Central Park’s Dreamland Fashion Week bash breaks world record

In the middle of a scorching heat wave, thousands of festive folk came together in Central Park to break a world record.

Billed as the city’s largest LGBTQ+ Fashion Week bash, Dreamland broke the Guinness World Record for fashion show attendees on Saturday at the ticketed extravaganza at the park’s SummerStage.

Dreamland’s attendance broke the previous record – set in 2018 by COFFEECELL with 1,012 people in attendance —  with 2,683 attendees.

The record-breaking event featured a catwalk from Marco Morante, the brains behind his namesake label Marco Marco, marking his first runway presentation in five years.

“The queer people are breaking the record,” attendee Petals Sandcastle, the CEO and founder of non-profit organization Express Your Yes, told The Post as the bass boomed during Blond:ish’s set.

“How f—king neat,” they added while flaunting a sheer, sequined frock.

Inclusivity was the theme of the evening, and amid the exclusive Fashion Week, New Yorkers were able to witness at least one runway this year, despite the high temperatures and muggy humidity in Central Park.


Central Park Public Fashion Show.
Saturday September 9, 2023.
Dreamland broke the Guinness World Record for fashion show attendees on Saturday.
Paul Martinka

Attendee in the crowd
Electronic music and fashion lovers alike fanned out across the SummerStage lawn as the sets played against the backdrop of the setting sun.
Paul Martinka

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Attendees were decked out in their New York best, some in attire fit for Coachella and others in chic streetwear, to watch performances from DJs LP Giobbi, BLOND:ISH and Diplo.

Electronic music and fashion lovers alike fanned out across the SummerStage lawn as the sets played against the backdrop of the setting sun.


Central Park Public Fashion Show.
Dreamland’s attendance broke the previous record – set in 2018 by COFFEECELL with 1,012 people in attendance — by more than double.
Paul Martinka

Central Park Public Fashion Show.
Attendees were decked out in their New York best, some in attire fit for Coachella and others in chic streetwear, to watch performances from DJs LP Giobbi, BLOND:ISH and Diplo.
Paul Martinka

While LP Giobbi — who came from an ill-fated stint at Burning Man where she was forced to hike through calf-deep mud to leave the campsite — played to a half-empty crowd as rain drizzled, Blond:ish entertained a looser crowd who danced to the beat while holding boozy canned concoctions.

Before Diplo took the stage and the Marco Marco catwalk began, there appeared to be well over 1,000 attendees — record broken.

Just before 8 p.m., Diplo emerged behind the booth to a jam-packed sea of fans who jumped to the beat of his tracks as they eagerly awaited the Marco Marco presentation, which featured an estimated 40 avant-garde pieces that dazzled in the technicolored light show.

“We need joy,” Morante told The Post backstage after the show. ”So we’re trying to bring that out when we can.”


Model in Marco Marco show
An estimated 40 Marco Marco looks were presented to the cheering, rain-soaked crowd on Saturday night.
Paul Martinka

Model in Marco Marco show
The avant-garde pieces sparkled in the dazzling light show on stage as the DJs came together to provide a beat for the catwalk.
Paul Martinka

The presentation was anything but an ordinary catwalk. Oozing in sex appeal, models, some of which were in drag, didn’t just strut down centerstage — rather, they performed their own signature moves, some even acrobatic.

Some looks were sultry — thigh high boots or hosiery styled with latex ensembles — while others sparkled with show-stopping sequin embellishments.

The glamorous collection seemed to be a celebration of individuality and self-expression, as models owned the runway with their own flare — some breaking out into dance, others boasting their personality in their delicate hand gestures or emotive facial expressions.

He loves the idea that “people can watch the show, and whatever they look like, find a version of themselves here.”


Marco Marco at the end of his show
“We need joy,” Morante told The Post backstage after the show. ”So we’re trying to bring that out when we can.”
Paul Martinka

Diplo on stage
Diplo played for more than an hour before inviting LP Giobbi and Blond:ish up on stage with him to collaborate.
Paul Martinka

To break the world record, Morante said, is “camp.”

“It feels like something that’s so ridiculous — and at the same time, the Guinness Book of World Records was something that I loved when I was a kid,” he continued.

Jake Resnicow, Dreamland’s big shot producer and prominent LBGTQ+ community member, previously told The Post that his mission was to make Fashion Week accessible to all with his ticketed event, which Sandcastle called “God’s work.”

“It’s funny, because fashion has always been very queer,” Lance Bass, former *NSYNC hitmaker, told The Post backstage on Saturday.

“This is now more important than ever to do things like this, to really show the world that no, we’re here and we’re going nowhere.”