It was not until Kingsley Gbadegesin, who spent his teenage years in Prince George’s County, Maryland, found the Black + LBGTQ community’s Ballroom culture that he saw someone who looked, walked, and talked like him. Now, as an openly identified Black and gay man, Gbadegesin pays tribute to Black queers and strives to be a positive influence for the youth. He has embedded the Ballroom culture’s raw talent into his brand, K.NGSLEY, which, for him, is a space to conceptualize Black and queer experiences through an authentic lens.

In what ways has your creativity and confidence led you to adapt new meanings for fashion items without mocking Black + queer culture?

“With tank tops, they came to be something that I would wear to feel my most like myself. When you go out, you want to feel cute in your own way, you know? I do understand how the ‘wife beater’ came to be and how it has been associated with men and domestic violence. But the tank top is iconized in queer culture. So I really like how we are in a space where we are able to redefine these things for ourselves. I am really blessed that I am able to put a twist on it and not just say ‘I am this particular person.’ I can say I am this and I can be that, which I believe you can find in the spirit of the tank tops.” 

What historical pillars of the Black LGBTQ culture have you embedded in K.NGSLEY’s brand identities and social values?

“When growing up and trying to figure out who I was and my identity, I always felt othered. I appreciated many different things and I had different friends in different pockets, which I never mixed because I always felt like I had to embody this identity for that friend and embody another identity for  this friend. I realized the beauty of blending my identities together. A huge part of my development and a core pillar I have embedded is Ballroom culture. I would not be who I am…how I move, how I act, how I talk, how I see other Black queers has come from the Ballroom. It was the first time I ever felt and experienced community.

I remember being 15-16 years old and becoming captivated by Ballroom music (the beats). After I got into the Ballroom and modeling scene in D.C., I quickly became known as “Maestro LLE” (“Living Legends Ent.”) because I knew all the new beats. [Music in the scene] was a huge part of my development… it was a way to express all of who you are, whether it be flamboyant, super soft and c*nt (known as feminine in the Black + LGBTQ community), or even masculine. To see how you can be so many different things through the music and culture allowed you to exist, come to life, it’s really beautiful to me.”

How did you enlist Black, queer, and femme people in your brand’s presentation? How has your design and creative direction showcased the fantastical world Black + queer people have pioneered for themselves?

“I paid tribute to Ballroom culture and its music in my first show. I was super thankful to have KIA put the soundtrack together. I have featured the girls from the Ballroom scene like Darnell ‘Juicy-Couture Balenciaga’ Lee, Ms. Z Tye, Goldie Balenciaga, Brodie Miyake-Mugler, and Diego Miyake-Mugler in my show and campaigns. I make sure to have identities I relate to in K.NGSLEY because representation truly matters. One of the biggest things I value is for Black and queer people to see themselves in my work, but also to be lensed by Black and POC queers. I am really happy I get to work with queer photographers such as Claudio Robles + Tomas Meersohn, who have just been great collaborators in setting the tone for each product launch.

Some of the main faces you will always see in K.NGSLEY are people I have known for a while. Ultimately, I am super happy with being able to highlight Black and queer people, especially the girls from the scene. This shows the community that we can do it. We are not just a commodity, we are not just like a hot trend for right now, this is us existing.”

What was the force that moved you to be a positive light and representation for Black + queers, in and out of the fashion industry?

“Being able to have space for us, and us being able to see each other in aspirational spaces is very huge for me. Not only does representation matter, but it is also being able to conceptualize our own story and being able to tell it too. When growing up, I did not see myself in fashion. I make sure I produce imagery at K.NGSLEY for the 10-year old kid inside me. If I was that kid now, I would cut these images out of a magazine, put them all over my binders, and tape them in my school locker. I hope to have a reach for the new generation of queer babies who can see themselves in spaces that they are aware of and have every right to exist in loudly.”

How will K.NGSLEY continue to educate people of Black and queer culture’s identities?

“It is in everything that I do. At least, I try to educate people or just give people a lesson on Black and queer culture. A lot of the knowledge I share is rooted in Ballroom culture.

Last season, our campaign and runway show was called “Back to C*nt”, we wanted to make the girls feel it. We broke down what “c*nt” means in the scene. For us Black and queer people, it is a noun: person, place, or thing but it is also an adjective and feeling derived in the context of hyper-femininity. This person, place, or thing can be soft and really sharp, which makes it fierce. We included others like Female Figure (a cis-woman, drag-queen or transwoman) who exemplifies these descriptions in our latest campaign.

With K.NGSLEY I hope to forge a better understanding of what our culture consists of and where our vernacular and history comes from, while also being able to have the spirit of it live in my work.”

Your Your Story Told Your Way Black History Month series celebrates fashion leaders and creators via curated conversations that welcome authenticity and honor brand identities. These conversations steer clear of trauma to encourage fashion leaders to also be a beacon of light.

Photographed by Kendall Bessent at the historic St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, the first parish for Black people, architected by Vertner Woodson Tandy.