Stylist Matteo Frausto didn’t always care about the clothes he put on his body, but that changed when he came to terms with his gender expression and identity.
By styling thrifted pieces beyond the bounds of traditional gender norms, Frausto showcases the power of queer self-expression. His work appears not only on Chicago runways, but also in one-on-one sessions with people seeking clothing that feels more authentic to who they are.
His first introduction to queer community and fashion came in college when he attended the Midwestern Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender Asexual College Conference (MBLGTACC). At the time, he knew he was queer, but didn’t know how to describe it or feel confident in himself. But when he saw others like him embracing themselves, something shifted within.
“After going to that conference and seeing other people and saying ‘Oh my gosh. They all look so cool and confident in themselves,’ I [wanted] to do that so bad,” he said. “I remember going home … and I immediately cut all my hair from super long to super short.”
Following that decision, Frausto continued purging old attributes of his appearance and began donating all his clothes. He went to thrift stores and played around with different clothes to find what felt best.
The big moment came for him when he tried on a suit for a wedding and was getting it tailored. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he said he felt a pressure lift off him as he found something he had been “looking for [his] entire life.”
Frausto’s start in styling came about in a “snowball effect” after he attended a fashion show and met some new friends in the audience. He said he was captivated by the designer’s avant-grade style.
“It was a lightbulb in my brain, where I was like, ‘Oh, the possibilities are endless,” Frausto said. “You can do so many things because of this.”
Frausto ended up speaking with other attendees, many of whom are his closest friends today. They bonded over fashion and fostered friendships through collaboration. Frausto’s first break in fashion came from pitching a fashion show to lesbian bar Dorothy, 2500 W. Chicago Ave., when they were looking to attract more customers. He got together with two other designers and put on “Dandy Dorothy”—one of his favorite shows to date.
Frausto’s collection, called “Prince Charming” to highlight a play between masculine and feminine, consisted of 12 looks, including his favorite piece: a suit with a six-foot-long trans flag on the back. He said the collection was inspired by playing sports in his early life, so it included a lot of sporty casual looks.
Since then, Frausto has continued to show his collections around Chicago. He said a lot will involve the creator letting him know a theme ahead of time—one of his most memorable being a Barbie and Ken theme—and then giving him the freedom to style models how he wants.
Frausto’s clothes mainly come from thrift stores, as he feels they provide more freedom to explore expression without binary expectations of what sections someone should shop in.
“Thrifting—it’s like a safe space,” he said. “No one’s going to come up to me and say anything homophobic or anything to be like, ‘Hey, actually, don’t be [in this section].’ They just leave me alone, which is great.”
Frausto also takes care to make sure the clothing his models are styled in reflect their true selves—at Dandy Dorothy, there was a multi-layer form with a scale where models could select how they present their gender identity. He uses that as a guiding point and then builds around that to make sure they feel confident and empowered in their final outfit.
Outside of putting together collections, Frausto also has people reach out to him personally for styling help and closet redesign. He said getting to help people feel comfortable in their bodies the way he did when he found his true gender expression is a touching experience.
To Frausto, “queer fashion” is the ability to play dress up and open one’s mind to trying new things. He hopes to continue to find ways to dress authentically and tap into his creativity to inspire himself and others.
“My style is basically my visual diary,” Frausto said. “It’s constantly going to change, I’m constantly going to grow and I’m going to continue to grow with my style. I hope that inspires other people to do that, too.”