Charnick was a participant in Slay The Runway, a workshop for LGBTQ teens run by Firehouse Art Center. Through the workshop, teens learned the basics of sewing, color and shape.
At the end of the two-week program, they used those skills to put on a fashion show featuring clothing they designed.
Charnick, of course, wanted to emulate their punk idols, so they went to a thrift store and found a black pleather skirt, a classic centerpiece worn by garage rock bands around the world.
To enhance the look, Charnick ripped up pieces of patterned shirts and sewed them onto the skirt.
It was still missing something — but Charnick had an idea to maximize its potential.
“I have these screw-in spikes I got online and I’m just poking a small hole with the sewing scissors, putting the screw in on one side and screwing in the spike on the other side,” they said.
‘Fashion is inherently queer’
Charnick is one of over a dozen teenagers taking part in the program. For some teenagers, like Grace Gruber, who is incorporating a stuffed dragon into her design, nothing specific really guided their vision.
“I just like dragons,” Gruber explained.
But for some, like Zi Salling, their personality and lifestyle showed through their work.
“I am working on a Barbie princess-looking fairy thing,” they said.
Salling said the look shows the more delicate side of their personality.
“A lot of the time, I’m in a more gothic, deep grunge look,” Salling said. “And then there’s other times, like today and with this dress, where I’m more princess fairy. So I feel like it’s just showing that I can express myself in just different ways, but I can still be the same person throughout.”
The focus on fashion for this workshop was intentional. LeeLee James, one of the program instructors, said it’s because queer kids have always found comfort in fashion.