MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Edessa School of Fashion has added a new class to its curriculum that’s focused on designing clothes for drag queens.
It’s called “Drag Queen Design and Construction.”
“We want to show our students that every field of design is very important and lucrative, and can be a very strong business,” said Lynne Dixon, the founder and academic dean of Edessa School of Fashion.
Local designer, Lyn Kream, will be teaching the course.
Kream, who owns her own custom design business and is a costume coordinator for the Milwaukee Ballet, said she considers drag queen designs her specialty.
Lyn Kream, who owns her own custom design business and is a costume coordinator for the Milwaukee Ballet, said she considers drag queen designs her specialty. (Spectrum News 1/Wendy Strong)
She started creating custom pieces in the 1980s when a close friend told her he wanted to become a drag queen entertainer and needed help with what to wear.
“It wasn’t like you could go and find a drag designer back then,” said Kream. “Most drag queens created for themselves. It became a culture of support and helping one another. There is a difference between just building women’s clothing, and then building clothing for a male form with an exaggerated female figure. There is a different way you have to go about patterning those things. There is no buying a pattern from the store.”
Kream, along with Edessa School of Fashion, are partnering with Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MYSO) to create outfits for the New York City drag queen performer, Thorgy Thor. Thorgy Thor’s show at MYSO is on June 21.
“This opportunity is so huge to mix and mingle and create with a world class artist,” said Dixon. “Thorgy Thor is at the top of her game, and we want to make sure we are there presenting at the top of our game. It’s an opportunity for our students to collaborate. You can’t work in a silo.”
