“Avalon TV” is a close-up look at the queer creative collective House of Avalon, in a series that streams Monday on WOW Presents Plus.
Among the House mates in a group Zoom interview: Symone, the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” S13 winner, Gigi Goode, the S12 “Drag Race” fan-favorite, and fashion designer Marko Monroe who in 2016 co-founded House of Avalon as a queer art and fashion pop culture collective.
“For both of us,” Gigi, 26, reflected, “we knew at the time ‘Drag Race’ was the launchpad. And that it’s going to be something I’ll never forget.”
“For sure,” Symone, 29, said with a laugh, “that was a badge of honor. And I won the bitch!”
“But you’re always challenging yourself,” Gigi allowed, “wondering what you’ll do next. What are you trying to say? What can we build off of this?
“It’s a way to showcase who you are in the brand. But then you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Like this show we’re doing now.”
“It was important to us with ‘Avalon TV’ to not only appeal to the fans,” Symone said. “But appeal to the fans who are in this space we are in now: The fashion world. The TV world. The celebrity world. We knew that was Step 1 Drag Race.
“Because two of us in this family are trans women,” she continued, this year’s election is vital to the mix. “On top of everybody else’s rights being at stake, it’s also our health care being at stake.
“For me being silent, it’s just not an option. So our message is to be as loud as we can and keep keeping on and living the way we are. And hope other people can see that and also just support everyone in our queer family.”
As co-founder Monroe has witnessed first-hand House of Avalon’s rise. “People are understanding our brand a little better now. When we first moved here from Arkansas, it was hard for us to get into the entertainment industry and be seen,” he said. “Now people are getting the thesis of our core collective.”
That would mean fashion, nightlife, drag, art, comedy. But House of Avalon is more than a concept; it’s an actual house.
“We live on a street,” Gigi explained. “On the street the House of Avalon is one house. Upstairs, there is Symone. Then there’s a driveway and next to that is our studio, which we’re in right now.
“Across the street is my house on the corner. All of us have taken over the block.”
“Avalon TV” streams Monday on WOW Presents Plus