I’ve recently been introduced to the world of drag queens, and I think it’s started to take over my life. Since an incredibly fabulous friend and colleague introduced me to RuPaul’s Drag Race a few months ago, I watch repeats back to back, have a ‘drag wall’ of my favorite queens at work and am considering planning my next holiday around a trip to LA so that I can go declare my undying love for them all. Today, my friend even said that my ensemble of layered, multi-tonal metallics was decidedly ‘drag’.
To sum up, I am a faux-queen (that’s a straight female drag queen. I’ve learned a lot of lingo in the process) and I am proud. Having always been an active fag-hag, diva-lover and musical enthusiast, it came as no surprise to any of my friends. But it’s more than that, because drag doesn’t deserve the rep it gets; it’s never sordid, and it’s not even very often particularly camp. Having had a drag crash-course over the past few months, I’ve come to the conclusion that anybody that claims to care strongly about fashion should have at least a working knowledge of drag. In a world where ‘high fashion drag’ and ‘genderfuck’ are real things, queens sew amazing couture gowns by hand and women are amazonian, elegant creatures that often look better than the real thing, drag is a serious heavyweight in the fashion world, hunties.
The best example of a couture queen is Raja. By day, he’s Sutan, BFF to Tyra Banks and make-up artist on America’s Next Top Model (which had me questioning where I knew his face from for half of the series). And anyone who’s a friend of Tyra ought to be considered as a serious fashion contender.
But by night, Raja is a fierce couture model in her own right. Here are some of her most killer looks…
The bitch is high-fashion fabulous (It helps that Sutan is a super hot boy.)
And it totally doesn’t stop there. Drag’s royal couple, Sharon Needles & Alaska Thunderfuck are two of the most avant-garde, editorial pair in the public eye, as girls and as boys.
Next there’s Ivy Winters; season five’s Miss Congeniality & dressmaker extrodinaire. She sews everything from hand, and yet her dresses look like this…
I like to think of myself as a pretty creative person… I once ‘hand-sewed’ myself a silk pillowcase, and had to throw it away when I woke up covered in feathers because I’d sewn it too small and it was too tight for my pillow. This bitch has got talent.
And then there’s Detox. She PAINTED HERSELF BLACK AND WHITE. This picture is in full colour. Even a few of the fashion bigs could learn a thing or two about creativity from this.
There’s also Manilla Luzon, who might be the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, in general. In one runway challenge, she channeled Louis Vuitton/Madonna to create my favourite look on the show that’s ever been.
They’re my main fashion queens, although there’s a lot of other fabulous ones too. My favourite of all time has to be Raven (which isn’t to say she’s not a fierce fashion queen, because she is. I wouldn’t love her otherwise); as a heterosexual female, I feel intense confusion about my feelings towards her. I fancy him as a boy, I fancy her as a girl, and I fancy her when she’s in weird sort of half drag through various states of dress. I just fancy her, and if I could butch up enough to be convincing, I think I’d propose to her. Not in a weird way.
And of course, any fash pack needs a Queen Bee. The infamous RuPaul is as beautiful is she is legendary. She was in the Loveshack video. She had an alter-ego called Starrbooty. She was friends with Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love. It takes her about 8 hours to get ready (admirable, in my opinion). And in hair and heels, she’s probably about 7 foot tall (and all I’ve ever wanted in life is to be a tall, amazonian black woman. Can’t see how it’s gonna happen particularly, but God loves a tryer…) So just think about all of that, and gaze upon the wonder that is Ru.
In short, the main reason that any fashion girl worth her Louboutins should love queens: they spend hours perfecting their hair, make up, bodies and outfits. I know it doesn’t make me a great person, but I can’t stand when women (all people, but for this purpose, women) don’t make an effort with their appearance. No T, no shade, the queens aren’t all supermodels, and out of drag they’re all hugely varied in physical appearance. I really think that people shouldn’t be judged on the way they look biologically. But everyone can/should make an effort, and these bitches know how to werk. What’s more, a few of the girls regularly wear freaky contacts, mad hair, latex, completely sheer efforts and thigh high boots. And when it comes down to it, what’s the point of fashion if you can’t have fun, enjoy it and take a risk?
Also, I’d probably like models a lot more if they always had huge hair, cats eyed eyeliner and sleeve tattoos. But maybe that’s just me.
There are also some reasons that aren’t necessarily directly related to fashion, but are bloody good reasons…
1) Overall, they love glitter, men in pants, shaking their booties, reading each other (that’s bitching, to their face. It’s allowed because everyone does it, and it’s great), crying, quoting Mean Girls & back-combing. Need I say more…
2) They openly have so much love for their families, friends, partners, peers and fans. If they fight on the show, they always apologise declare their love for one another. If everyone was a little bit more like that, the world would genuinely be a better place.
3) Drag dialect might just be the best thing ever. I can’t even begin to explain… look it up, and see how long it is before you’re using it in every day conversation.
4) After you’ve googled the dialect, google Willam’s Beatdown (another favourite queen), enjoy the 20-odd episodes of that, then start browsing related articles of the queens lip-syncing, singing, dancing and reading eachother. You can thank me later (when you eventually get off Youtube).
So, I’m taking inspiration from fellow faux-queen and squirrel friend Michelle Visage and embracing all things drag. Drag queens can teach us the often lost art of presentation, seducation, haute fashion and general gagging on eleganza. Once you start to discover it, it can only enrich your life. Good luck, and don’t fuck it up.
RPWilson: Clothes & Culture 