Cowboys, cyberpunks and politics dominate at NYC queer fashion show

Butch cowboys, queer cyberpunks, transmasculine heartthrobs and global politics were center stage at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday for DapperQ’s 10th annual queer fashion show.

Butch cowboys, queer cyberpunks, transmasculine heartthrobs and global politics were center stage at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday for DapperQ’s 10th annual fashion show. The event, which debuted in 2016, coincides with the start of New York Fashion Week.

The theme of this year’s event was queer resistance amid rising censorship. Anita Dolce Vita — the editor-in-chief of DapperQ, a gender-inclusive digital fashion magazine, and the executive producer of its annual runway show — said the theme was inspired by the current political climate, which has seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ extremism, a decline in funding for queer nonprofits and widespread censorship of queer art.

A model walks for BoiPKG's collection.Justin J Wee for NBC News“Right now, it is a very scary time,” she said. “But we’re not going anywhere, and Brooklyn Museum, as an institution, has our back.”

The show’s runway became a stage for this resistance, with dozens of models from seven queer-led fashion brands captivating onlookers with their defiant joy and statement-making looks.