South Shields drag queen Sally TM to design Great North Run dress made of running bibs
A drag queen from South Shields is designing a dress made of running bibs for the 45th Great North Run.
A South Shields drag queen who starred on Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK is playing homage to the Great North Run with a dress made of runner’s bib numbers dedicated to her beloved hometown.
Sally Trademark, known as Sally TM, is pulling together the quirky vision ahead of the 45th run this week, on Sunday, September 13.
The 29-year-old showcased a Metro-themed catwalk look in front of stars Ru Paul and Michelle Visage on the iconic runway of the BBC hit show last year.
The new dress, which is currently in the process of being stitched, will be created by using hand-designed numbers based on real Great North Run bibs from years gone by.
The design will then be turned into ethically-printed fabric and Sally will also be reusing and reviving old textiles to make the base of the dress.
The idea for the dress
Sally, who clinched Ru-Peter badge on the programme for her show-stopping design-work, said: “Well I’m not exactly a runner, you can’t really do that in nine-inch stilettos and a wig, but I wanted to really challenge myself to do something different.
“I am so proud of where I come from, and I’m always looking for ways that I can showcase the North East...and how better than with the Great North Run, which finishes just down the road from where I live.
“When I did the hometown look for Drag Race UK, I ended up going with the Metro dress but I had so many other ideas, and this is one that has lived in my head for quite a long time now.
“I hate the use of AI, and I am really trying to reduce on wasted fabrics too - so everything in the dress has been graphically designed, sketched out and created by me.
“I’ve got my materials together, I’m now just trying to get it all completed on time - as it is actually quite a hard fabric to work with, so the pressure is on.”
Sally, who is also an advocate for Diabetes UK, said she thrives under time constraints - and has no doubts that her look will be completed in good time.
She added: “Although there is a great drag scene in the North East, it’s not something that you tend to see a lot of compared to down in London - so I guess this is my little project to represent our heritage while also celebrating our queer culture here too.
“My drag style is a little different, it’s quite kooky. I try to take inspiration from all different places like architecture and art rather than just looking at outfits on face value - but I also love to do daft fun stuff too.”
Sally has also previously transformed herself into different objects - such as a pinata, a teddy bear and a 3D paper model of Napoleon.
She will be keeping a video diary of the GNR dress-making process across on TikTok and Instagram (@sally.trademark).