18 TBT Photos of RuPaul and the Club Kids for DragCon

John Simone presents "RuPaul: Evolution of an Icon," an exhibit at RuPaul's 2019 L.A. DragCon. Three days of art, pop culture, and all things drag, at the L.A. Convention Center.

John Simone, a Toronto native, moved to New York in early 1987, to become house photographer at NY's biggest clubs, the Roxy and Studio 54 (in a juice-bar incarnation). Simone began documenting the stars of the downtown scene and publishing the photos in Stephen Saban's legendary nightlife column in the original Details magazine. It was in this late '80s NYC scene that he photographed countless upcoming performers, artists, celebrities, and drag queens such as RuPaul.

As well as 30 RuPaul editions, Simone is making available a selection of 30 photo prints of other legends of New York nightlife such as Divine, Michael Musto, David Bowie, Lady Bunny, Keith Haring, Nina Hagen, Liza Minnelli, Jayne County, Bianca Jagger, Lypsinka, Sinead O'Connor, and Sister Dimension.

These images, recently scanned and restored, are a part of Simone's online '80s nightlife Photocyclopedia, which currently features 2,200 shots published on johnsimonephotography.com. Many of the photos are available for publication and event listings.

RuPaul is an icon of elegance, inspiring generations of LGBTQ people in their quest to combat the cruelty of narrow and oppressive gender identity enforced by mainstream society. RuPaul has described doing drag as a "very, very political" act because it "challenges the status quo" by rejecting fixed identities: "drag says 'I'm a shapeshifter, I do whatever the hell I want at any given time!"

RuPaul projects a fierce confidence and charisma, promoting her fashion glamour as a vehicle of authentic personal liberation, living proof of a creative space between the extremes of masculine and feminine, where everyone can explore the dimensions of their true selves. RuPaul expresses this vitality best in her own words: "You're born naked; everything else is drag."