’s show and cohosting alongside Croke. In addition to youth, a slate of designers are creating collections to showcase, including Massachusetts drag performers Chateaux Bordeaux.
The show will feature more than 50 models on our inclusive runway, which smashes mainstream beauty standards in a bold proclamation that all bodies and identities belong, matter, and are beautiful. A bazaar, with vendors selling wares, goods, art, and more, will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. before the show kicks off. The show will also include the “community walk,” a memorable moment in which those in the audience are invited to walk the runway.
More: loveyourlabels.org/queeraf
— from a Love Your Labels press release
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