LA fashion show highlights transgender talent and political progress

Fashion, representation and community were all cornerstones of this year’s GARRAS, an annual fashion show hosted by the TransLatin@ Coalition. 

This past Saturday, more than 1,000 attendees gathered at the Pacific Design Center in Hollywood to celebrate the two-spirit, transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming community through fashion and advocacy. 

At the 12th edition of GARRAS, transgender and LGBTQ+ designers showcased their clothing lines on the runway, celebrating identity, resilience and hope.

Bamby Salcedo, chief executive officer and co-founder of the TransLatin@ Coalition, said that more than being the annual fundraising event for the organization, throughout the years, the fashion show has become a place to advocate for the local, state and national protection of transgender rights. 

Some of the many issues the organization focuses on include homelessness, HIV prevention and destigmatization, as well as substance use challenges affecting the community.

TransLatin@ Coalition was founded in 2009 in Los Angeles and it operates through a combination of direct community services, leadership training, research and policy advocacy. 

“GARRAS is an event that the TransLatin@ Coalition puts together every single year to not just celebrate and uplift the livelihood of all trans, gender-expansive, and intersex people, but also for members of our all LGBTQ queer community to come together to showcase their design, beauty and talent,” Salcedo told CALÓ News. “GARRAS not only helps us fundraise for resources for our community and our organization, but it also celebrates all of us coming together.” 

More than ten designers showcased exclusive collections, with all models from Los Angeles' transgender and LGBTQ+ communities. 

María Roman-Taylorson, vice president of the TransLatin@ Coalition and creator and producer of GARRAS, said that for many attendees like herself, this runway was also a place to celebrate the recent political wins in L.A. and throughout the nation that the general election brought. . 

“I am wearing this incredible creation by Alvarado to represent the blue wave we are riding this week,” Roman-Taylorso said, who was wearing a baby blue gala dress by designer Jesse Alvarado. “Tonight reminds us that our goals and dreams deserve to be back center stage. We feel that we can be heard and seen again.”

The immigrant community of L.A. and beyond was also a central focus of the event. 

Salcedo, performing as LA Bamby, sang her newly released single titled “La Costurera,” which is about the millions of garment workers — the majority of whom are undocumented — who for years have driven the fashion industry in L.A. and other major cities. 

LA Bamby told CALÓ News she made the song specifically to honor and celebrate seamstresses and garment workers whose artistry and labor often go unrecognized. 

“Many of our moms, grandmothers, aunts and family members were or still are garment workers and their work is not valued or honored. I’m grateful that I get to sing to them. L.A. is a mecca for fashion. Members of our community who worked in the garment industry here in L.A. have been impacted by the immigration raids,” LA Bamby said. 

This year’s designers who participated at GARRAS included Mars Wright, Jesse Alvarado, Gloria Sanchez, Josie Zocar, LEANDRAG and Cecilia Martinez.

At this year's fashion show, TransLatin@ Coalition also recognized Brenda Solórzano, president of the California Endowment, and Ve'ondre Mitchell, a queer advocate and youth ambassador for the Human Rights Campaign. 

Salcedo said the proceeds from the event will support TransLatin@ Coalition scholarships and community programs.  

 ”The message for LGBTQ and specifically transgender folks is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If these midterms showed us anything is that things are flipping around and that we're going to have a pause in the system that continues to beat us down, so remain hopeful,” ChiChi Charlas, a first-generation Mexican American event host, social media curator and community leader, said at GARRAS. “Things are going to change, because love wins and hate will not suppress us.”