are the first concrete evidence we have of drag balls.īorn enslaved in 1858 in Maryland, Swann began to host drag balls as early as 1882. But others argue that William Dorsey Swann’s dance parties in Washington, D.C. Some scholars believe that annual galas held in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood paved the way in the late 1860s. Excluded from or prevented from winning pageants held for white drag performers and female impersonators, Black drag artists began to host their own competitions. Photograph By Inge Morath/Magnum Who was the first drag queen?įew traces remain of the earliest drag balls because participating in them was extremely risky due to gender and social stigmas.īut Lady J says that drag balls can be largely credited to Black and Latino performers. Right: Anthony Truly, a drag performer, leads a dance class at a gym in New York City in 1997. A common character in these minstrel shows was a “yaller” gal, or a man dressed as a light-skinned Black woman, Lady J says.Īs popular theater evolved to vaudeville style in the 1880s, those portrayals shifted to emulating glamorous white women with thin waists and elegant makeup-perhaps best represented by Julian Eltinge, a silent film superstar.īut even as female impersonation was all the rage in popular culture, a subculture of drag balls was emerging in the U.S.-and that’s partially due to the first self-described “queen of drag.” Some accounts suggest it was inspired by the petticoats the men wore that would drag on the floor as they performed.Īround the same time in the United States, female impersonators starred in racist minstrel shows, during which mostly white actors wore blackface to portray racial stereotypes of African Americans.
Lady J, a drag performer with a doctorate in musicology focused on drag history, traces its debut back to 1860s Victorian England, when Ernest Boulton of the duo Boulton and Park described his cross-dressing act as “drag”-the first known use of the term. ( From LGBT to LGBTQIA+: The evolving recognition of identity.)īut other historians argue that drag’s true origins are a little more recent. William Shakespeare also encouraged drag in Elizabethan theater-even using it as a major plot device when Viola disguises herself as Cesario in Twelfth Night. Simon Doonan, author of Drag: The Complete Story, writes that female impersonation was also part of kabuki theater in Japan and Peking opera performances in China in the 17 th and 18 th centuries respectively. Some historians believe that drag’s early history can be traced to theater in ancient Greece and Rome, where men would play female characters. See below for a selection of some of the standout outfits.Please be respectful of copyright.
I can wear whatever I want here without standing out.” Meanwhile, Ena, who didn’t share her surname out of privacy concerns, channeled a “dreamy, cute” aesthetic in a light-blue and cream outfit, her pinkish hair braided in pigtails under a lace bucket hat.
“The most fashionable people in Japan are following their own personal style rather than (what’s trending).” “Fashion is a tool I use to express myself,” he said. In the area for a photoshoot, he wore an oversized bubble gum pink sweater over a red gown and black platforms. Some, like 22-year-old Hiroto Murotani, who goes by nickname Hii, were not here to attend shows, despite being dressed to impress. Pairs of guests arrived in coordinating outfits with matching accessories like tinted sunglasses or perpetually versatile berets. Strikingly dyed hairstyles, monochromatic get-ups and oversized trench coats were all on display outside the week’s shows. In Tokyo’s Shibuya district, fashion enthusiasts came out in droves for this month’s Rakuten Fashion Week donning a mix of brightly-colored and experimental garments.Īnd as brands sent their Autumn-Winter 2023 collections down runways, the street style - in a city known for its bold fashion culture - was equally deserving of an audience.
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