Before his documentary, D. Wade, Life Unexpected, Dwyane Wade and his family went public with the fact that his daughter Zaya was transgender. The reason they came out in front of it was because they discuss it in the documentary and he knew it would dominate the news cycle if they didn’t control it. Now that the sludge-trolls who hurled hate at the family have returned to their mud-basements, Zaya took her next step in living out loud: her first red carpet appearance since the announcement. And she did not mess around either, Zaya slayed in a custom green, black and fuchsia Richfresh suit at the Better Brothers’ Truth Awards. According to the designer, Zaya requested the jade and fuchsia accents for her tailcoat. That suit is incredible and Zaya looks magnificent in it.
The Truth Awards serve to “highlight the contributions of the Black LGBTQ community and our allies.” Not only do the awards “increase the awareness of the Black LGBTQ community,” they present scholarships to Black LGBTQ youth. Honestly, it was the perfect place for Zaya to make her reintroduction. On the Instagram above, Dwyane captioned it by honoring Zaya’s work in the community and her strength in educating others:
Everyone allow her to re-introduce herself her name is Zaya Wade! Last night was Zaya’s first red carpet and we couldn’t have been prouder of how she handled the questions that were asked of her. She has emerged as one of the young faces and voices for the LGBTQ+ community. #truthawards
In addition to Zaya’s look, Richfresh designed Dwyane and Gabrielle’s Unions suits to coordinate with Zaya. Both their suits were black and white with Dwyane’s accented with a silk fuchsia shirt and Gabrielle’s with a jade sash closure on the jacket. They looked stunning both separate and side-by-side.
The Wade family attended the awards to present stylist Jason Bolden and designer Adair Curtis with the Business Leadership Award. In his speech, Dwyane said Jason and Adair were among the first people they consulted when Zaya told her family she was gay at the age of eight. (Zaya told her family she was gay at age eight and came out as transgender over this past year.) The couple not only gave Dwyane and Gabrielle advice but also worked with Zaya to design her room in the Wade home so she could feel fully represented. I never really considered what a room redesign could mean but when kids are young, their rooms would likely be styled for them. Once they come out, their environment should be redone to reflect who they are. I’m sure this occurred to many of you, but it hadn’t to me, which is why it’s important that the media is covering them and folks like the Wades are keeping them in the headlines.
Here is a snippet of Gabrielle and Dwyane’s speech:
Photo credit: Instagram and Getty Images
Those outfits are AMAZING, they all look fabulous. Zaya is such a cool kid, she’ll do big things
The room thing didn’t really occur to me either, but I can see how important it is. My daughter’s room looks like a unicorn threw up in it. If that was not “her”, I’m sure it would be really jarring.
I love how they advocate for their daughter, while letting her take the lead.
“My daughter’s room looks like a unicorn threw up in it.”
lol! Thanks for the giggle.
beautiful! I love how openly and fiercely they have been supporting her
Same! I’m loving stories like this right now. Such good, good people.
Aw, Zaya is awesome and her parents are doing a great job! Lots of love here.
I loved Zaya’s outfit before I saw that they were all coordinated, I love it even more now.
I also wouldn’t have though of redoing the room, good for them that they’re making the effort to learn ways to support Zaya that might be less obvious.
Zaya is so stylish! Love the suit.
Great story to read to start the morning. D Wade has really grown on me the last few years. When he said in a interview before his last game and the interviewer asked what his plans were and he said therapy. He said he is not sure how to handle going from playing ball all his life to retirement. That was another great moment because therapy in the black community is still a stigma. Inclusiveness is so important in the mental health community as well.
I love this family, and I am so happy that Gab and Dwayne are strong people who WILL NOT TOLERATE any BS toward their daughter.
This brings a tear to my eye. Zaya is beautiful and the family is lovely. And D Wade as an ally like this feels really pivotal.
So true.
I follow Gabrielle on Instagram, and she posted a little video of Zaya walking in her suit. She was strutting with so much confidence! I love this family so much. They have heart, they have style.