When Bimini Bon Boulash paid homage to Princess Julia as their gay icon on Drag Race UK, it brought the counter-culture queen to mainstream attention. Cliff Joannou meets the “first lady of London’s fashion scene” to discover a history of queerness that spans countless nights out across six monumental decades… oh, and two gay husbands

Photography Francisco Gomez de Villaboa Stying and pieces Max Allen

Model, DJ, muse, writer, singer, painter, performer, fashion icon and more.Princess Julia’s influence and artistry interweave mediums as her cultural currency – some might say ‘brand’, although that feels somewhat disrespectful to her authenticity – infuses whichever mode she happens to be working in.

I couldn’t tell you the first time I heard about Princess Julia. As a born-and-bred Londoner, all I know is she’s been part of the city’s cultural zeitgeist since before I was born. And no, that’s no shade on my part – sustaining relevance across six decades is something that few people in the public eye ever achieve. For Julia, her first nights out while still at school in 1975 set her on a path that would illuminate the rest of her life.

Born in Hackney in 1960, Julia Fodor grew up in Bounds Green, north London. As the years went on, she would explore London’s gay scene, which was slowly coming to life in the early years of gay liberation post-decriminalisation.

Of her place as part of the LGBTQ+ community, Julia reflects that she has always felt like an outsider. “The thing is, I always felt a bit weird, and like I didn’t really fit in anywhere, at school or at home. I was looking for people that thought the same way as me, or that had similar interests, and I’d never met them in my early, growingup years. I really did feel quite lonely and isolated. I was still excruciatingly shy at age 16; I nearly burst into tears if anyone spoke to me,” she says, her accent a mixed bag of perfect enunciation blended with a distinct east London tone. Those lucky enough to know Julia will also be familiar with her infectious laugh.

“I did hairdressing when I left school, but I did manage to make some friends, and discover a whole new world where everyone was accepted, and I felt accepted, and like I had a voice,” she recalls of those early days spent discovering a different community from her childhood years. “I could have been anywhere. I could have been on the moon, to be fair. The life that I’d become connected with seemed a million miles away. That was where I got the idea that you don’t have to be these things that society says you’ve got to be to be a relevant human being. It took me a while to realise that, and some bravado as well, because when you’re young, you tend not to analyse things too much.

“My interests lie in self-expression... in music, art, fashion or leisure”

“I didn’t have any comfort in that world, I knew I had to get away. And when I did, I quickly found like-minded people, and they were gay, or creative, and adventurous, which was totally life-affirming, and bolstering.”

In the ’70s, the LGBTQ+ community gravitated towards Earl’s Court and clubs like the Sombrero, on Kensington High Street. “We all went down there. It was a tiny

club in the basement, with a little dance floor, and the DJ was playing 12” vinyl. [DJ] Rudy played there, who later worked at Heaven. Part of it was the punk scene, like the gay scene, and there was quite a lot of crossing over.”