Kenya's LGBTQ are Organising Fashionable Ballrooms

Let’s talk about the most dangerously fabulous thing happening in Kenya’s fashion scene right now — underground LGBTQ+ balls.

Yes, in the middle of political witch hunts, Bible-thumping MPs, there are runway queens, voguing kings, and non-binary legends slaying looks that would send Paris Fashion Week into cardiac arrest.
And it’s happening right here in Nairobi.

Under dim lights and behind closed doors, queer Kenyan creatives are giving us art, attitude, and unapologetic self-expression. Think fierce looks, handmade couture, exaggerated silhouettes, and bodies in motion. It’s not just fashion — it’s fashion with teeth.

These aren't just parties. These balls are acts of rebellion stitched with sequins and coated in glitter. And baby, the seams are tight.

Fashion here isn’t just wearable — it’s political.
Now, the irony? While lawmakers debate bills that could throw queer folks in jail for up to 30 years, these underground runways are thriving. Yes, thirty years. For loving. For living. For putting on a custom beaded corset and walking like you own the world.

And some of y’all still think fashion is just “fun.”
No sweetheart — it’s a war cry disguised as a ball gown.
Designers in these spaces are rejecting colonial modesty and dressing their truth. Crop tops on masculine bodies. Oversized kimono robes in silky prints. Tulle for days. Platform heels tall enough to kick open the gates of gender norms.

One model I saw in photos rocked a veil made from crochet. Crochet! A soft craft turned into a mask of resistance. Do you understand the fashion literacy it takes to weaponize wool?

This isn’t your cousin’s prom. This is couture with claws.
And make no mistake — these aren't just dress-up games. These are survival rituals. Because for many of the participants, tomorrow means shapeshifting. Hiding. Being someone they’re not just to get through the day.

One minute you're walking the ballroom like Naomi. The next? You’re back to blending in, hoping a neighbor doesn’t out you. It’s exhausting. But somehow, they still show up — in heels, lashes, and full-volume freedom.

You can pass all the bills you want. But fashion has never asked for permission. It breaks rules. It makes noise. It leads revolutions.

And Kenya’s ballroom culture is doing exactly that.

This scene didn’t start here. It came from the Black and Latino queer communities of 1960s New York — people who also lived double lives, who also had to fight for every inch of space to be fabulous. And now? That flame is burning in Nairobi.

Between 2008 and 2020, US Christian groups – at least one of which spoke at the conference – have sent more than $280 million abroad, according to an OpenDemocracy investigation.

To the government officials trying to shut it down, let me say this: You can’t arrest beauty. You can’t legislate away creativity. And you sure as hell can’t silence a strut that was born out of pain, pride, and passion.

Because as one young designer said, "We are shapers of the culture — and you cannot erase us."