Ballroom culture fashion

A global platform for emerging talent, i-D celebrates fashion, culture, individuality and youth.

Voguing, a dance consisting of angular poses in time to music, was catapulted into the mainstream by Madonna in 1990. Photographer Chantal Regnault followed the predominantly African-American and Latin ballroom scene at its height, capturing the energy of balls where men competed against one another, and the 'houses' that took inspiration from fashion labels.

Powerful, defiant portraits that speak to the prevailing strength and presence of LGBTQ people of color in the Netherlands.

In his ongoing series, photographer Dustin Thierry charts the ‘emancipatory possibilities of expression’ in Ballroom culture across Europe

Tens across the board

But how is the new wave of exposure for ballroom culture actually impacting the queer communities of color?

Dean Bowery, 1990. (Whose name comes from his idol, Leigh Bowery). The club kids burned bright and fast. They were the society misfits. The ‘freaks’. A sharp cocktail of young drag queens who built a community out of their craft, and a cast of constantly rotating nightlife characters with one com

Chopping, mopping, fierceness, and shade: the legendary children of the New York ballroom scene.

thank you feets, ankles, knees, hips, pelvis, elbows, fingers, giraffe neck. you turn up everyday on time, ready to go, you never talk back. i promise i will keep on looking after you <3