The response to the show was incredible, and, humblingly, the response to the casting in particular. Having two trans people unafraid to saturate the cast with trans and marginalised beauty put the show on a different level of inclusivity – and the press and the community noticed.
Coupled with witnessing the murder of more trans people in 2020 than any year recorded before, the last 12 months have been incomparably difficult for the the trans community – particularly the Black trans community. With this context, it became clear that this show had to be about hope. The show had to acknowledge the dark time that we are going through, but reaffirm our strength and beauty in spite of it. Queer communities might not exist in the spaces that they used to, but they still exist and are still packed with the most beautiful, incredible people.
This of course meant bringing something new to the casting – new faces, new bodies, not just to Art School but to runways in general. But not new to us: some of these people Lucia and I have known for years, they are the icons of our community, some of the strongest people we know, and the people that our community should be represented by. More than anything, casting our community was about giving the people we love and cherish the time in the spotlight that they deserve.