DRAG QUEENS, THE NEW QUEENS OF FASHION

Long associated with cabarets and nightlife, drag queens evoke cheekiness and impertinence, wigs and sequins, creativity and sensuality. Decked out in rhinestones, excessively made up and often high strung, they are beloved for their humour and their voluptuousness. Confined too long to the underground glam world, it's the inimitable Ru Paul who dusted off their image in 2009 in the first drag queen competition, turning the queens into true pop cultural icons.  

With no less than 25 Emmy Awards and a loyal community around the world, the show has allowed numerous drag queens to become international stars, like Miss Fame, the first to walk the stairs at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 with L'Oréal, or Violet Chachki, with 2 million Instagram followers. Adapted in Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Thailand and Spain, the show has finally taken off in France and intends to introduce us to the greatest French queen! Shantay, you stay! 

The French adaptation uses the codes of the American show without forgetting to bring an irresistible, well-dosed French touch. It's hosted by Nicky Doll, the first French drag queen to have participated in the original series and who proudly represented the colours of France. For the runway challenges themed “My France”, the Ardèche native Kam Hugh dressed boldly as a Parisian pigeon. And for the lip sync challenge, contenders Soa de Muse and La Briochée faced off with Aya Nakamura's “Pookie”. Paloma, from Clermont-Ferrand, won over the audience by imitating Fanny Ardent to perfection in the Snatch Game challenge.  

On the judges' side, made up of DJ and voguing star Kiddy Smile and stylist Daphné Bürki, the diversity of French pop culture is also honoured. Each week the duo is joined by a panel of French personalities invited to judge the candidates, from Jean-Paul Gaultier to Bilal Hassani, from Alexandre Mattiussi to Yseult. Fashion, singing, comedy: the tone is set. She who is voted the greatest Queen of France will have to excel in all categories. 

Funny, sexy, committed and with more than talent in their bags, drag queens are more and more in demand by brands. That's how 23-year-old Kam Hugh, from Ardèche, became an NYX muse. It makes perfect sense when you see her dexterity in wielding a brush and mastering the cateye. “You have to count between 2.5 and 3 hours for a full face,” she tells us. Then there's La Grande Dame - a drag queen whose stage name evokes her height, 1.97 metres - who walked the runway for Jean-Paul Gaultier before becoming an ambassador for designer Kevin Germanier. She made a spectacular entrance on the show in a pearl dress by the young swiss designer. Also 23 years old, this star has been propelled into the world of fashion and remains strongly against pinkwashing: “The show democratises drag queens and I think that's great but we can't forget that we have a responsibility as representatives of the drag movement. Our presence should not be considered an event just because the word drag is less ‘scandalous' since the start of the show”, she explains. 

Thierry Mugler and Jean-Paul Gaultier were pioneers in putting drag queens on stage - in their respective Mugler Follies and Conchita Wurst shows - and a new generation of designers is following in their footsteps. They're striving to make drag queens even more visible so that this is not seen as a cultural by-product. In that way, in 2020, Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga, broke the codes by offering Ru Paul to create a capsule collection of exclusively unisex pieces. In his 2022-23 Autumn-Winter show, Richard Quinn honoured Violet Chachki, winner of season 7, with a latex jumpsuit. Loewe, Moschino and Martin Margiela collaborate regularly with Miss Fame, Jodie Harsh, Gigi Goode and Symone, who have become front row fixtures.  

In 2021, in an interview for Vogue, the drag queen Gottmik confided, “My mission in life is to deconstruct the borders of gender, to break the norms and to erase all boxes in which people want to put us. And I feel that more and more fashion brands and designers feel the same.” Participant in season 13 of Ru Paul's Drag Race and Glamour UK cover girl cover girl, she concluded: “Drag queens and designers are the perfect match!”! May Gottmik's words be a prophecy! 

> While waiting for the show's finale on August 11th, find La Grande Dame and Kam Hugh at their viewing party and all the protagonists of the show in the "Drag Race France Live" tour. It's a show that will take place September 1 - 3, 2022 the Casino de Paris.