Fabulous

An exploration of what it means to be fabulous—and why eccentric style, fashion, and creativity are more political than ever

Prince once told us not to hate him ’cause he’s fabulous. But what does it mean to be fabulous? Is fabulous style only about labels, narcissism, and selfies—looking good and feeling gorgeous? Or can acts of fabulousness be political gestures, too? What are the risks of fabulousness? And in what ways is fabulous style a defiant response to the struggles of living while marginalized? madison moore answers these questions in a timely and fascinating book that explores how queer, brown, and other marginalized outsiders use ideas, style, and creativity in everyday life. Moving from catwalks and nightclubs to the street, moore dialogues with a range of fabulous and creative powerhouses, including DJ Vjuan Allure, voguing superstar Lasseindra Ninja, fashion designer Patricia Field, performance artist Alok Vaid‑Menon, and a wide range of other aesthetic rebels from the worlds of art, fashion, and nightlife. In a riveting synthesis of autobiography, cultural analysis, and ethnography, moore positions fabulousness as a form of cultural criticism that allows those who perform it to thrive in a world where they are not supposed to exist.

“Fabulous is an absorbing, engagingly written, and highly insightful study of how ‘beautiful eccentrics’ creatively self-fashion themselves to articulate identity, assert presence, and reclaim power on the streets and in the nightclub.”—Harvey Young, author of Black Theater Is Black Life

"Fabulous does not simply track new club worlds, it takes us to them. The book does not just tell us about fashion and clubs, it is immersed in the scenes it conjures. This is engaging, relevant, and glamorous." —Jack Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity and The Queer Art of Failure

"Celebrating the joys of being beautifully eccentric in a bland world, Fabulous offers a theory of fabulousness as political glitter that’s both deviant and defiant. This vivid account of queer motion through clubland’s portals of possibility is a clarion call for a new and colorful consciousness that can collapse stale categories, confront privilege, and combat toxic Trumpism."—Victor P. Corona, author of Night Class: A Downtown Memoir

A conversation with madison moore:

Will this book make me fabulous?
 
Writing about fabulousness says that if only you had this dress, you could be fabulous. But fabulousness isn’t about having certain kinds of clothes. It’s about style as a political act. Fabulousness is a form of resistance, but it’s also critical theory—theory that looks great!
 
Could you introduce one of the “beautiful eccentrics” who appear in this book?
 
Alok Vaid-Menon, the amazing performance artist, captures what this book is about. Their art, which stretches from the stage to Instagram, underscores the work/werk/work! of fabulousness. They pointedly question the systems and structures that oppress us everyday—gender, boringness, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and so on. For Alok, great style is a politic, especially when you are black, brown, and trans.
 
What inspires your own style?
 
Goth. Leather. Black. Asymmetry. Prince. Prince inspired me because of the ways he messed with gender, and I will always love him for showing me the way.
 
Is it harder to be fabulous today?
 
Being fabulous, bold, and eccentric matters in the current global political climate more than ever. Fabulousness is hard: the name calling, stares, death threats, verbal and physical harassment. Black, brown, queer, and trans folks have always lived under duress. We survived before Trump and Brexit and we will survive afterwards, too. When you are brown, queer, and marginalized, embracing yourself is a defiant political act because there are multiple structures, laws, systems, and people screaming that we shouldn’t exist. But we do exist, and we’re sickening.