VINTAGE VOGUING
Strike a Pose: Ballroom Looks From The 80s/90s
With the third season of FX’s Pose in full swing, the ball scene of the late 80s and early 90s is back at the forefront of pop culture once again. What started as an identity and community-building celebration ended up having a reach that has extended far beyond what anyone could have imagined. We have ball culture to thank for voguing, and Madonna herself for taking it out of the community centers and onto the world stage. The ballroom scene’s reach doesn’t just stop there, though. The world of fashion has also been heavily influenced by ball culture, and in more ways than you might expect.
Balls were a way for anyone who felt like an outcast to feel a sense of family, community, and acceptance. Several categories like Runway, Butch Queen, Face, and Evening saw different contestants “walk” for prizes – mostly giant, ornate trophies. Contestants were mostly members of now-iconic “houses,” or families to which they felt they most belonged. Each house was known for its own specific specialty. For example, the House of Labeija (founded by the legendary Crystal Labeija) was the house that started it all, the House of Ninja’s dancing and voguing skills could not be matched, and the House of Xtravaganza prided themselves on having some of the most beautiful femme queens ever to walk the balls.
We had the chance to speak with Cameron Barnett, who plays the role of Castle in FX’s groundbreaking series Pose, and he helped shed some light on the impact the ballroom scene has had on fashion.
“At first, way back when drag was just beginning, black men had to whiten their faces just to find an audience. Eventually, they had enough, and created these houses just to be able to do their own thing.”
From there, Barnett said, safe spaces gave way to unbridled creativity.
“Houses, and the families that formed through them, allowed Black and Brown men to take conventional societal norms and simply change them,” he explained. “They got to reclaim something that they were never invited to in the first place.”
Funny how the inventors don’t get invited to their own party.
As the different houses’ specialties saw their influence grow over the years, so too did the fashion they displayed. Needless to say, all of the fashion shown at the balls was (and still is) over the top, with “more is more” being the name of the game. Common fashion themes such as “bling” and the “puffed-up peacock” aesthetic can all be traced back to the ballroom scene. Interestingly and ironically enough, the hyper-masculine hip-hop world saw most of its fashion inspiration taken from ball culture. The aforementioned “bling” and “peacock male” ideals are obvious hip hop tropes, but it goes even further than that. Sure, both hip hop and ballroom were born out of the Black community, but the fact that such a macho-focused world like hip hop would take such heavy inspiration from the hyper-femme world of balls is something that must be noted. And something that the ballroom scene deserves clear credit for. Every over-the-top ensemble, every tricked out rap video, every additional layer of shiny jewelry or high-end influence…the queens of the ballroom are to thank for all of that.
Speaking of high-end, Barnett broke it down quite simply.
“This is why we have so many houses named after high-end brands, like the House of Dior for example. In the balls, they were taking inspiration from expensive fashion houses, and re-creating looks out of literally nothing. There’s a true sense of pride and creativity in being able to do that.”
Putting it simply, it’s time to give credit where credit is due, and Barnett couldn’t agree more.
“They were making things out of nothing, walking down a runway, and showing a community that ostracized them that they are actually fierce and fabulous. So much so that those same people are now borrowing, and a lot of times downright stealing, what the people in the balls created.”
If you’re not yet familiar with ballroom culture and its rich history, do yourself a favor and discover a world that went from underground to forefront through the sheer determination of a community that simply wanted a safe space to express its unrivaled talent and creativity. The influence of the ballroom culture and its trailblazers of the 80s and 90s deserves to be recognized, especially since you’re probably wearing something right now that they deemed fashionable in the first place.
