RuPaul's Drag Race Runway Critique: S10E01
Its that time of year again hunty. Time to drop your drawers, tuck your balls, and sashay down the runway because Dragrace is back on the air! We are going to be talking runway looks. because who is more qualified to judge other peoples fashion than a 22-year-old in tracksuit bottoms and an oversized hoodie? No-one, that's who.
14 queens have entered the Werkroom. and we are going to rate their looks, and determine who slayed on the runway, and who... didn't. This week's runway challenge was 'Drag on a Dime', paying homage to the First Ever Challenge in Drag Race Herstory.
Aquaria
One of my least favourite looks here from Aquaria. Little Bo Peep inspired, sure, but instead ended up looking like month old mutton. Poorly designed, stickers on her nipples, all round not great. And can we talk about her makeup for a second? It's not exactly fantastic. And then she tried reading Miz Cracker for "copying her make-up". Let's be honest, who would want to copy that?
Asia O'Hara
She took the drag on a dime challenge and went all in. Instead of picking a few items from the basket, why not just wear the basket instead? The whole concept of the outfit is just perfect for this challenge. My only negative point is the choice of colours. Green, blue, and yellow? Bit of an eyesore.
Blair St. Clair
Love, love, LOVE Blair's look! The purpose of this challenge was to make dollar-store couture look like a million bucks, and boy did she deliver. I cannot fault this outfit - the hair, makeup, 10s across the board from me. Great work Blair St. Clair.
Dusty Ray Bottoms
The category is... Tinman's failed concept designs. This looks nasty. I don't get it. And the tin foil cone on top? No Mama. I didn't get the makeup either. The whole look was a huge swing and a miss.
Eureka O'Hara
Back again. Eureka had to make an impression, being a returning queen, but I wasn't for this look at all. She said she was serving 'Valley girl', but I got Mexican quinceanera party dress instead.
Kalorie Karbdashian-Williams
She took a corset and glued dollar bills on it. We've seen this look done before, and 10 times better too. It's season ten now. I'm all for reusing other queens' concepts for outfits, but if you're gonna go down that route you need to do the look better, and sadly Kalorie didn't.
Kameron Michaels
Fine but a little forgettable. I'm not sure why, but I get Kelly Mantle vibes for Kam. Is that just me?
Mayhem Miller
Its taken 10 seasons to get Mayhem on Dragrace, I was expecting a lot from the legendary performer. She gave high fashion realness with this look, she managed to make bin bags looks like expensive leather. The texture on this look was EVERYTHING. 10 out of 10 Mayhem.
Miz Cracker
Solid look, straight out of a 1920s silent movie. Clever repurposing of the large brim hats to create an interesting silhouette. The makeup was not my favourite, but at least it was better than Aquaria's...
Monet X Change
I love Monet, but this look was not doing it for me. The shape of her body didn't suit that dress, and the hair was a bit of a state too. Why where their ping-pong balls glued to her head? She said that the outfit told a story, but sometimes that isn't enough.
Monique Heart
OK, so the dress and the collar was a ten. I loved the shape - very well designed, but her corset piece, especially at the back, looked like she ran out of time and had to rush to finish it. It ruined the look for me in a lot of ways. If the corset had been done better this would have been the best outfit on the runway.
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Oh, Vanjie. It was all just a bit of a mess, wasn't it? If Monet's look told a story, then this one was alphabetti spaghetti. It was all over the place - the dolls, the flowers - and none of it complemented each other. And the pink fabric cape on her back screamed last minute addition... One which didn't pay off.
The Vixen
She cut up 6 pool floats and stuck them together. Nothing really to say about this. It's literally just pool noodles glued onto a black two-piece. Poor show.
Yuhua Hamasaki
ANKH ANKH! Loved this look from Yuhua, it was very ball-gown like. This look (unlike Kalorie's) proves that you can take old ideas and make them your own, so long as you do it right. The headpiece, though... it just lost me on the look. I think without the headpiece I would have enjoyed this look a lot more.
Our Verdict
Overall, Blair and Mayhem both showed us some true Dollar Store couture. But this wouldn't be reality TV if we weren't arbitrarily picking a winner!
So condragulations to Blair St. Clair - you gave us the best dollar-store high fashion look on the runway. I'm excited to see what else you can do. A dark horse to be sure.
Jack Dixon is a gamer, cinephile, and more than likely he's the guy who's ignoring you on Grindr. Tweet him @Jackaphobia. Support his writing on Patreon!