On Saturday, March 25, trans drag artist, Chiquitita, hosted a queer event called “A Night of Mugler Presented by Chiquitita” at the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate the late, great designer. While the event wasn’t on the debut of the “Thierry Mugler Couturissime” exhibition, the museum’s Beaux-Art Court was filled with colorful lights, dance music, and hundreds of queer fashion lovers dressed up in their best Mugler inspired looks. A photo booth and a personal photoshoot area kept the audience busy and their egos inflated, as they should be.
After a few hours for the audience to indulge in the exhibit and get some alcohol in their system, the shows began. Beginning with a shirtless male pole dancer, the night transitioned into a set of drag performances that amped up the crowd. The event ended with the audience participating in runway walks, where probably half of the attendees displayed their bravery by flauting their looks. Chiquitita said, “The runway is an annual tradition at this point, and it brings so much joy to everyone involved, it’s my favorite part for sure!”
She made sure to curate the perfect set of performers for the night. She only works with people who can deliver and that are on the same wavelength about what they’re putting together and “the girls did NOT disappoint!”, she exclaimed. Kirlia started the night with live music on her viola, Serena Tea performed to “Deep in Vogue” by Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra, and last but not least Milan Garçon performed a 20 minute runway chant, repeating “R to the U to the N to the W-A-Y” as patrons did their runway walks.
To no surpsie, this is not Chiquitita’s first collaboration with the esteemed museum, they’ve supported extravagant queer-centered events like this before. “I had the idea to pitch this event to them in the summer of 2021. I used to do an event called ‘Met Gayla’ around Brooklyn in all kinds of dingy bars, where we would take themes from the Met Gala and give them to the people that know themes better than anyone– queer people.”
She added, “As that event grew and grew, we started looking for a bigger partner to take the concept and amplify its impact, and the Brooklyn Museum has been fantastic about letting me lead an event where we as queer people get to take up space, all for a good cause of supporting the museum.”
Chiquitita kept the ball rolling by hosting her team’s first event in 2022. Titled “La Gala,” the event was a “for us by us” queer event raising money for the museum that took inspiration for the night’s festivities, which directly referenced an exhibit on display at the time, “Andy Warhol: Revalations.” She says the event “creates a fun night where we take over the museum space, taking a moment to celebrate our community and the looks we all put together via runway.” The success of her premiere collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum led to the Thierry Mugler extravaganza.
As a gay man, Thierry Mugler was inspired by and worked with the queer community throughout his career by having transgender models grace his runways. To no surprise, the LGBTQIA+ community are his biggest fans. For a trans drag queen like Chiquitita, this event centered around the designer’s career was a perfect match.
Chiquitita shared what goes into creating an event like this. Part of the process is finding out what exhibitions the museum has on their schedule, so when her team heard about Mugler from the museum they were full of excitement about the event working around this phenomenal exhibition.
She expresses what Mugler’s work means to her as a fashion lover and a trans
drag artist. “Personally, Mugler has always been a direct reference for me ever since I started getting into fashion. The ways in which he celebrated women and never undermined the power that women have, or reduced them down to their body type, is exactly what the rest of the fashion industry often fails to do. I know it can seem silly, but clothes have a real impact on the way we view ourselves in the real world. Having a designer empower women in a world where we often seem powerless does not go unnoticed!”
Chiquitita hopes to walk or model for Mugler at some point in her career since they often cast trans models. She’s also grateful for his work and constantly references his pieces. She concluded, “I didn’t put together ‘A Night of Mugler’ in hopes that it would have a boomerang effect; I did it because I wanted to.”