It’s a Family Affair

Published:ELLE Canada

At 4 am, snow falls quietly on a dilapidated ware-house in Philadelphia. It’s raw inside, freezing cold and grubby but nobody cares. The music’s pumping and the bodies are tightly packed — everyone’s waiting for a show. This is the underground ball scene, which is experiencing a revival across the United States. Here, gay women and men—predominantly African-Americans—band together in ‘houses’ named after fashion designers such as Givenchy, Chanel and  Balenciaga. They even take the name of their house as their surnames and compete in deliciously camp catwalk shows.

“Cue music: five, six, seven, eight.” It’s earlier in the day at rehearsals in a dance studio. “Work it, girls!” shouts Blahnik. “Serve it like an icon!” Even though this is not the Blahnik of Sex and the City fame, he’s still a legend. Jay Blahnik, 30, real name Damien Humes, is the father of the House of Manolo Blahnik. Blahnik House has around 65 members in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago and Washington. “I named my house after him because he’s an incredible shoe designer,” says Jay.

The underground scene provides a safe venue for at-risk youth with a penchant for fabulousness.

“A house is just like a traditional family,” says Jay. “There’s a mother and a father and then the kids. A lot of the kids get thrown out when their parents discover they’re gay. We make sure they have good role models and stay in school.” The houses have regular meetings where members can discuss anything from the latest Prada collection to seeking advice about HIV. The “family” isn’t connected by blood line, explains Jay, “but we all have a bond. It’s a community taking care of itself.”

The ball scene came out of Harlem, New York in the early eighties. “Back then it was all about big hair and Diana Ross,” explains Jay. “But then we moved into the whole fashion model era. With Naomi, Christy and Tyra around, everybody wanted to be a supermodel.”

Photographs by Dan Hallman

Enter “vogueing” in the early 90s. Madonna popularised the dance through her 1990 video ‘Vogue’, showing members of the House of Extravaganza striking posts like fashion modes. There are now two types of voguing: the old way and “dipology,” the new. With dipology, voguers involves throwing yourself on the floor backwards and battle it out in a no-holds-barred dance-off. “Now that we’re in the hip-hop era, everybody wants to be like Eminem,” says Jay.

“When I’m out there, it’s the attention and the adrenaline rush that drive me,” says Milan Blahnik, 23, mother of the House of Manolo Blahnik. “I’ve been walking balls since I was fifteen. As a mother I’ll cook for the kids, talk about drugs and sex, STDs, anything that affects our culture. I try to keep them away from things that harm them.” Milan recently put up one member affected by Hurricane Katrina and also helps get members into shelters and through support programs. HIV and Aids have affected the ball community and many house members are HIV positive—one of the balls’ aims is to raise awareness of HIV/Aids in the community.

Tonight, the Blahniks are competing in a ball. They’ll be up against the House of Revlon, the House of Evisu and the House of Balenciaga among others. Balls are held every month and hosted by a different house in turn. Tickets are around $30 and purchased in advance largely by house members but also by members if the gay community not yet in a house. The judges are legends on the scene, people who have been around for a long time and are well respected.

Just after midnight, the Blahniks descend en masse upon the warehouse. The line-up snakes around the block. Inside, tables line the runway. “Your diamonds are blinding the crowds,” a shouts the MC into his mike his comment aimed at a guy in the crowd with über-bling. Fur is a big look tonight, reflecting its dominance on the current catwalks—and designer sunglasses are ubiquitous.

‘Your walk is deadly, your attitude is sinister and your look is everything,” proclaims the event program. Houses compete or ‘walk’ in a number of different categories, such as Urban Streetwear Fashion, Runway Legend and Butch Runway. Butches are women who have transformed into men, some have trans-gendered other still on the journey—they look like men and have even grown facial hair. It’s all about looking real—can they pass as women? Can they walk the catwalk like Naomi or Daria in Paris or Milan? The eight judges, from a  mixture of houses, line the end of the runway, armed with air horns. They’re ruthless; if they don’t like your look the air-horn sounds and then you’re out, baby.

Published Dazed and Confused Magazine

super-tight black trousers, and black and red animal-print boots, she gets a standing ovation. The music is pumping, the crowd is craning their heads to get a glimpse of her, holding their arms high above their heads, clicking their fingers in appreciation as she walks the runway. Ashley is a success story of the ball scene.

“I grew up in the Bronx—my mum was a junkie running the streets,” reveals Ashley. “At 18, when she realised I was gay, she threw me out. At 22, I knew I was never comfortable as a man. I was always fascinated by my grandmother and the way she wore her clothes and put on her make-up. I discovered the ball scene through a friend and I loved the creativity and the energy of the show,” she says. “They accepted me and gave me the support to get out there in the world and not be ashamed of who I am.” Ashley has been in the scene so long that she really is an icon. In this subculture, winning trophies earns you the titles of star, statement, legend, icon progressively.

That night the Blahniks win the competition. In the end though what most people love about the balls is the creativity, the fashion and the possibility of being discovered. The ball scene is attracting the attention of trendsetters like Patricia Fields, the stylist for Sex and the City, and Kill Bill Hollywood actress Vivica A. Fox. In this world, the look is everything, fake or real. Whether it’s Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood or Sean Paul, the idea is you don’t just wear to be seen—you’ve got to be top queen!