MICHAEL NGO - SHINOBI BALLROOM F/W15 RUNWAY ASSASSINS

SHINOBI BALLROOM | RUNWAY ASSASSINS Dance Like a Butterfly. Strike Like a Ninja. From the depths and shadows of the New York City underground arises the 80’s LGBT sub-culture of Music, Drag, and Fashion—The Ballroom Culture. Birthed by necessity and defiance, the counter-culture of the Ballroom scene became an social liberation for a community that was faced with challenges of being a minority within a minority. The Ballroom Voguers & attendees would transform their struggles and troubled realities and turn them into living fantasies by designing their outfits, parading around, and pretending to be rich, famous, or whoever their hearts dreamed of being. These Ballroom participants would perform, battle, and “walk” to compete for the judges and audience’s affection and applause shining true light on the cultural conception of fashion, performance art, and emancipation. For this collection I wanted to pay tribute to Willi Ninja— “The Grandfather of Vogue”—and his distinct style of voguing harnessed by the House of Ninja. Inspired by the Japanese principles of stealth, strength and precision, Willi elevated the art of voguing by mirroring the performance of a ninja, earning him fame and prestige that no one ever reached before. The collection’s name comes from the highest ranking of ninja known as SHINOBI and being highest skilled and trained in the art of stealth—fitting for the legend himself, Willi Ninja. I envisioned the marriage of strength & elegance and the battle between reality & fantasy—who you are and who chose to be. Finding beauty and bravery by channeling your inner warrior is my mission. I want to empower those who put on my collection. With the beauty & grace of a geisha and the strength & stealth of a ninja, you can triumph over struggle & opposition and defiantly dance into the moonlight. You are your own SHINOBI. **Featured on WWD: **Featured on LA Times: ================================== I dedicate this body of work to my amazing parents and beautiful sister who have always been there to support my artistry and dreams. Special thanks to all the family, friends, Collection Contributors, and especially everyone that was apart of the SHINOBI BALLROOM team who helped the manifest this creative endeavor. Without your support I would not have been able to turn this dream into a reality. You helped me share my vision with the world. For this, I’m eternally grateful. Thank you for believing in me. -Michael Ngo Email: DesignsByMichaelNgo@ Instagram: @imNGO | @DesignsByMichaelNgo Twitter: @imNGO ================================== RUNWAY CREDITS: HAIR: AUBREY LOOTS MAKE UP: MELANIE MILLS WARDORBE & STYLING: TAMIRA WELLS ASST. WARDROBE & STYLING: WING YAN KUNG MUSIC: MICHAEL NGO [ FEATURING MIXES BY B. AMES, THE BOYFRIENDS, DJSLIINK, ONE MAN ARMY, & DJ WHITE SHADOW ] VIDEO: MARK JONES EDITING: EMILY MATTHEWS PHOTOGRAPHY: JOEY JAMES PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES: JESSICA SUTTA THE KISSBOYZ RICKY LAM / LEXI VAUGHN GIOVANNI FLORESTA / IAMGEESTAR MODELS: RAVEN JONES CHRISTIANNA KNUTSON TARA JANELE GERAMIE DIZON ELEXIS ZARION JENNIFER HART ALEXA JONES NIKIYA PALOMBI DELOREAN BENNIE COURTANEY PATLIN EVENT COORDINATION: THE LA FASHION COUNCIL