WHAT I WEAR
For some people, choosing clothing is more than just having a favourite outfit, or throwing something on in the morning. Instead, it’s an important part of the way they present themselves to the world. Here are some of their stories, as told to Emily Wins
For some people, choosing clothing is more than just having a favourite outfit, or throwing something on in the morning. Instead, it’s am important part of the way they present themselves to the world. Here are some of their stories, as told to Emily Winstanley.
LaQuisha St Redfern
NON-BINARY DRAG QUEEN In my life, I’ve blurred the line between drag and reality. When I was younger, I thought “drag queen” most closely aligned with what’s inside me. But then a friend of mine referred to me as “gender-variant” and I was like, “huh, what’s he seeing?” You know when you’re the last one to find out? Then words like “non-binary” started becoming more commonplace, I realised that’s what’s been going on for me the whole time. In my daily life, outside of drag, I wear more jewellery than a man would wear in New Zealand, and I’m often at work in lipstick.
I starting doing drag in Hamilton in the 90s, and it was very conservative. But what happens in places with great conservatism, is it’s like this pressure cooker — so there was a veneer of respectability but there was this underground craziness happening behind closed doors.
Georgina Beyer was living in my friend’s flat at the time, and she said, “Honey, you have to have a wig.” This was in Hamilton in 1998, and wigs were in short supply. But Dusty Springfield is one of my all time favourite performers, so I really love big hair. I also have a bit of a thing for mid-century design graphic design and science-fiction. Those inspirations are kind of what I’m drawing from.
I wear a beard, I don’t shave anything, I don’t wear breast forms, I don’t pad my hips or arse. I have a very male body under the 2 inches of makeup and the clothes. This strapless gown is really elegant and it shows off my slightly hairy chest to its best advantage.
I visit a barber for my beard every two to
three weeks. I don’t do it myself because one wrong move and you’ve made a bald spot.
People always ask about the white, it’s totally natural. I started to go grey, but then it turned out to be stripes and I was like, “Oh thanks, Mother Nature!”
Part of the reason I now live in Wellington is people are very chilled out about difference. Buskers turn up and they’re, like, juggling chainsaws and a baby from the audience, and people are like, “Oh yeah, it’s Wellington, we’re too cool to react to that.” So that’s part of the reason I’m here.