This year, founder and producer Jag E. Beckford of Jaguar & Company Clothier is hosting the first-ever Carbon Neutral fashion week from June 17th – June 24th.
In 2013, Jag launched Jaguar and Company Clothier where she presently designs “male identified” clothing for women. “Realizing that what makes each fashion event a success, is not just the designer, but all the behind the scenes hands from make-up, hair, styling and beyond, she used her own funds to give birth to Rainbow Fashion Week and give those behind the scene a platform to present and produce.”
Conceptualized in June 2013, Rainbow Fashion Week launched in New York City and introduced the first Inaugural 8 Days of Queer Pride Fashion Shows with a social responsibility message.
Endorsed by Mayor Bill DeBlasio as “An Official New York City Pre-Pride Fashion Event,” RFW consists of eight days of exceptional queer fashion shows, with daily themed runways such as “Rainbow Pets,” “Rainbow Tots,” “Trans’’ition,” “Urban Knights,” “Inside The Celebrity Closet,” and events like “Hair du Soleil” (a showcase of the top ’do designers in town), “Kids Who Tech” and “PhotoViews: Body Art”.
Designers presenting includes: celebrity couturiers Andre Soriano (Style Network’s fashion competition series “Styled to Rock,” produced by Rihanna), Dwight Eubanks (Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta), and Jag’s own label, JagandCo, among many others.
Over the last 2 years, Rainbow Fashion Week has attracted over 25,000 queer and gay friendly attendees and over 5 million impressions. The event continues to showcase the hottest queer designers, photographers, models, make-up artist, stylist, merchants, retail buyers.
RFW fills in an important gap, as there are no other fixed events representing the LGBT community in any of the major fashion capitals.
Eager to learn more, I chatted with Jag about her mission and what we can expect from this year’s RFW:
“…if our community is constantly changing, then all things around us should. We are a fluid organization that will shape the course of the fashion industry.”
What is Jag&Co?
Rainbow Fashion Week is now in its third year. Can you talk to us about the inception and evolution of Rainbow fashion week?
Rainbow Fashion Week was conceived on the floor of the JagandCo and launched in April of 2013. In a frozen moment, I looked out on the audience that were on their feet applauding and said, wow, but for all those people backstage, this moment would not be possible, and they really deserve this credit as well. That week I began conceptualizing how I could best present that to the public in “Not Your Average Fashion Show.”
What importance does Rainbow Fashion Week have as a platform for designers and models of all body types, sizes, and gender identities?
Great question. Our community is filled with beautiful spirits first and foremost. Those are the people we encounter at events, in our local coffee house, bars, restaurants, etc., They are the very same individuals who must go somewhere to shop for attire that fits their body types. Rainbow Fashion Week’s goal is to change the antiquated mold which states the best model is based on only being a certain ethnicity, height, weight and of cis-gender norm. Why should we as a community continue to follow these rigid rules when our community evolves each year? Think about it, we were once just gay, dykes or queer. Then it was lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Now we add a plus to LGBTQ+. So if our community is constantly changing, then all things around us should. We are a fluid organization that will shape the course of the fashion industry.
What is it about fashion that gives rise to your ideas and creative expression as a designer?
I am a left brain/right brain thinker. Highly intelligent and extremely creative. Sometimes I can’t turn it off. I can think up whole marketing ideas, sing jingles about them, wake up in the middle of the night and sketch a storyboard about it. So EVERYTHING, good, bad and ugly is a viable idea to “spin.”
Can you tell us about your shift from entertainment lawyer to fashion designer? What, if any influence, has the entertainment industry had in your development and evolution of Jag&Co?
Actually it was never a shift. I’ve been designing since I could sew clothes for my barbie dolls. My mom taught me to sew and when I went to Florida to visit my family, I was always encouraged to use a sewing machine, so I made things for every pet I could find. Before law school started I created custom jeans, tees and jewelry and sold them outside the LGBT student lounge. Everyone knew, I just never considered this a real job to go into. Law was safe. Law is definitive. I love law, I’m passionate about it. I’m very creative with legal arguments. In my school, two students were granted a “special Practice Order by the Appellate Division” from year one through three. Upon graduation, I had more courtroom etiquette, litigation, memorandum writing experience than the entire graduating body.
You just recently designed a new line. What were your inspirations for these new designs and interest for there to be more inclusive, gender variant masculine styles accessible for gender binary, gender fluid folks?
I am most inspired by stories from my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feed. “Shameless Plugs.” lol. But I am, and I receive some of the most heartfelt stories in my DM and IM on social media. Stories about their hometown struggles, feeling of shame, excitement about an opportunity to become part of a fashion movement. Seeing others do it and now believe that they can as well. That is what inspires me to design and create for gender variant masculine styles accessible for gender binary, gender fluid folks. If they can look at me and see my size, body type, and can see themselves and beyond, then I’ve done my job as a designer. If other brands in this LGBT market can look at my style of paperboi shorts and suit and adorned patterned vests, then as my friends say, be flattered.
Tell us a little bit about your personal style? What styles do you gravitate towards? How can we see this reflected in Jag&Co?
Actually I am all over the place. I love shorts, so I design shorts for Summer, and Winter for myself. I love cuffs, so you will always see one. I love crests and pockets, collar adornments, so that as well is reflected in my personal style. I have this concept called “Dress Up/Dress Down” and it shows someone how you can literally be dressed to the nine and then you throw on a kool pair of polka dot socks, that slightly changes the temperature of your look. Feel me?
What does it to be a socially responsible designer in 2016?
Our goal for social responsibility begins with the message. Create a conversation. We have started a global conversation in the Advocate, Curve Magazine, Huffington Post, Go Magazine, Time Out, Daily News, Black Enterprise and the Steve Harvey Show. For Rainbow Fashion Week that is fifty percent of our goal. Done! The second half is to create a goal of waste and energy reduction within our productions, this year through the use of solar powered generators our aim is energy reduction by one third.
Tell us about one of your most memorable moments from previous Rainbow Fashion Week events?
I must say, watching two double mastectomy breast cancer survivors walk the runway in PlayOut Underwear and the audiences response. I was overwhelmed with their reception as well as the models confidence. That was a big moment for me, and my producer Eric “E-Stylz” Santiago, just being open to the idea.
What can we expect to look forward to this year at Rainbow Fashion week? What are you most excited to see?
On June 18th, 2016 is the “Haus of JagandCo: Tran’sitions.” We have Aym Icon’s Transcendence Icon Models in the Haus and they will be wearing COOGI, and then an awesome finale where one of his talent is coming in from Canada to perform with me. Next on June 21, 2016 is the “Hair du Soleil” show, there hasn’t been one of this type in New York in forever and our hair artist Egypt Buck who recently won the RAW Awards for best in the hair design biz has pulled people from his network to wow the audience. But wait, the Queer Kids Kicks Azz Sneaker Design Customization Fashion Show/Live Art Installation and back to back performances in collaboration with GrindNYC and PlanetX is gunna be off the charts.
What can we expect to see in the future from Jag&Co?
As a production company, you will see bigger and better production events. As a clothing line more production and a store. As a movement, more strength in our numbers, greater sponsorships, global participation, continued work with our present media powerhouses Mona Elyafi and Ginni Saraswatti and finally more blessings from the Universe.
Tickets are available for purchase here. For more information please visit rainbowfashionweek.com
