Geoffrey Mac and His Global Celebration

I think I speak for everyone when I say that I watched Adore Delano’s “I Adore You” video about 20 times the day it first came out on YouTube. Girl was flawless. What I didn’t know, though, was that Adore’s costumes for that video and several others were all designed by Geoffrey Mac, who also happens to be one of the featured designers at the first-ever ArtDenver. This morning I sat down – or rather worshipped at the feet of – the designer extraordinaire to talk about his efforts in designing for the drag world and his upcoming collection.

Out Front: Okay, I think we should obviously start off by talking about your work with Adore Delano.

Adore is just a dream client, she really is. She is so lovely, so gracious. In fact the last time I was in Denver I was here with her. Designing for Adore is really specific. I think that when designing for performers, it’s good to kind of know their aesthetic, their personality, what their body is like and what direction you want to pull them into. With Adore her personality is so lovely that she makes it easy to paint her classy or trashy.

For example, when I put her in that first custom yellow gown in “I Adore You,” she gasped and told me, “Oh my god, I’ve never worn a gown that touches the ground before!”

It’s important to expand on what they’re willing to wear and try out new things all while fitting the personality.

Out Front: Now that I’ve talked to Justin LeBlanc and Mondo Guerra about their design concepts for tonight, what can you tell me about what you’ll be showing?

I’m calling it a return to a global, tribal kind of aesthetic. It’s a global celebration. I’ll be showing pieces reminiscent of indigenous tribes, some Native American references and definitely sci-fi. There’s also a lot of Mexican influences. Everything is just all melded together a bit, making it very other worldly.

Out Front: Are you participating in the trunk show?

We are! We are selling some of everything. Some past pieces that I’m willing to get rid of, current collection straight off the runway as well, and a lot of jewelry. Everything is very bright.

Out Front: I just watched your threesome three-minute interview with Xelle – amazing costumes you designed for them, by the way – and you mentioned you’re from Colorado. What’s it like being back?

I love being back in Colorado, except for the weather right now. Although I lived in Chicago for 10 years so this is just lovely compared to anything out there. I’m originally from Littleton and then lived in Boulder and Cap Hill for a while, so it’s just nice to be home.

Out Front: How did you get involved in ArtDenver?

Katelyn Simkins, the fashion coordinator for ArtDenver, is a dear friend of mine. I’ve been showing out here from time to time because she’s been a fan and I’m from here and just love it here.

Out Front: So we’ve talked about Adore Delano, but it seems like you might do a lot of work in the drag world and gay community.

We definitely have a heavy presence in the gay community, and we do a lot of work with drag queens like Sharon Needles and Alaska Thunderfuck.

What can we look forward to after ArtDenver?

I have a couple of projects that I can’t really elaborate on yet, but they’re really good things that are coming up. We hope that this collection can kind of allow me to finally not be really focused on sales, but rather on creating pieces that are more fine-art driven. I’m more passionate about this line than anything I’ve done in a while. It was the first collection I’ve made that I could’ve made 20 or 30 more pieces for; I just wanted to keep going. I think my passion will show on the runway, and I’m just really excited to show tonight.

Geoffrey Mac will be a featured designer at ArtDenver’s first-ever fashion show tonight, Nov. 14, with Mondo Guerra, Michael Costello and Justin LeBlanc. Geoffrey will continue to showcase his work at the trunk sale throughout the weekend. Visit www.art-denver.org for more information or tickets.