Nik Kacy, stylized as NiK Kacy (b. 1974 or '75) is a fashion designer, [1] founder of Equality Fashion Week, [2] [3] former board member of the Los Angeles LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and part of the Trans Inclusion Task Force for the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. [4] In September 2019, Wells Fargo featured Kacy on their Empowerful Exchange video series. [5] In 2017 and 2019, Kacy's gender-free fashion approach was discussed in two scholarly articles, [6] [7] and in 2020, in the book Crossing Gender Boundaries: Fashion to Create, Disrupt, and Transcend. [8] Kacy is a trans-masculine gender-nonbinary person and uses the pronouns they/them/their. [9] [10]
Kacy was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to New York City at age seven. [11] From a young age, Kacy knew they wanted to create shoes. [12] They were bullied in school and experienced their parents' divorce as traumatic. [11] Due to the intensity of bullying they experienced, they were faced with the "horrible predicament" of becoming "a bully in order to survive," ( Queery podcast, 54:10) yet was simultaneously "very depressed" and "suicidal," often wishing they had not been born. (All Things Therapy podcast, 29:40) It was after a home invasion, during which Kacy and Kacy's grandparents had guns and machetes pointed at them, that Kacy realized they never again wanted to "make someone else feel like a victim."( Queery podcast, 56:28) Thereafter, Kacy stopped bullying others and instead began breaking up fights among peers, "inspired to be somebody who was more of a peacemaker." ( Queery podcast, 57:03) Helping the transition, a family friend, who became Kacy's stepfather, had helped the family pay for Kacy to attend a Catholic high school in New Jersey. The change in environment was helpful, as previously Kacy was witness to gang violence at their New York schools.
Kacy knew they were born in the wrong body from a very young age ( Queery podcast, 11:39). They would initially identify as gay or lesbian ( Queery podcast, 14:46) and had their first queer relationship in college. [13] It was later that they had the realization that they wanted to transition to a male-presenting body with the help of testosterone hormone therapy. They were finally able to achieve the hormone aspect of the process while an employee at Google. [13] They were then able to complete their transition by way of various surgeries in their late 30s, after quitting their Google job to start their shoe business.
Kacy attended grade schools in New York and New Jersey. They majored in art and advertising at Pepperdine University, [13] and it was in those years that they first came out as queer, incidentally during a truth or dare game with friends. [14] They graduated in 1997. (All Things Therapy podcast, 3:29)
Prior to entering the fashion world, Kacy worked as a producer and project manager at Google, [15] creating online branded engagement programs, such as livestreams, and conceptualizing novel ways for consumers to engage with Google platforms. ( Queery podcast, 26:44) They left their post in 2013 to pursue shoe design. [13]
NiK Kacy Footwear was founded in 2013. (Coming Out with Lauren & Nicole podcast, 1:52) For initial funding, Kacy turned to Kickstarter, [16] raising $6,000 of their $36,000 goal in a single day. [17] The company's goal was to create “genderequal luxury shoes and accessories that are handcrafted, high-quality, utility products.” The company creates footwear and accessories with genderequal sizing and styles, [18] which Kacy believes eliminates the need for differentiation between men's and women's styles, instead placing the focus on the consumer's personal taste, rather than the manufacturer's tastes for two genders. Kacy traveled through 12 European cities [19] to learn the contours of the shoe-making industry, [15] accumulating knowledge from traditional workshops in Italy and elsewhere before creating his own methodology in a slight departure from traditional craftsmanship. Manufacture took place in Portugal and as of 2019 takes place in artisan ateliers in Leon, Mexico. [20] Some of the Kacy Footwear aesthetic inspiration derives from Calvin Klein, John Varvatos, Alexander McQueen, Tom Ford, and Kenneth Cole. [19]
Equality Fashion Week is an annual multi-day event, [10] held during Los Angeles Fashion Week, that features the work of LGBTQIA+ fashion designers by way of runway shows and pop-up shops. The event has featured designs by Sharpe Suiting, Lior Boroda, Fem/Haus, Dapper Boi, and has been sponsored by the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Outfest, and the TransLatina Coalition. [21]
