Early 1990s queer ball culture in New York City was legendary, and continues to be relevant — so much so that one Copenhagen-based brand designed an entire collection around it. And with its puff sleeves, patterned tights, and clashing prints, the line acts as a reminder of why we fell in love with fashion in the first place.
This week, Stine Goya launched its Spring Summer 2020 collection, which was inspired by films like Kiki and Paris Is Burning — both of which portray New York’s ballroom culture, an iconic institution for the LGBTQ community. Kiki is the story of a group of young, Black, queer New Yorkers who, in the early ‘90s, gathered at the Christopher Street Pier in Greenwich Village to practice ballroom (the performance art form that Madonna famously appropriated in her music video “Vogue”). Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning is a 1991 documentary surrounding the stylish and competitive ballroom competitions that took place in the ‘80s and ‘90s.
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To recreate the expressive quality of these films, Stine Goya combined bold, extravagant patterns, vibrant colors, and over-the-top silhouettes. “Our new styles — the Fina & the Leor — are tighter. Shoes — the Indyas — are taller,” the press release reads. Everything was taken to new levels, just as ballroom called for.
Goya went on to create a new hand-painted design that can be seen throughout the entirety of the collection. She calls it the Dancers.
This isn’t the first time that the brand has been inspired by dance. For her Fall Winter 2019 collection, inspired by Truman Capote’s famous Black and White Ball, Goya had 10 models, all dressed in sustainable garb, perform a contemporary dance choreographed by Puerto Rican artist Kianí Del Valle. The performance was meant to portray that sustainability doesn’t have to be so serious or limiting, but rather it can be, like the dance, a chance to let loose and have fun.
But dance isn’t the only common factor between the two collections. Just as in her FW19 collection, SS20 contains a sustainable message. “The vibrant Polka Dot and Hearts stories across the Mainline are created entirely from recycled polyester,” the brand explains. “The Ina Dress, featuring hand-sewn applique fabric flowers, combines GOTS Certified Silk Organza, Tencel Lyocell and Lenzing Ecovero Viscose with intricate embroidering techniques.”
See how Stine Goya brought both films to life by shopping the entire SS20 collection, available now on StineGoya.com.