Arts & Entertainment
Marco Marco casts all transgender models for historic fashion show
Gigi Gorgeous, ‘Pose’ stars and more worked the runway
Gigi Gorgeous walking in the Marco Marco fashion show. (Photo via @gigigorgeous/ Instagram)
Underwear designer Marco Marco made history during its Collection Seven show at New York Fashion Week which featured only transgender models.
Mic.com reports that 34 models took the runway including some familiar faces. YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous, “Pose” stars Domonique Jackson and Angelica Ross, activist Carmen Carrera, model Laith Ashley and “Transparent” actress Trace Lysette all worked the runway.
Designer Marco Morante told Mic.com that he wanted his show to make a statement focused solely on transgender beauty.
“Although I have always had trans and non-binary people in my shows, it became apparent to me that their presence was often overshadowed by cis gay men or cis gay men in drag,” Morante said. “I wanted to create a space to celebrate trans bodies. This was an opportunity for their presence to be undeniable and reinforce that trans is beautiful.”
Laverne Cox was at the show and penned an Instagram post that reflected on how monumental the show was.
“When I started #TransIsBeautiful 3 years ago I wanted it to be a way for trans folks to celebrate what makes us uniquely and beautifully trans. It wasn’t about how cis we can look but rather about celebrating those things about us that are uniquely and beautifully trans. The #marcomarcoshow last night which featured a cast or all trans models feels like yet another fulfillment of the empowerment of trans beauty this hashtag is meant to celebrate and engender,” Cox writes.
Check out more photos and video from the show below.
At 36-26-40 I’ve never been model industry standard, and I don’t want to be. I love my thickness. Thanks Marco Marco for embracing ALL types of beauty. My first runway show for #nyfw @marcomarco_la ??♀️ pic.twitter.com/qcGu0JTjtO
— Trace Lysette (@tracelysette) September 9, 2018
Last night was full of so much love and so much beauty. #TransIsBeautiful @marcomarco_la @GeenaRocero @tracelysette @TheGigiGorgeous @Ariscestocrat @tyraaross @angelicaross @Carmen_Carrera @laith_ashley @AydianDowling #NYFW #LGBTQ #MarcoMarco pic.twitter.com/ir5lMDvu5l
— Alexander Kacala (@AlexanderKacala) September 9, 2018
The category is…BROWN & BLONDE! It’s a @PoseOnFX reunion at the @MARCOSQUARED #NYFW Runway show! With @tyraaross & @Dsilverintl! @cesar4styles #TheWildForm #MarcoMarco y’all did that!!! #PoseFX pic.twitter.com/XyxNUpOolE
— Angelica Ross (@angelicaross) September 10, 2018
The men of @MARCOSQUARED #TransIsBeautiful pic.twitter.com/kAgTHeEQvA
— Dezjorn Gauthier, JM (@dezjorngauthier) September 10, 2018
What an honor to walk for @marcomarco_la with all my brothers and sisters. I love you all so much. #nyfw #marcomarco pic.twitter.com/xm3YweLBgA
— Laith Ashley (@laith_ashley) September 9, 2018
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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