The first-ever Queer Fashion Week (QFW) is set to launch in Oakland, California from April 16 – 19. The event boasts 50 LGBTQ designers, stylists, and hair and makeup artists and will offer a range of exciting events, from parties and brunches to celebrity runway walks and designer trunk shows. Designers will show off everything from accessories, active wear, couture, eco-friendly boutique styles, evening wear, plus size styles, urban apparel and more during the week.
Attendees will be able to meet designers and shop at the Vender Village and hang out with celebrities and models. They will also be able to see “red” hot fashions at a celebrity fashion show benefiting the RED campaign to eradicate HIV/AIDS and of course check out a variety of runways throughout the week long style extravaganza.
dapperQ correspondents, Lea Robinson and Ryley Rubin Pogensky, will be representing us at the event, so be sure to stop by and say “Hi.” Other dapperQ favorites to expect at the event are Sharpe Suiting, NiK Kacy, Sonny Oram of Qwear, agender model Rain Dove, and androgynous model Mack Dihle. Qwear will be styling a collection for the event, and Rain Dove, Mack Dihle, Sharpe Suiting, and NiK Kacy – talents that were all featured at dapperQ’s historic (un)Heeled event – will be stomping the QFW runway. Rumor has it that Ryley will be reppin’ the East Coast hard, serving as both dapperQ (NYC) press and as a model for Qwear (Boston).
Lea (left) and Ryley (right)
Queer Fashion Week is being produced by the dynamic team that brought the butchLYFE: Fashion Show to Oakland in 2013, fiveTEN Oakland Events and What is Butch? Movement. Davis, fashion director, and De La Rosa’s, executive director, goals are to get queer designers in front of audiences with Queer Fashion Week. “It’s easy to go to the mall and support a commercialized brand, but there are so many people right in our own queer community who are extremely talented and that we can get even better things from,” said Davis. De La Rosa agreed pointing out that the LGBTQ community in the United States has an estimated 830 billion dollars in buying power alone. Nearly 75% of the queer community is more likely to buy from a brand that is LGBTQ-owned, she said.
General and VIP passes are available starting at $15 up to $200, to purchase your ticket visit www.qfw.eventbrite.com. For more information, visit www.queerfashionweek.com.
