Bask in the Afterglow: A Fashion Show Fundraiser for the Center

The word Afterglow can mean multiple things. For some, it describes a pleasant sensation that lingers after something is done, experienced, or achieved. For others, it evokes the glow that remains after a light has disappeared. For The Center on Colfax, it means both: a sense of accomplishment and celebration after a successful Pride season—one that triumphed despite fundraising changes, obstacles, and political complications.

Founded in 1976, The Center on Colfax has become the largest LGBTQ+ charity in the Rocky Mountain region. They supported the queer community through the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and took action against violence in the 1990s with the creation of Rainbow Alley and Lavender University. Since 1989, they have hosted Denver Pride and today they run vital programs supporting queer youth and elders—two of the most important and vulnerable groups in our community.

This Friday, I am participating in the Afterglow Fashion Show and Gala, a fundraiser for The Center on Colfax that brings the queer community together in celebration and philanthropy. I will be closing the runway show, wearing a costume I created earlier this year in my own moment of personal triumph. I am also donating items to the silent auction to maximize fundraising efforts.

While closing a runway show was never something I aspired to, I am honored to do it for such a worthy cause. As a queer person living in a world that has turned my basic right to exist into a political spectacle, I can think of no better way to show up for our people than to walk a runway bedecked in sequins and rhinestones. My message is simple: I am here, I am queer, and I refuse to live in fear.

Denver has become my home, though it wasn’t always so. Before moving here, I spent a year and a half in Florida caring for my mother, who passed away from cancer. The Afterglow show is the day before the 8th anniversary of her death, so I am treating the show as my own personal tribute to her. I am turning a milestone that is normally very painful for me into a moment of queer celebration, fundraising for a cause I believe in.

I came to Denver on a whim, part of a cross-country journey after her death. I was immediately struck by the beauty of the mountains, the men, and the creativity that seemed to shine from every corner of the city. It was splashed onto walls in the form of murals and celebrated in the fashion of people I passed on the street.

My first impression of Denver was of unbridled creativity. Unlike New York City, where I lived for nine years before this, Denver felt like a place I could truly call home. That feeling has only deepened as I’ve lived and learned in this vibrant oasis of self-expression.

Earlier this year, I founded Haus of Other, and was quickly swept into a world of creativity, community, and philanthropy. Now my company is participating in Afterglow as a haus, showing looks from members Crafty Grant, Connor Barrett, and Nadia Evangelina. I am personally presenting four of my own costumes, which tell the story of my time in Denver and my journey from an East Coast refugee in mourning to a fixture in a creative community that embraced me just as I am.

The four looks are a phoenix, a dragon, a caterpillar, and a lion fish. The phoenix and dragon draw on the mythology of my Asian heritage. The phoenix rising from the ashes represents my move to Denver—a reinvention of myself after my mother’s death and a celebration of the person I was meant to become. The dragon reflects my triumph over the mourning period, where I effectively ‘slayed the dragon’ of the worst emotional turmoil of my life. The caterpillar represents my cocooned period of self-work, preparing to become the person my community needs. And the lion fish symbolizes the warrior I am now: someone who sees the challenges ahead and is ready to stand up for himself and his people in the face of an administration determined to strip us of our civil and human rights once again.

My art always carries meaning and intention, and these four costumes capture this chapter of intense growth and transformation. I am awash in gratitude for a successful first year in business, while also tending the sparks of a fire that I know will grow far larger than anything I’ve done before.

The Center on Colfax, like many queer non-profits, faces fundraising challenges. That’s why it is so important for us to support one another through philanthropy. Though we’ve made strides toward acceptance, the hard truth is that neither government nor society at large has ever fully supported us. In the 1970s, trans people of color led the way, handing us the power that created the privileges we now enjoy. In the 1980s, lesbians cared for a dying gay community when the government abandoned us. We have always taken care of our own. One of the best ways to do that now is to fund the non-profits that support us all.

So I invite you to come bask in the afterglow of our shared successes this past year and to help strengthen us for the battles ahead. The fire that fuels our community may ebb and flow, but it burns brightest when we work together—and as long as we remain united, it will never go out.

Get your tickets here.

Photo by Becky Duffyhill.