Drag, Data & Defiance: The Let Freedom Read Dress

How a Handcrafted Gown Worn by Gia Bianca Stephens Fights Censorship and Celebrates Pride

–Anne Elizabeth Whiting

In a bold fusion of drag, data, and protest fashion, designer Kirby Gene Anderson and digital librarian/data mapper Rachel Jane Wittmann created the Let Freedom Read Dress, a couture gown crafted to confront book bans and celebrate queer expression.

Gia Bianca Stephens wearing the Let Freedom Read dress

A work of fashion art. An outfit of protest. Fit for the Met’s Costume Institute. A slow-fashion, craft-based piece that will never see a landfill—worthy of No Kill Mag’s attention. Ideated and handmade to raise awareness about censorship and book banning across the United States, the couture creation was made for display at the University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library. It debuted during the American Library Association’s (ALA) Banned Books Week 2023, worn by drag artist Gia Bianca Stephens. It will soon join work by Shannon Downey (#badass cross-stitch) and pieces of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at Community and Craftivism, an exhibition at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Chicago this June.

“Let Freedom Read”—the theme of ALA’s Banned Books Week a couple years back—is a phrase adapted from the patriotic anthem America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee) with its iconic line, “let freedom ring.” Clever as an anti-censorship tag, it sounds the alarm on the dangerous budgetary assaults currently targeting libraries across the country.

The Beginning of the Idea

Kirby is a frequent custom designer for the Salt Lake City drag scene. And Gia (Bianca Stephens) is an icon of fashion and freedom at a time when those in power are finding new ways to silence queer creative expression.

The library knew of Kirby’s collaboration with Gia, and of Rachel’s data-mapping work on dresses. They asked: could this trio create something to mark Banned Books Week?

The Dress

A nod to early 19th-century fashion—when “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” was written—and also, as Kirby puts it, “an homage to the punk spirit of the late Vivienne Westwood.” Patriotic colors and silhouette were chosen to evoke America’s founding ideals of liberty and freedom. The dress features the titles of the 13 most frequently challenged books of 2022, scaled by rank (larger titles = more challenged). Loud and proud, it’s a protest against LGBTQ+ censorship.

The Duo

L-R: Kirby Gene Anderson, Gia Bianca Stephens, Rachel Jane Wittmann

Kirby comes from a lineage of makers—his skills largely self-taught, honed with guidance from his mother and grandmother, and shaped by the raw aesthetic of punk rock. A technical designer by day, Kirby creates exquisite custom couture for Salt Lake’s drag community by night. His costumes have adorned beloved Utah queens including Molly Mormon, Mona Diet, Kay Bye, Austin Bakaric, and of course, Gia.

He has this in his blood—he comes from the traditional Western families that are makers, and so his mom is an amazing sewer. And his mother, she’s told me stories about when she was younger; she grew up shopping with her mom, and her mom would sketch the outfit in the store and then come home and make it…
—Rachel, on Kirby’s craft

Rachel is a digital librarian at the University of Utah’s Marriott Library, where she fuses information science with visual storytelling. With a sharp eye for patterns—whether in data or fabric—she’s previously created textile-based visualizations, including a dress mapping Utah’s wildfire history. The Let Freedom Read Dress is a natural convergence of Rachel’s analytical instincts and creative flair.

Both Rachel and Kirby are passionate about the environment and civil rights—a little renegade in a traditionally conservative state. They pooled their talents to design and handcraft a dress that fuses data visualization with couture.

The Design Process

Extraordinary commitment. Craft for a cause. Kirby spent nearly 200 hours on the garment, navigating trial-and-error and the laborious process of appliqué. Rachel handled the lettering scale, reducing title size by half-inch increments—from Gender Queer (6 inches) to This Book Is Gay (1 inch). 241 letters, 13 titles, 13.5 yards of high-quality ($750 worth) silk taffeta, each letter embroidered and appliquéd by hand.

Could you wear it on the streets of NYC? Technically, yes—but good luck getting it on and off the subway. Could you make a line of t-shirts to raise awareness? Sure—but that would miss the point. This is a slow, intentional process.

When asked about the Utah craft scene, they mentioned the quilting community and college students turning to secondhand fashion, rejecting fast fashion. There’s a resurgence in sewing culture—echoing older Mormon traditions – now hip again. Kirby regularly makes clothes for Rachel. And, of course, there’s the drag couture.

“I feel like part of the story that isn’t really told is how much work Kirby has done for different queens in Salt Lake, and how deserving he is of being highlighted as the person who actually did all of the hard work behind the dress…”
—Rachel

It was a lot of work, to say the least.

“I’m definitely not going to apply 140 letters onto anything [anytime soon]. We’re like, never again. It’s a dress that we put our hearts and souls into and we hope it can reach more people.”
—Kirby & Rachel

The Drag Scene in Salt Lake City

“There’s a very thriving LGBTQ+ community in Salt Lake City, which always surprises people. I do believe we have one of the biggest pride parades in the country. Utah is very surprising. It’s not exactly what people imagine it to be. It’s a lot more diverse. Despite our state legislatures and the outside perceptions that go along with Utah, it’s a lot different and refreshingly surprising.”
—Kirby & Rachel

Words of Wisdom from Rachel & Kirby

“Just focus on fabric made in the US to have a smaller footprint…even before the tariffs, we were still like, ‘we want to make a local very small batch [of fabric]’…I’d love to see industry back again, I’d love to see more mills. I’d love to see just everything being smaller.”

“So maybe that’s [another] activism issue: standing up more to the exploitation of fashion—the foundations of fabric, or fashion, is so based on exploitation.”

“I used to live in South Carolina before I moved here. So every little town has their textile mill that’s now in ruins. And there were strikes and people even shot in Honea Path South Carolina—people striking for better wages. It’s sad to see how the textile industry has always been a bit tainted.”

“No one’s taught how to sew anymore—in school, kids aren’t taught autonomy through clothing the way that. I mean, you could say drag queens have, especially, this expression of wearing something different. [But most] just don’t engage with that opportunity when we’re getting dressed. My mom made all of her clothes when she was in college. Early 1970s, women were making their own clothes at that time. That was pretty common.”