This story was originally printed in the Queen’s Journal

One art exhibit at Queen’s leapt off the walls this weekend—literally.

On Oct. 3, the Agnes Etherington Art Centre hosted an unforgettable evening of drag and fashion at the Historical Costume Ball Drag Show Fashion Pageant Spectacular. Held in Grant Hall, the event combined archival dress with dazzling drag performances from Dare de LaFemme, Tyffanie Morgan, and Rowena Whey. The hour long pageant displayed works from Patterns for All Bodies 2 (PfAB2): The Fall Victorian Line 1880 to 2025, the Agnes’ exhibition by LaFemme, Morgan and, Whey.

Originating in the ’40s as a costume resource for Queen’s Drama department, the Dress Collection has since evolved—through community donations and curatorial work—into a museum-quality archive. In 2024, the Agnes launched the Patterns for All Bodies(PfAB) project, inviting local drag artists to reinterpret Victorian garments from the collection and showcase them through runway performances like last Friday’s Historical Costume Ball.

The weekend’s collaboration reimagines historical fashion while promoting inclusivity, offering downloadable patterns for diverse body types and making fashion history accessible and relevant for contemporary audiences.

While the project celebrated inclusive fashion and historical reinterpretation, the energy of the evening extended beyond the runway, as attendees brought their own flair to the event. Music by DJ TigerStylez filled the auditorium as guests arrived, setting the tone for a night that celebrated queer expression and art. By the time the show began at 7 p.m., the house was packed and ready for an incredible evening.

De LaFemme took the stage first, opening with a high-energy lip-sync. Next, Kingston drag matriarch Morgan gave an unforgettable and hilarious lip-sync performance, simultaneously weaving through rows of audience members and climbing into open seats. Rounding out the trio was Whey, who captivated the crowd with a sung rendition of “Chain of Fools” by Aretha Franklin.

Once all three performers had taken the stage, the night continued with a series of runway walks and lip-syncs to iconic pop hits by the trio of queens. The show’s highlight was its closing number, “Hot to Go” by Chappell Roan, when audience members were invited onstage to join the performers in a final dance together.

“I thought the event went fabulously,” Curator Alicia Boutilier said in an interview with The Journal. “It’s such a joy to see the community engaging with the museum’s collection in such an energetic and inclusive way.”

According to Boutilier, the event’s inspiration came from a desire to make the Agnes’s historical dress collection more accessible to the Kingston community. “The project came out of wanting to make the historical dress collection at Agnes more available,” Boutilier said. Given PfAB2’s origins as a theatre costume collection, Boutilier explains that drag provided the perfect medium for its display.

“Drag’s all about performance, and dismantles historical and gendered assumptions about garments,” Boutilier said, explaining how drag showcases how “historical dress can be for anybody, and for any expression.”

De LaFemme, Morgan, and Whey all helped contribute to the exhibition’s reimagining as a drag ball, choosing garments from the Agnes dress collection to “dragify,” according to Boutilier. “While most [garments] that were offered were Victorian, the ones [they] chose all happened to be within a decade of each other. And so, the Victorian 2025 line was born.”

The collaboration took a year to develop, employed Kingston talent. “Local pattern maker and dress historian Carolyn Dowdell measures the historical garments, then makes patterns of those chosen by the drag artists,” Boutilier explained. “Costume designer and dressmaker Jessica Dykins readjusts the historical patterns for the drag artists’ bodies, then sews and fits the final garments.” Each performer added their own flair, accessorizing with contributions from Queen Bee Millinery and Funeral Face Nails.

Looking forward, Boutilier hopes the Spectacular’s energy propels more opportunities to combine performance and history, both at Agnes and “out in the world,” she said