Ladyfag | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rayne Baron September 11, 1976 Toronto, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, performer, nightlife personality |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Rayne Baron, known professionally as Ladyfag, is a New York City-based writer, performer, nightlife personality, and events producer.
Born in Toronto, Canada, she ran a store selling vintage clothing and antiques. After becoming involved in the Toronto club scene, she was a resident performer at Will Munro's Vazaleen parties. Canadian writer R. M. Vaughan in his article 'Generation V', about gay and lesbians revolutionizing the city's underground art scene says, "a statuesque model and vintage clothing dealer who dominated the stage like a Russian Jewish Grace Jones." [1]
In 2006, she relocated to New York City assuming the name Ladyfag, and was discovered by NYC nightlife icon Kenny Kenny and started dancing at the famed party "Happy Valley" thrown by him and Susanne Bartsch. [2] She has since become her own events producer, known for holding parties for the downtown, underground and international fashion scene.
In the spring of 2010, she started East Village based party Family Function with her resident DJ and friend Michael Magnan. In the fall of 2010 she produced the now infamous Clubber Down Disco party with resident DJ Miss Honey Dijon. It was one of the last of the parties at the legendary Hotel Chelsea before it was sold in the summer of 2011. [3] Clothing store Opening Ceremony selected the party as one of the top six of the decade, and had her help host their 10-year anniversary celebration at Webster Hall. [4]
In 2013 she and her partner Seva Granik started producing a series of secret warehouse parties in Brooklyn called Shade, which have become a nightlife phenomenon. [5]
For a party celebrating the launch of Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari's Toilet Paper magazine and the unveiling of their billboard on the High Line, she produced an evening at the famed leather bar The Eagle. [6] In 2012, she co-emceed with Legendary Vogue Ball MC Jack Mizrahi at the AmfAR and the W Hotel's inaugural Love Hangover Ball fundraiser event. The event was hosted by Kelly Osbourne, and included judges and presenters such as Edward Enninful, Fergie, Mickey Boardman, Pat McGrath, Simon Doonan, Karlie Kloss, Isaac Mizrahi, Lily Donaldson, Zac Posen, Derek Blasberg, Richard Chai and Jason Wu. [7]
Since the fall of 2011, she has organized the popular daytime bazaar, Pop Souk, a one-day market place and party with the tagline "where downtown sells, not sells out". The event is a biannual tradition, taking place with fall and spring editions at such venues as the Hiro Ballroom, Greenhouse, and the Standard Highline. [8]
Along with one of her usual partners, producer Josh Wood, they throw a popular party called Pacino during men's fashion week in Paris every season. [9] She annually produces events at Art Basel in Miami, as well as at the Life Ball party in Vienna raising money for HIV and AIDS research. [10]
She was voted Most Welcome Party Presence in the "Best of New York City 2009" by The Village Voice , as well as named Queen of the Scene by New York Press. In 2007, Paper magazine featured her in their annual Beautiful People issue and in 2009 presented her with the Future Face of Nightlife award at their Nightlife Awards. [11] [12] [13]
For the art exhibit "I Want to Go to Africa", curated by Sook-Yin Lee, she wrote and performed a cabaret act entitled "Ladyfag, A Love Story". [14] Her collaboration with artist Paige Gratland on the "Donut Ho's" exhibitions lead to a multimedia piece being acquired by the National Gallery of Canada's "Library Collection". [15] She was selected by the Gladstone Hotel to design one of their artist commissioned rooms. [16]
In late 2006, she returned to Toronto for a nearly sold-out multimedia solo show at Paul Petro Multiples and Small Works gallery entitled "Ladyfag: Saint of Female Faggotry." [17]
In 2011, she was awarded the FUN Fellowship in the Social Practice of Nightlife by the Museum of Arts and Design. [18] She also acted as a key speaker about nightlife at MAD's "Nightlife: An Oral History of NYC Club Culture" program. [19]
After many years of referencing the artist Frida Kahlo in her art and style, she was invited to be the key speaker at the opening night gala of the show "Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting" at the Art Gallery Ontario. [20]
Ladyfag has been featured in numerous ad campaigns, including for Bulldog Gin and Cafeteria. She has appeared in music videos for artists such as The Ones [21] and Cazwell, [22] short films like Sephora's "Cherchez La Femme" to promote its Film Noir Fall 2009 collection, [23] and in the "There Is No Tomorrow" ad for Built featured in the Tribeca Film Festival. [24] She appeared in a video for her friend Marcelo Burlon's "County of Milan" T-shirt line [25] and was featured in a video for the art publication Toilet Paper done in collaboration with art studio Kreemart. [26]
She has been shot for fashion editorials in publications such as V , Hercules, BlackBook , Love, Rolling Stone Russia, Dutch, Candy, New York Times , Hunter, Interview , Out, Hunter and Cook, and Visionare, and has worked with photographers Bruce LaBruce, Patrick Demarchelier, Mariano Vivanco, Ellen von Unwerth, Terry Tsiolis, and Laurence Ellis.
