Tag: Issue two

A fancy dress contest inspired by Crufts (a British dog show), established by Andrew Logan in 1972

 

In the early 1970s, Andrew Logan — the artist who adorns one of Accent’s AW16 covers  — had an idea for a party. It would not be about beauty, it would be about transformation. The Alternative Miss World would allow anyone to enter: men and women on equal footing: racial parity in a pre-cosmopolitan London; sexuality set free in a million guises. And everyone would be judged on the same criteria as the dogs at Crufts: poise, personality and originality.

Since the first event in Andrew’s flat in Hackney, in 1972, the Alternative Miss World has set the stage for some of the world’s most creative spirits to gather — with past guests, hosts and competitors including everyone from Derek Jarman, David Hockney and Zandra Rhodes to Grayson Perry, Divine, Leigh Bowery and the stars of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Issue two pays tribute to this long-running celebration of self-expression by unearthing some gems from the photo archive. Here we feature some of the highlights through the years.

Kinky Gerlinky Cabaret, AMW Imperial Fantasy/Royal Imperial, 1991 
Robyn Beeche

Miss Holland Park Walk (Eric Roberts), the winner in 1973
JD Matthews

Divine, a host in 1978

Fat Gill and Leigh Bowery, AMW Earth, 1986
Robyn Beeche

Andrew as host in 1991. The theme was Air
Robyn Beeche

Miss Yorkshire, the very first winner of the competition in 1972
JD Matthews

David Hockney and Celia Birtwell on the judging panel, AMW Wild, 1975

Miss Frozen Assets, AMW Imperial Fantasy/Royal Imperial, 1981
Robyn Beeche

Miss Aldershot (Michael Haynes), winner of AMW Imperial Fantasy/Royal Imperial, 1981
Robyn Beeche

Luciana Martinez de la Rosa, AMW Circus, 1978
Robyn Beeche

Buy the issue here

The transgender opera diva and Accent cover star

Meet Lucia Lucas, opera singer, transgender woman and advocate, and one of our Issue Two double cover stars. Despite recommendations that she, as a baritone, should “get a day job” until the age of 40 before working professionally, Lucia is now in her 30s and has already built a successful career performing opera internationally. Following her recent transition, she still plays male roles 90 per cent of the time she appears on stage, maintaining that “I wouldn’t want a person to think a woman was playing the character unless they looked down at their programme.”

“I came out to the opera community at a ball with my wife — she wore a trouser suit and I wore a dress. People didn’t recognise me at first — they recognised my wife, then looked at me and eventually they figured it out. Being able to see their genuine reactions was helpful; I came out the next week. I told the intendant that I liked my job and hoped I could continue to do it, but this was something I had to do for myself; it was something I’d been putting off forever. He said: ‘OK, how does this work?” I replied: “Well, nobody’s ever done it before.'”

Read Lucia’s full story with photographs by Alice Neale in Issue 2, which you can buy here.

Lucia wears: Coat by Givenchy; trousers Anna Scholz, jumper by Givenchy; jacket model’s own, underwear model’s own, earring by Bill Skinner

Photographer — Alice Neale
Photographer’s Assistant — Hannah Burton
Stylist — Rachael J Vick
Make-up — Naomi Serene
Retouching — Signe Emma

Produced by Accent Magazine