Fashion
How Violet Chachki is Changing the Face of Fashion
Credit: Mic
You may know Violet Chachki as the winner of season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race. However, since winning the reality show, the 27-year-old has flourished in the fashion world, making regular appearances both on the sides of, and on the runways. A drag queen since the age of 19, Chachki consistently pushes gender boundaries while staying on top of the latest trends in her own, Chachki-esque way.
and indeed drag has developed a cult following recently. Chachki’s latest onewoman-show, A Lot More Me, featured custom Swarovski crystal eye appliqués designed in collaboration with Pat McGrath, and even two unique Prada gowns, inspired by Art Deco legend Erté. Pictured above in one of these ensembles, Chachki told Vogue that the pieces were ‘completely hand-beaded’, speaking volumes about the lengths at which designers now go to in order to dress her.
Chachki comes from a twist on the Russian word ‘tchotchke’, an item that serves little purpose except for decoration, and this sums her up perfectly. A visual delight, with her signature waspish waist (a mere 19 inches at its smallest) and burlesque dressing, Violet’s brand is cemented in Bettie Page, dominatrix-inspired aesthetics. She embodies all that is brilliant about fashion, the maximalism that others so often shy away from, and the ways in which the fashion industry continues to push the boundaries of what the world considers ‘the norm’.
Violet doesn’t look like a biological woman, and that’s part of the appeal. Painting herself to look like whatever she feels in the moment, through this she transforms into an almost cartoon-ish extension of herself and embodies her drag persona, a catty, confident woman. Brands select her to work with because she is larger-than-life, as her YouTube channel displays. Set up just last year, here Violet exhibits her makeup prowess through tutorials, discusses her love of fashion, and gives us a behind the scenes look into some of the craziest moments of her life.
Fashion has always valued the chameleons, those that come off as androgynous. Think of recognisable faces like Agyness Deyn and trans supermodel Andreja Pejić. However, it’s only recently that queer figures such as drag queens have been recognised as legitimate in the mind of the fashion world. Often seen as a form of entertainment through their shows, RuPaul’s Drag Race brought attention and success to ‘fashion queens’ such as Chachki and Miss Fame who have both gone out to become big names in the fashion world.
From her first major modelling job as the first drag queen in a major lingerie campaign for pin-up brand Bettie Page Lingerie to her appearance at the 2019 Met Gala dressed in a custom Moschino black glove gown, it’s clear that Violet is changing the world of fashion for the better. With brands becoming more open to working with drag queens and other members of the LGBTQ+ community, Violet Chachki is a rising star and a name to keep your eye out for in 2020.
In their drag forms, it would be odd for them to model men’s fashion, whilst women’s was usually too small (drag queens often have to buy or create custom garments). However, designers now see the value in dressing drag queens,
Lizzie wright
13
