Their jobs grew even more challenging when California repealed the law allowing the police to arrest women who loitered with the intent to engage in prostitution. The repeal, known as SB 357, was intended to prevent profiling of Black, brown and trans women based on how they dressed. But when it was implemented in January 2023, the effect was that... See more

“Ideological suffocation has been the background ambient noise of the last 10 years,” Velez tells me. “Unfortunately I don't think fashion will ever be the Caligulan bacchanalia that it was in the ’80s and ’90s.” Velez is bringing courage, both creatively and ideologically to the scene.