Icons Gone Wild

Embrace Magazine approached revered A-list drag photographer, Magnus Hastings, among the top in the world, with the idea of a collaboration project using drag queens to portray iconic moments in cinema. Embrace was inspired by the lyrics of Madonna’s song, “Vogue”: “They had style, they had grace. Rita Hayworth gave good face.”

Embrace was also inspired by Hastings’ iconic photograph taken 20 years ago of Australian drag queen, Vanity Faire, drinking a beer as Judy Garland’s Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. What if we did a photo-essay with Hollywood iconic heroines in their most memorable movie moments—but make it drag?

Hastings loved it, but wanted to take it a step further: What if we shot these icons in the least likely places combined with outrageous situations, like Bette Davis in a dreadful dive bar smoking a cigarette near a “No Smoking” sign? Something completely out of context. Like Dorothy drinking a beer.

Embrace loved it, and allowed him free reign — anything he wanted to do. Seriously. There were no limits. Maybe that was a bit risky. Foolhardy even, given Hasting’s penchant of going to the extreme. No matter. What happened next were gut-busting photoshoots filled with laughter and creativity between the photographer and his muses. The outcome — legendary camp at its finest.

WARNING: extremely twisted content ahead. Viewing may cause some to be gobsmacked, spill their drinks, and/or have uncontrollable fits of laughter at inappropriate times or places.

TARYN BALENCIAGA as PAM GRIER

Hastings originally enlisted Balenciaga to portray Betty Boop, in what felt like the perfect fit for the Black trans performer's animated style. But when he was unsatisfied with how his initial vision was turning out, he knew it was time to improvise. Hastings did some quick research and came across Pam Grier. Everything he found related to her famous role as Foxy Brown. Suddenly, Grier’s centerfolds popped up. Instantly, Hastings knew that was what he wanted to shoot. He had the exact same lounge chair in storage used in Grier’s infamous centerfold from Players Magazine. He off ered Balenciaga to do the shoot in lingerie but Balenciaga insisted she was comfortable doing it nude. Everything pays homage to the original, barring the hand covering her breast to allow it past the censors.

ALLUSIA as BETTE DAVIS

Happened to Baby Jane? Which was fitting as she has the same eyes. Hastings told Allusia he wanted to take Bette Davis out of context. They shot multiple photos in various settings and Allusia delivered in every take. Another good one had her eating a burger with a lite cigarette in hand. This one however, was the best. Seated by the bar surveying the room, one could imagine her thoughts as she judges everyone she sees. Classic Bette.

RHEA LITRE as AUDREY HEPBURN

Hepburn’s innocence and sweetness in her iconic role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, however at the time, seasoned veteran LA queen Litre had a grill on her teeth. Hastings was unsure about it, but Litre offered, “she was a party girl just like me.” Hastings thought, “well, what would Holly Golightly be getting into in 2022? In 1961, she would have been shoveling coke up her nose. These days it would be MDMA while wearing a grill. So, there is much more that feeling of decadence in the true sense of the word. It is all a bit busted, but gorgeous at the same time.”

MARTA BEATCHUJANET LEIGH

Marta BeatChu suggested they shoot the infamous scene of Janet Leigh in the shower in the movie, Psycho. Hastings had the idea to make the dress out of the actual shower curtain; the one used came from Hasting’s bathroom. The final result was camp at perfection. “The bloody sparkled gloves and high heels made it funnier,” said Hastings.

LAUREN BANALL as ELSA LANCHESTER

Lauren Banall is a rising star in LA. Hastings and Banall knew they wanted to emulate Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein, but the garment didn’t look right in color. It was clear black and white was the way to go. After multiple shots, including lingerie, the shroud really captured Lanchester’s essence. “It looks wonderful in black and white; it has movement,” said Hastings.

HUMMINGBIRD MEADOWS as RITA MORENO (and Bernardo)

Meadows and Hastings knew they had to do Rita Moreno as Anita in the original West Side Story—but they also knew it wouldn’t have been the same without George Chakiris as Bernardo. So, Meadows got out of drag and shot his part as a man. A little editing placed Meadows beside herself as the classic duo.

CAKE MOSS as CARRIE FISHER

Moss was initially envisioned as Betty Boop, until Hastings discovered that the cartoon character was a whitewashed version of a black jazz singer. It did not seem right to move forward with that knowledge. On short notice, Moss said she could instead do Carrie Fisher as a modern take on Princess Lea from Star Wars. Hard to believe this brilliant result was an impromptu alternative.

MEATBALL as DEMI MOORE

Hastings and Meatball wanted to shoot the iconic shot of a pregnant Demi Moore on the cover of Vanity Fair because “it is easily recognizable,” said Hastings, “while at the same time, wonderfully weird with a hairy man belly.”

PENNY DREADFUL as GLORIA SWANSON

Hastings and Dreadful wanted to have fun with clever elements added to the costume. “At first, it appears straightforward but on closer examination, she is covered in film roll from her headdress to her gown,” said Hastings.

DULCE DE LECHE as TIPPI HEDRENEN

Hastings saw Dulce De Leche portray Tippi Hedren in The Birds on stage in San Francisco. Silhouettes of birds in cages would rise up off the floor. Hastings and De Leche thought they could duplicate it. “She arrived with fake birds, we shot her for an hour with [them]. It was good for theater, but it just did not work on camera,” said Hastings. “With the last 10 minutes of film, I said ‘pretend you’ve got birds’ so she did it and I added them in later. It was really successful.”

ALASKA THUNDERFUCK as MARILYN MONROE

For the cover of this magazine, Alaska wanted to recreate the truly iconic Marilyn moment from The Seven Year Itch. “The expression is very Alaska,” Hastings added, which takes the otherwise exact pose of Marilyn standing over the subway grate to a campy, edgy place. Alaska’s expression is not the only campy element; for the cover and the feature, Alaska made a precise duplicate of Marilyn’s iconic dress out of white plastic trash bags. “Making dresses from plastic trash bags is her thing. I have never seen anyone pull this off [like this],” said Hastings. “You would never know [the dress] was made of white trash bags.”