Artist: naladraws aka Nala J. Wu (They/Them)
Portfolio:
About: In an alternate reality where Anna Wintour never existed, Vogue’s current editor in chief is Aditya LaVehre, a GNC trans woman of color. They’re married to Kiera LaVehre, a fat Black fashion/beauty influencer who also serves as Creative Director at Vogue. However, the pair hold a big secret: both of them are immortal vampires. They live in upstate New York at a grand Manor shrouded in a mysterious dense fog, hidden away from the rest of the world with their queer polyamorous (found) family….and willing food sources (Drones): Sonnar Yoon, Ciaran Joseph, Lissa-Rose Santiago, Daria Jazani, and Elena Marquez.
What does BIPOCVampDay mean to you?
A year ago when I started developing this story, I was really excited to create a new canon for what Vampires are; prior to that, I hadn’t ever really been interested in the genre because the media I was aware of was astonishingly white. I took what I did know about ‘traditional’ (white Victorian/gothic) vampires and twisted the tropes to create a vampire-centered story which prioritizes consent from the drones to be fed on, rather than the typical charm, stalking, murder, and or assault typically associated with vampires. Doing this allowed me to develop a really wholesome storyline about two vampires and their undying love for one another and the rest of their household, while also exploring what the world of Fashion and beauty might be like if Vogue was run by queer POC.
When I first saw this event online, I was absolutely STOKED because I had been working on that story and had since fallen in love with vampires, or at least, the canon that I created. Seeing a ton of other BIMPOC posting their own content was so refreshing to see :’)
This event also gave me the opportunity to push my very first art collection out as a Project Lead!