Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley on RuPaul’s Drag Race Fashion Changes

In the first episode ever of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which aired in 2009, a group of nine drag queens received the mission of creating glamorous looks by using thrift store clothing and items found at a 99-cent store. More than 16 years later, the award-winning reality show competition returns on May 9 with the 10th season of its “All Stars” franchise, and the fashion level is far from being “drag on a dime.”

Throughout the years, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestants kept raising their fashion game, saying goodbye to the do-it-yourself aesthetic, often seen in the show’s first runways, and embracing designer-inspired looks. For instance, Violet Chachki notably paid tribute to Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler with her fetish-inspired designs in Season Seven (2009); Shea Couleé became the first competitor wearing couture in a Valentino gown in “All Stars” Seven (2012) and then Gottmik showed up in a custom Loewe gown in “All Stars” Nine (2024). 

“Drag fashion has, of course, evolved tremendously. And certainly, the show has had an impact on that evolution,” Carson Kressley, designer and judge of the show, told WWD. “The show has literally put drag on a world stage, and all sorts of folks who watch the show are exposed to the fashion stories the queens are telling, and there is widespread appreciation for their style.” 

Chachki, along with Gigi Goode, Symoné, Miss Fame and other drag queens from the franchise, became regular fixtures at front rows around the globe and have collaborated with Moschino, Versace, Christian Siriano and more. 

“Fashion is drag! ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ has simply given designers a front-row look at these talented queens wearing incredible fashions down our runway, so they think, why not wear theirs? And that’s smart because these queens can walk!” Michelle Visage, judge and producer of the competition, said. 

The fashion evolution of the show has raised questions from part of the fandom, with “Drag Race” enthusiasts arguing that the haute couture style seen in recent runways has set unrealistic standards and polished designer looks can overshadow performance skills or personality. Kressley admits that even he has mixed feelings about the designer reliance seen in recent seasons. 

“As a lover of fashion, I have mixed feelings about the rise of queens working with professional designers. For years, drag entertainers have had to make do with what was at hand.…Whether that was combing secondhand stores, sewing their own looks, or simply making do with what was on hand at the club in a pinch. I love the literal scrappiness of this approach,” he said. 

For Visage, the rise of designer collaborations with drag queens on and off the show is a win. “If anything, it celebrates it in my opinion. Our queens are nothing if not creative,” she said. 

In “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 10, 18 drag queens return to fight for a place in the Drag Race Hall of Fame. This time, the contestants are divided into three groups of six, each competing in their own bracket across three episodes. At the end of each bracket, the top three queens with the highest point totals will advance to the semi-finals.

“Without giving too much away, the format pushes them to think strategically and artistically in ways we haven’t quite seen before. It’s amazing to see how each queen interprets the prompt through their own unique lens,” Kressley said. “Well, they are All Stars, so I knew they’d raise the bar! They always do when they come back, and this time was no exception!” Visage said.

After 17 seasons of the regular show and 10 of “All Stars,” both Kressley and Visage have learned to expect anything on the runways. But bodysuits, unitards, chaps and Marie Antoinette-inspired outfits are styles they wish contestants would think twice before wearing. “They are getting repetitive,” Visage said. “They are all amazing and I love them all at say, a live drag show, but on the level of the main stage on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’? They feel somewhat phoned in if you will….Not a lot of thought. But if someone wants to elevate any of them? I’m here for it always!”

“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 10 will be available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ on May 9. Guest judges this season include Ice Spice, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Colman Domingo, Kate Beckinsale, Susanne Bartsch, Adam Shankman, Jamal Sims, Mayan Lopez, Devery Jacobs and Sarah Michelle Gellar.