James st James

Fabulous with a capitol J

I first became aware of James st James when watching America’s Next Top Model, and I was immediately taken with his flamboyency (Is that a word?, it is now!) His outfits were major, his personality was even bigger! I next encountered him after seasons of watching RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR), and then watching WOWPresents videos on youtube, where a lot of the past queens from RPDR have their own shows. He has his own show call ‘Transformations’ where artists, designer, and drag queens beat his face with amazing skill and brilliant results. One of my favourites is Manila Luzon turning him into Jessica Rabbit, watch it – its amazing. Now James st James has been creating and innovating for a long time. He was one of the founders of the whole ClubKid scene in NewYork in the late 80s early 90s. When people went out on the town in this scene they went ALL OUT. Nothing was too much or too weird or too loud, in fact the the louder the better! There is a mini resurgence happening now in NY but that also correlates with current fashion trends taking inspiration from 90s staples. I recently watched Party Monster for the first time, it is a movie adaptation of a book he wrote of the same name documenting his life during the ClubKids reign. I posted a similar piece previously with a quote from his co-founder at the time Micheal Alig – more on that here. The quote above is from that movie, and I do wonder if James st James actually said that………

For Prisoner #97A6595

Prisoner #97A6595 aka Michael Alig was released from prison yesterday. He started it all, one of the original Club Kids along with New York legend James st James. The quote is taken from the movie Party Monster that depicted their very fabulous lives during the rise of the Club Kids. While the story is tragic, climaxing in the death of Andre “Angel” Melendez (the crime which Alig has been serving time for these past 17 years) the theatre, spectacle and opulence is infectious. In anticipation of his release, James st James penned a letter to Alig filling him in on what has been going on these past years, it is well worth a read. The quote above sums up the entire philosophy of their way of life. I find the various costumes and get-ups so fantastical, going out should be more than an event. Your outfit should be an event. I think it does the soul good to dress up every once in a while.