Hello darlings, and a very happy new year! Your girl Emma here, ready to take you on another fabulous voyage through time, this time landing right in the heart of 1982! Now, you might be thinking, "Emma, what's so special about January 1st, 1982? It's just another day, innit?" Well, love, you'd be absolutely wrong! It's the day we get to shimmy back to a time where the glitter was bold, the hair was BIG, and the drag scene was a swirling, swirling kaleidoscope of glamour and sass!
My magical pink tutu, the one you see in all my time travel adventures, twirled me right to a bustling New York City where the drag scene was booming. I saw so much, it practically hurt to take it all in! The Peppermint Lounge was the place to be, darling, filled to the brim with gorgeous creatures dripping in sequins and feather boas, shimmying their way into the New Year. A drag queen called Divine, with that outrageous, divine visage, was killing it on stage! It's wild to think she was doing all this whilst filming a John Waters film - what a star, truly!
The New York scene wasn't all the excitement though! A hop, skip and a twirl in my time-traveling tutu landed me in San Francisco, a city practically brimming with fabulousness! It was there I discovered the iconic drag group, The Cockettes, they were all about art and drag combined, creating shows full of magic and madness. They even hosted a big ol' New Year's bash, a spectacle filled with crazy costumes and experimental theatre, absolutely mind-blowing, darlings!
Back in old Blighty, the scene was buzzing too, although not quite on the grand scale of New York or San Francisco. I caught a glimpse of a young, fiery queen called Leigh Bowery at a club night called Blitz in London, just starting to create a stir with his radical, challenging take on drag! He really knew how to make a statement, love, a true pioneer of the art form!
You see, darling, 1982 was the beginning of a beautiful new era in drag! There were so many incredible drag artists pushing boundaries, expressing themselves, and shaping the scene into the incredible, diverse art form it is today! The spirit of these trailblazers, the pure creativity, and the wild, fearless spirit, all remain the heart of the drag world, a reminder that it's always about expressing yourself with a little flair, a little fabulousness, and most importantly, a touch of humour!
This month, I urge you to take inspiration from these legends, embrace the ridiculous, celebrate your uniqueness and wear a damn pink tutu! It doesn’t have to be a grand affair, just find your sparkle, love, and make it your own! If those fearless drag queens from 1982 could push the boundaries, we can too!
As always, love, I can't wait to see you all at the next Pink Tutu Time Travel Blog post! Keep those questions coming, darling, and until then, stay fierce, stay fabulous, and stay twirling!
*Yours in sequins and tutus, *
Emma
PS. Head on over to www.pink-tutu.com to see more snaps from my journey! And be sure to check out the fabulous community there - all about drag, history, fashion, and most importantly, celebrating all things PINK!
