From Marco Marco's A Night in the Red Light. All photos by Vivien Best.
Marco Marco: Runway Goes Trans, Drag and Go Go
The nightclub crowd was promised one of the most ribald shows in fashion on Oct 21 at the art deco Globe Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, Marco Marco, the designer of eponymous Marco Marco label, was going to make sure that this crowd was going to get a risqué show of their red light dreams. It was probably a reason why the event was called A Night In The Red Light.
Over the past four years, the Hollywood, Calif.-headquartered Marco Marco has become notorious for designing underwear to make a splash. Think mesh, neon colors, outré patterns and unique silhouettes. His LA Fashion Week shows became social events when drag queens, go go boys, transgendered people, and biological women modeled his styles on the runway. The shows made a point of veering far from the conventional looks of underwear models, Marco Marco said.
“The shows tend to be more about confidence - and owning the human that you tend to be. We try to hit all of the aspects of our community and the diversity of form,” he said.
The entertainment started just before the runway show, which was streamed on Radar.TV. Before the show, strippers pole danced. The married co-founders of aerialist troupe, Les Farfadais went for a deep kiss while hanging from a trapeze. Singer Brian Justin Crum sang over electro R&B sounds with male exotic style back-up dancers. Drag queens Alaska Thunderfuck and Courtney Act also performed for the crowd.
The 40 look show used stars from reality show Strut, which focuses on an agency which represents trans models. During the show muscular dudes modeled bikini briefs sans backsides. Other looks were thong singlets, which look like maillots for guys, and skimpy shrugs for muscled people.
The show ventured past the domain of underwear and displayed gowns, corset tops reminiscent of armor and a couple of streetwear looks with all over prints bearing his logo. Marco Marco stressed that the looks are for everybody. “We wanted to offer the same underwear, with and without a pouch, regardless of the gender affiliation,” he said.