She is a regular contributor to Paper magazine, [27] Candy magazine, [28] and 25 magazine. [29]
Michael Alig was an American club promoter and artist who was convicted of felony manslaughter. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In March 1996, Alig and his roommate, Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, killed fellow Club Kid Andre "Angel" Melendez in a confrontation over a drug debt. In October 1997, Alig pled guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Both men were sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Riggs was released on parole in 2010. Alig was released on May 5, 2014.
Michael Musto is an American journalist who has long been a prevalent presence in entertainment-related publications, as well as on websites and television shows. Best known as a columnist for The Village Voice, where he wrote the La Dolce Musto column of gossip, nightlife, reviews, interviews, and political observations, in 2021, he started writing articles about nightlife, movies, theater, NYC, and LGBTQ politics for the revived Village Voice, which returned as a print publication, with accompanying website.
The Club Kids were a group of young New York City dance club personalities popularized by Michael Alig, James St. James, Julie Jewels, Astro Erle, Michael Tronn, DJ Keoki, and Ernie Glam in the late 1980s, and throughout the 1990s grew to include Amanda Lepore, Waltpaper, Christopher Comp, It Twins, Jennytalia, Desi Monster, Keda, Kabuki Starshine, and Richie Rich. The group was notable for its members' flamboyant behavior and outrageous costumes. In 1988, writer Michael Musto wrote about the Club Kids' "cult of crazy fashion and petulance": "They ... are terminally superficial, have dubious aesthetic values, and are master manipulators, exploiters, and, thank God, partiers."
Amanda Lepore is an American model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, serving as his muse, as well as many other photographers, such as Terry Richardson and Ruben van Schalm. She participated in LaChapelle's Artists and Prostitutes 1985–2005 exhibit in New York City, where she "lived" in a voyeuristic, life-sized set.
Luke Caswell, known mononymously as Cazwell, is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He has released the three studio albums Get into It in 2006, Watch My Mouth in 2009 and Hard 2 B Fresh in 2014, along with videos and singles.
Jahmila Adderley, known professionally as Mila Jam, is an American transgender singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and LGBTQ activist.
"Ice Cream Truck" is a song by American rapper Cazwell. The song has been described as a light, easy and '80s-sounding hip-hop song that uses a xylophone to emulate a jingle played on an ice cream truck. The single was released in August 2010, and is a track on the deluxe edition of Cazwell's second album Watch My Mouth.
(Le) Poisson Rouge is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was designed and engineered by John Storyk/WSDG. It has become known for its focus on artistry, bringing contemporary classical music into the club setting, and offering a variety of set ups so that a seated classical performance can be followed by a standing set by a rock band or a DJ. Responding to a performance of Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time featuring pianist Bruce Brubaker at LPR, The Wall Street Journal reported: "The crowd – many of whom wouldn't even have known who Messiaen was – sat in rapt silence, and roared their approval at the end."
Geoffrey Mac is an American fashion designer. Mac has appeared on reality television shows such as America's Next Top Model and Project Runway. He is known for the use of latex in his designs.
Founded in 1982, the House of Xtravaganza is one of the most publicly recognized "houses" to emerge from the New York City underground ballroom scene and among the longest continuously active. House of Xtravaganza members and the collective group is recognized for their cultural influence in the areas of dance, music, visual arts, nightlife, fashion, and community activism. House of Xtravaganza members continue to be featured in popular media and travel the world as ambassadors of voguing and the ballroom scene.
