March 22, 2024
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
To celebrate Trans Day of Visibility, the William Way LGBT Community Center is hosting a free fashion show and market on Friday, March 29.
Trans models will show off designs by trans fashion designers on the runway on Friday, March 29.
William Way LGBT Community Center, located in Philly's Gayborhood, is hosting its first fashion show marking Trans Day of Visibility.
The event, themed "Transitioning: Day to Night," also includes a market featuring local vendors and trans artists. The market, held in the downstairs lobby, begins at 4 p.m. The fashion show follows at 6 p.m. upstairs.
The fashion show is being conducted in the style of "Project Runway." Each model and designer pairing was given $200 to spend at Philly AIDS Thrift and 30 minutes to shop. The stylists must choose a daytime look and a nighttime look for the models. Outfits can be tailored and the pairs can add their own accessories.
"It's a thrill and honor for Philly AIDS Thrift to sponsor and support this event," said Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou, co-founder and executive director of the store. "I love how fashion can be an act of resistance, challenging dominant cultural norms through what we choose to wear."
The top three pairs will receive cash prizes. The top prize is $600. The event is free to attend. It is not ticketed.
"We welcome anyone interested in supporting and celebrating with the community," said Jase Thurman, a communications specialist at William Way.
The City's Office of LGBT Affairs, is officially supporting the event, and TransWork, a program of the Independence Business Alliance, assisted with logistics and promotion.
"We won't be participating in the show on the stage or runway, as I'm not a designer or model myself," said Sydni Perry-Anderson, the administrator of TransWork. "But we have helped to spread awareness about the event and recruit those participants who will be highlighted more visibly."
Earlier this month, federal funding for William Way was removed from an appropriations bill after criticisms from far-right and anti-LGBTQ groups. The Office of LGBT Affairs also announced that its annual flag-raising ceremony for Trans Day of Visibility, which falls on March 31, will not occur this year, though the transgender flag will still fly at City Hall later this month.
Even without the flag-raising ceremony, William Way's fashion show aims to allow Philly to observe Trans Day of Visibility in spectacular style.
