Dogs, cats, snakes and birds wearing handmade crocheted costumes circled the venue Friday under the fluorescent lights of Haw Bazaar on Southwest Second Street. Proud owners accompanied their pets, asking the crowd around them to stop and admire them. Organizers are calling the event “Birkin Market: A Night of the Circus.”
Organized by Fluidity Fashion, a university club dedicated to the creative expression of gay students, Birkin Market transformed Haw Bazaar into a colorful circus-themed pet fashion extravaganza for the second year in a row.
Pets strutted down a makeshift runway in custom circus-themed costumes as music from Gainesville-based DJ Jordy Ortiz played. A clown dog, a magician cat, and a showman bird posed to cheer on the members of Fluidity Fashion. The three vendors were seated at tables covered with tablecloths and lined with carved crystals, clay jewelry, and artisanal candles.
Melanie Rodriguez Martinez, 24, a fourth-year nursing student at Santa Fe College and vice president of event outreach for Fluidity Fashion, said she played a key role in coming up with the Birkin Market theme.
Her cat, Aster, was the model for the show. One-year-old Aster is a blind, three-legged orange cat. When Rodriguez Martinez walked him down the runway, he wore a crocheted lion's mane costume.
Rodriguez-Martinez said participating in Fluidity Fashion helped her explore a side of herself she never knew existed. Her athletic pursuits, she said, limited her ability to cultivate her creative side.
“Fluidity has allowed me to not only express myself, but also give others the ability to express themselves,” she said.
Erin Nadel, 20, a second-year environmental science student at Fluidity Fashion University, who is also the general logistics committee chair and photographer for Fluidity Fashion, became involved with the organization after participating in last year's spring fashion show. “It became like that,” she said.
“It seemed like a really positive queer community and queer space,” she said.
Nader said the crowd at this year's market was larger than last year, demonstrating the event's growing popularity and influence.
“The best part…was the turnout,” she said. “I just saw the vibe that everyone brought to the table and just seeing so many stylish, cool people come together.”
She said last year's Birkin Market was a successful fundraiser for the club, so members decided to plan another event.
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Kelly Fitzgerald is a 21-year-old fourth-year psychology and anthropology student. He and his golden retriever (commonly known as Nico or Stinky) participated in a fashion show.
Fitzgerald is a member of the university's Pride Student Union. He said the club is working closely with Fluidity Fashion to plan meetings, workshops and events.
I learned about this event through Fluidity Fashion's Instagram account and immediately knew I wanted my dog to be in the show. Fitzgerald said his parents arranged to bring the dog from their hometown to Gainesville.
“It was a really good experience to socialize and show off our dogs,” he said.
Zachary Rubin, a 22-year-old fourth-year applied physiology and kinesiology student, serves as model committee chair for Fluidity Fashion and is part of the event support team along with Rodriguez Martinez.
“Fluidity is truly the premier organization on campus when it comes to promoting queer creative expression,” Rubin said.
As the night drew to a close, attendees said goodbye to the animals, patting their heads and saying “good boy” one last time.
Fluidity Fashion continues its mission to provide a platform for self-expression and inclusivity, and members say the success of this circus-themed event is a testament to the power of celebration and connection.
Please contact Emilia Cárdenas Perez at ecardenas-perez@alligator.org. X Follow her at @emiliaandreaa.
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