Brooke Dyan Candy is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and tattoo artist. Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, daughter of Tom Candy, former CFO of Hustler magazine, Brooke rose to prominence after starring in Grimes' music video for "Genesis" (2012). Following its success, Candy's status in the underground scene rose as she began to release her own music, including the songs "Das Me" (2012), "Everybody Does" (2013), and "I Wanna Fuck Right Now" (2013). In 2014, she signed a recording contract with RCA and released her debut major label single, "Opulence", with an accompanying EP of the same name. Later, she joined Columbia's UK roster.
Chelsea Leyland is an English disc jockey, cannabis and epilepsy activist, and model. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Kayvon Zand is an American nightlife personality and musician based in New York City. They are most known for eccentric live performances and parties, as well as their established personal style featuring John Sex hair and Elvis Presley jump suits. They are the founder of Zandwagon, a model management and specialty casting company.
Brightest Young Things, or BYT Media Inc., is an online magazine and event production and marketing agency based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. Founded in 2009 by Svetlana Legetic, a former Architecture Designer from Serbia, Brightest Young Things publishes original articles, interviews, guides and calendars pertaining to “food”, “style”, “music”, “art”, “theatre”, “film”, “gays”, and “weird” social events and trends in Washington, D.C., and, as of August 2012, New York City. The site regularly publishes up to 30 posts a day and publishes about 100 original articles a week, and is known for its cultural knowledge about Washington, D.C.'s trending restaurants, nightlife, and events, targeting young, 20-something “hipster” crowds in both Washington, D.C., and New York City.
The House of Aviance is one of the "legendary/iconic" and major vogue-ball houses in the United States, with its base in New York City. It was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1989 by voguer/dancer, record label owner (CEO/A&R), nightclub host, music artist and secretary Mother Juan Aviance—one of the nightlife personalities of New York City. Since its founding, the House has played an integral part in U.S. and world ball culture, especially U.S. nightlife.
Industry Bar, or simply Industry, is a gay bar and nightclub in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Owned by Bob Pontarelli, it is a sister establishment to Barracuda, a gay bar, and Elmo, a restaurant. Industry opened in 2010 and caters primarily to a crowd of young gay men and tourists. Its musical selection is mostly pop, and its live entertainment consists of a number of weekly drag shows, many of which are hosted by internationally recognized drag queens. New York City nightlife journalists frequently note Industry as one of the top gay venues in Manhattan.
Nita Aviance is a dancer, percussionist, jazz singer, DJ, music producer, actor, and a member of The Carry Nation along with fellow DJ/producer Will Automagic. Nita is also half of two other production teams, BOOKWRMZ and Brooklyn Is Burning, as well as a member of the production team Pyramide.
Kim Aviance is a performance and visual drag artist, and nightclub hostess from the voguing and ballroom House of Aviance. She is a classically trained dancer and musician, and one of New York City's nightlife personalities. She is deemed a "New York nightlife queen", and has won numerous awards in the ball culture world. Aviance is a gender-non-conforming, and trans appearing.
The Q was a multilevel LGBT nightclub in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Backed by celebrity investors including Billy Porter and Zachary Quinto, the club was billed as "the largest queer-owned and -operated nightlife venue in Manhattan". It was known for its five distinctly themed rooms and for its entertainment selection, which featured A-list comedians, prominent local drag queens, burlesque acts and jazz bands. The establishment was originally set to open in 2020, but its debut was pushed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, Frankie Sharp—one of the club's three founding owners—filed a lawsuit against the other two, Alan Picus and Bob Fluet. The club shuttered in March 2023 in the aftermath of the legal proceedings. During its operation, the Q garnered praise from critics, who have described it as innovative, inclusive and chic.
Rise Bar, or simply Rise, is a gay bar in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 2015, it is a small establishment surrounded by a number of larger LGBT nightlife venues. The bar is most popular among gay men and some women. It features pop music and hosts weekly entertainment including drag shows, open-mic nights and karaoke. Though Rise's owners invested in soundproofing before it opened, noise concerns from nearby residents initially led the local community board and state liquor authority to require the venue to close at an earlier hour than its competitors. Following a contentious series of applications to modify Rise's operating schedule and liquor license, this requirement was overturned for weekend nights. The establishment has received praise for its welcoming, diverse atmosphere.
