From REFLECTIONS: A New Orleans Queer Style Portrait series

Community

Jun 30

"REFLECTIONS” is a New Orleans Queer portrait series by photographer, visual artist and Queer New Orleanian Melisa Cardona.

“REFLECTIONS” is a chapter of her larger collection of images called “Soul Reflections,” a series of outdoor portraits that looks at the water of South Louisiana, looking at the people, looking at the water. In “Soul Reflections” we see how obvious it is that we are interconnected, dependent, in awe, and humbled by the reflection of ourselves in each other and in this beautiful place.

Melisa Cardona is a first generation Latina-American. She grew up between Medellin, Colombia and Atlanta, GA. Her intercontinental upbringing nurtured her ability to see the multitude of stories within and between cultures; and the beauty of bringing those stories forth. Since 2006, she has done her “storytelling” in the city of New Orleans through her lens and live performance in collaboration with an incredible community of artists that she met through Alternate ROOTS: Mondo Bizarro, M.U.G.A.B.E.E., Rising Appalachia and ArtSpot Productions.

Special thank you to Jamie Merwin, Rachel Lee, and Rebecca Mwase.

Outfit Details:

Cherry (Turquoise dress)
Credit: Cherry Galette
Dress: Trashy Diva
Shoes: Thrift store (Detroit)
Earings: Thrift store (Detroit)
Heels: Thrift store, bedazzled by Cherry

(Follow Cherry at Mangos with Chili: www.mangoswithchili.com, Instagram @cherrygalette)

Savannah Shange
Dress: Topshop Maternity
Shoes: Steve Madden
Necklace: Topshop
Earrings: Hand made by Mama Catherine at the Berkeley Flea Market

Rebecca Mwase
Dress: Designer Sangria, bought at JC Penney
Shoes: Qupid from Buffalo Exchange
Earrings: from Cultural Acc'nts in little 5 points

Gee Lauder
Shirt: J. Crew
Suit: J. Crew
Rosary: Topman*
Wooden bead bracelet: Urban Outfitters [funds anti-queer campaigns, see disclaimer]
Shoes: Nine West
Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Eli: (Tiger print outfit)
Outfit: High Maintenance Beauty Supply (New Orleans)
Boots: Michael Antonio, got them on 6pm.com
Backpack: Thrift store
Bracelet: Thrift store
Watch: Movado

Producers: Rebecca Mwase and Melisa Cardona

This article was cited in Beyoncé in Formation: Remixing Black Feminism by Omise'eke Tinsley.

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Sonny Oram

Boston-based multidisciplinary artist Sonny Oram is the founder of Qwear, a leading voice in the queer fashion movement for more than 15 years, and the author of the foreword to Queer and Trans Fashion Brands: Resistance and Revolution in the 21st Century (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025). His work has been featured in HuffPost, BuzzFeed, Design*Sponge, and QTYPE Magazine and he's spoken on panels at MIT, South by Southwest, and Simmons Nursing School.

His earliest published work was created at age ten: a series of collages made from cut-up magazines, accompanied by original text exploring themes of gender, cultural conditioning, predatory advertising, and media objectification. In 2025, images of these collages were published in Queer and Trans Fashion Brands: Resistance and Revolution (Bloomsbury Press) and the Fashion, Style & Popular Culture journal.

Through Qwear, Sonny has launched influential campaigns, including the award-winning #ThisIsWhatAsexualLooksLike with Yasmin Benoit, and continues to create spaces for underrepresented communities across internet and print media. He has also used search engine optimization (SEO) to increase the visibility and diversity of queer representation in online search results, helping terms such as “androgynous style,” “bisexual style,” and “asexual” reflect a broader range of identities and experiences.

https://sonnyoram.com