Transformation Project presents 'Transforming the Runway,' a gender-diverse fashion show

Dozens of models of all ages, sizes, races and genders strutted their stuff on the runway Thursday night at Icon Lounge, wearing looks made by local community members.

The show was the Transformation Project’s first-ever “Transforming the Runway” fashion show, the first gender-diverse fashion show in South Dakota, benefiting the Project’s Marty’s Closet, which provides gender-affirming clothing to the trans and gender-nonconforming community.

Models wore looks designed, upcycled and styled by local fashion designers, tailors and artists, and had their hair and makeup done by local stylists, all including people from the LGBTQ+ community.

Shannon Wright, creative director for the fashion show and the manager of Marty’s Closet, said many of the looks seen were made sustainably and designed to be genderless to be worn by anyone.

“It was just something different that I think people haven’t seen here before,” Wright said. “I think it really showed them what’s possible. I think people need to see representation.”

‘Fashion is freedom’

Model Anna Brenden, 50, has modeled for the fliers for Marty’s Closet but hadn’t walked down a runway before Thursday night, which made her feel excited and nervous.

“The last couple of years, I’ve been more comfortable and confident with myself than ever before,” Brenden said of coming into her own as a trans woman.

Model Skylar Starbuck, 31, said ever since they finally felt ready to be out as transfemme and nonbinary, they’ve been “unapologetic” with how they present themself. They see fashion as “raw, concentrated expression, vibes and storytelling.”

“I found people to click with. I could be me,” they said. “(With) feminine expression, there’s power and beauty in that. Be fierce, feminine and beautiful without pressure. I hope the show inspires at its core that fashion is freedom.”

Model Marisa Moser, 26, is genderfluid and has modeled for commercials and makeup artists in the past. Moser played with their gender from a young age, and found it to be a way of self-expression, alongside theater. They were born in Thailand and moved to South Dakota by the time they were in high school.

“It’s special that there’s space for gender diversity and creativity in Sioux Falls,” Moser said.

More: 'We are your neighbors': How does it feel to be transgender or nonbinary in South Dakota?

Model Morgan Metzinger, 32, who came out as a trans woman in an Argus Leader article in 2021, said it was a fun experience to be a runway model for the night instead of working at one of the hospitals in town and at her part-time job at Ulta.

Model Etta McKinley, 20, a 2021 Roosevelt High School alumna, said she’s done some photoshoots for bridal companies and for local photographers, but Thursday’s show was her first runway experience. She said from a young age, she was taught that she wasn’t supposed to wear “masculine” clothing.

“Wear what you want. It’s just clothes,” McKinley said she’s learned from this experience. “It’s good that Sioux Falls is doing this.”

Beyond the binary

Tailor and designer Alix Faye, 40, helped Wright make her designs a reality by sewing and tailoring several of the looks. Faye said they were excited to have spaces like the runway show, and the Project’s new Prism Center for the LGBTQ+ community, to feel “welcome and wanted.”

“Not everything needs to be tied into masculinity or femininity,” Faye said of fashion.

More: Transformation Project opens Prism Community Center, first LGBTQ+ Center in South Dakota

Designer and crochet artist Jordan Baldwin-Cremer, 19, otherwise known as JunaClea Crocheting on her Etsy shop, said she’s been crocheting for two years and that her pieces are inspired by, “what if fast fashion was crochet?” Thursday was the first time her pieces walked down the runway.

“I’m proud to be a part of this,” Baldwin-Cremer said. “I’ve been wanting to do more activism, meet new people and get involved in the community.”

Hairstylist Kyle Witt, 39, said he’s a single gay man trying to get more involved in the community and that he was going for clean lines, androgyny and juxtapositions in the hairstyles he did Thursday. Witt’s hairstyling shone alongside makeup looks by local artists like Megan Bertsch.

Maisy Kleinschmit, Prism Center director and community program manager for the Transformation Project, presented Wright with a bouquet of flowers at the end of the event and thanked her for all the work she’d put into it.

The event also included a selfie station, red carpet photo opportunity, art exhibits, an opportunity for attendees to purchase the looks they’d just seen on the runway in a pop-up shop, and a raffle to benefit Marty’s Closet.

Sioux Falls Democratic Representatives Kadyn Wittman and Kameron Nelson emceed the event, and local DJ J Flea ran the music.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota's first gender-diverse fashion show struts its stuff