Now you may have been to a car boot sale, a flea market, or even a vintage kilo sale, but I bet you haven’t been to a drag secondhand market.
Kafe Kweer just hosted their first Drag market, the first of its kind in Edinburgh. Imagine everything from drag outfits to wigs, to accessories and shoes. whether you need something for a drag outfit, or just wanting to feel extra fabulous on a regular day.
The café is a safe and sober space for LGBTQ+ and for all ages and identities. They sell groceries, local art as well as host events. The café has strong ties with the drag community, with the co-owner, Oskar, also a drag queen, Mystika Glamoor.
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The event was haled a success for being sustainable with the swapping and recycling of clothes instead of going to landfill.
Zak, a DJ, and co-owner of Kafe Kweer says he and Oskar brainstorm: “Like what can we do for the community? What’s lacking in areas that they can put on? And this is one of the things, cause obviously, owning a queer business you know a lot of drag queens and kings and performers and it just a good way to keep drag circular, it’s a cyclical thing, it stops things going to landfill and we try to have an eco-stance here.” He also adds “and it’s a lot cheaper than buying drag new, because it can be really expensive for a lot of people.”
Evie, who performs as Sansa Starkers had her own stall, was able to sell on some outfits “I’m selling clothes that I maybe wanted to do stuff with and haven’t found the right concept for or the right routine and been just like someone else needs it more than I do.
“We had some younger potential people who might want to try drag like In a few years and often drag spaces are for 18+ and it’s a bit inaccessible for them, whereas this place is accessible to people of all ages. That’s very important. “
Maya, who performs as Mayhem, has only been performing for 6 months, so still new to the scene. “I enjoy it a lot, I think drag has made me, like has given me a sense of belonging, I think. Cause before that I was very enclosed in my queerness and not really embracing it. And then I started doing drag and it has helped me embrace it more and it’s made me way happier with myself, I don’t feel like I’m hiding anything anymore.” They go on to say, “Whenever I have extreme emotions, I can put it towards a performance, and I feel like that’s really helped”.
They also helped some potential new drag performers, “It’s an amazing place for new people to come along and all talk to other drag artists, there was a young person interested in doing drag, who hasn’t performed yet. They were down here for a little bit and asked for some advice and I had a wee chat with them, and I think that was really nice. Also, I know a lot of people struggle with finding stuff for their drag so places like this help them, and there’s also a box of stuff, free stuff. so, if anyone’s struggling, they can come in and help themselves to any clothes that they need.”
You can follow Kafe Kweer and keep up to date with their events here: Facebook or Instagram
