The Gift That Just Keeps Giving: Ballroom Presents Gifty Gucci

She's cooking up the perfect recipe for self-love and it's delicious.

POSTED 30.09.20 17:36 BY GEORGIE ROBERTSON

Gifty Gucci is entirely gorgeous, which is fitting as she is a member of ballroom house The Gorgeous House of Gucci. After being founded in the US it has now also established itself in Germany, and as well as nailing alliteration with the freshest of names, has helped weave another vital thread into the fabric of the ballroom community. The sub-culture has created an environment where diversity is celebrated in bodies, sexual orientation, gender expression, identity, ethnicity, and religion. By building the foundations of a society that promotes radical acceptance, it is proving to be a pinnacle of hope in a time of increasing global uncertainty.

Born and raised in Germany, Gifty Gucci teaches House and Hip Hop classes, by doing so creating safe spaces and events for the dance community in Hamburg. She's just represented her house in a campaign that celebrates five iconic individuals within five different houses. The film examines Gifty's relationship with self-love, her experience growing up as a Black woman in Germany, and what The House Of Gorgeous Gucci is all about; delivering style, beauty, strength, and kindness.

The Klarna campaign worked with killer creatives who are involved within the community; one of Fizzy's favorite photographers Agatha Powa, director Leo Adef, stylist Fabio Pace, hair and make-up artist Berenice Ammann, and it was produced by Studio O Agency.

Fizzy's Rares Matei chatted with Gifty about ballroom, and she gave some us advice on practicing self-love and acceptance.

How do you feel when you are in Ballroom?

Ballroom is my happy place. It’s love, is a party, it’s a celebration of life when outside it can be tough.

What does voguing mean to you?

Voguing is the dance form of Ballroom and only a small part of the culture. For me, it's expressing my femininity through movement. I can be free as a woman! I can be cute, sexy, sassy, bangy, raw, loud, dramatic, and shake my tits!

You appeared in the first season of the HBO Max series “Legendary”, how would you describe the experience?

Lies! I wasn’t there. Next question!

We are surrounded by frequent toxic comments dependent on standards established by others. What is your advice, or how do you think we can move forwards and find our own fulfilling love?

Normalize not looking like the beauty standards. Normalize talking about it, seeing, showing, appreciating, and accepting bodies of any kind. No matter how they look, how they function, how healthy they are, or why they look the way they do. To make self-love possible, we have to change the way we perceive beauty in general. Not just our own.

There are challenges you face when thinking of self-love, how do you suggest to maintain it?

Practice self-care! Try and do at least one little thing for yourself every day. Look into the mirror tell yourself that you love yourself.

Did Ballroom help on your journey to self-love?

Ballroom goes beyond the Runway. Being able to express myself fully in a space that accepts me in my truest form, I‘m able to carry this confidence and acceptance of others into everyday life.

If there was one thing you could express to all the people currently coping with self-love issues, what would you say?

You’re enough never forget that! You deserve to be anything you want to be and there are people out there that love you for who you are. You deserve to cut negative and unloving people from your life, you don’t need to be what they want you to be. DO YOU AND FIND YOUR OWN SELF-LOVE RECIPE!!