The inaugural Equality Fashion Week's opening night took place in 2018 at the Montrose West Hollywood Hotel. [21] Six LGBT designers were represented. [1] The entirety of the event was held over the course of five days. [22] Trans activist and model Carmen Carrera presided over the festivities. [21] [3]
In 2019, Equality Fashion Week took place, before a sold-out crowd, at the Globe Theatre. The event featured 110-115 models, 37 dancers, five hosts, live musicians, and a DJ. [9]
| Date | Title | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Cameron Airen [25] | "NiK Kacy: Revolutionizing Gender & Fashion, Gender Equal Footwear, Moving Beyond The Binary" |
| 2019 | Coming Out with Lauren & Nicole [26] | Episode 57 |
| 2018 | The Advocates [27] | "NiK Kacy Kicks Down Gender Expectations" |
| 2018 | Queery [28] | Episode 56 |
| 2017 | The Out Entrepreneur with Rhodes Perry [29] | "Step Away from Limiting Beliefs and Commit to Your Business Dreams with Nik Kacy, Founder of Nik Kacy Footwear" |
| 2017 | All Things Therapy [30] | "NiK Kacy" |
| 2017 | Feminist Crush [31] | "Nik Kacy" |
| 2017 | LGBTQ&A [32] | "NiK Kacy: Embracing the Absence of Gender...Beginning with Shoes" |
| Date | Title | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 10, 2019 | Indie Source [33] | "L.A.'s ONLY LGBT Fashion Show: NIk Kacy Invites YOU to Equality #Fashion Week" |
| Oct. 7, 2019 | Jampacked [34] | "NiK Kacy (Founder of NiK Kacy Footwear/Creator of Equality Fashion Week)" |
| Sept. 2019 | Empowerful Exchange by Wells Fargo [5] | "Episode II: Nik Kacy" |
| May 29, 2019 | RYOT [35] | "Nik Kacy Helps LGBTQ People Find Their Comfort Zone in Fashion" |
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or female. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, though some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.
The origin of the LGBT student movement can be linked to other activist movements from the mid-20th century in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement and Second-wave feminist movement were working towards equal rights for other minority groups in the United States. Though the student movement began a few years before the Stonewall riots, the riots helped to spur the student movement to take more action in the US. Despite this, the overall view of these gay liberation student organizations received minimal attention from contemporary LGBT historians. This oversight stems from the idea that the organizations were founded with haste as a result of the riots. Others historians argue that this group gives too much credit to groups that disagree with some of the basic principles of activist LGBT organizations.
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Equality NC(ENC) is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in North Carolina and is the oldest statewide LGBT equality organization in the United States.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+(LGBTQ+)music is music that focuses on the experiences of gender and sexual minorities as a product of the broad gay liberation movement.
Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBT individuals come from lack of education around the LGBT community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.
Autostraddle is a queer and trans-owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer feminist media source" that features content covering LGBT and feminist news, politics, opinion, culture, arts and entertainment as well as lifestyle content such as DIY crafting, sex, relationships, fashion, food and technology.
Eli Erlick is an American activist, writer, academic, trans woman and founder of the organization Trans Student Educational Resources.
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In the United States, LGBT youth of colour are marginalized adolescents in the LGBT community. Social issues include homelessness; cyberbullying; physical, verbal and sexual abuse; suicide; drug addiction; street violence; immigration surveillance; engagement in high-risk sexual activity; self-harm, and depression. The rights of LGBT youth of colour are reportedly not addressed in discussions of sexuality and race in the larger context of LGBT rights.
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Sharpe Suiting is an American designer, producer and manufacturer of garments based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded in 2013, in Los Angeles, by Leon Elias Wu, who is the current CEO of the company. Sharpe suiting is a public-benefit corporation recognized for gender neutral clothing and genderqueer fashion.
Mars Elliot Wright is an American clothing designer who owns an LGBTQ-themed fashion company.
