Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of Sherlock Holmes looks interesting.
Well, Drag Race Holland continues to be on brand as ever with two extremely chaotic back-to-back episodes.
Due to the fact my body simultaneously decided to suffer from both food poisoning and an infected tooth last week, I really didn’t find the time to write up the episode 6 fashion recap so I’m just going to combine these two episodes together.
Opposite Ends…
The runway theme this week was “Opposites Attract” so each queen presented two looks on the runway that represented opposites. It was essentially the Inner Saboteur Runway from season 10 except without RuPaul’s uniquely problematic mental health jargon layered on top of it… so better.
Tabitha: A Wedding and a Funeral
Tabitha’s first look was a perfectly cute little wedding dress
I think this is the prettiest we’ve seen her look on the runway – it’s a really cute dress and the pink wig suits her phenomenally well. I will say that for a wedding runway, I kind of wish the dress was a little more dramatic – sell us the full fantasy! This is just a little Registry Office Wedding.
Her second look was the look she’d obviously wear to bury the man she married in said Registry Office Wedding
again, it’s very chic and she’s lucky she’s not being judged by RuPaul herself because I’m 90% sure we’d have another H&M moment. I really love the fascinator – or I think I do, it’s hard to tell in the hard blue lighting of the runway but I think it was a sort of stylised crow?
Vanessa van Cartier: Life and Death
Pageant Queen Extraordinaire and light of my life, Vanessa van Cartier continues to serve, news at 10
The skull makeup is outstanding – I do wish the volume of the dress was maybe a little better managed, it was kind of just like watching a skeletal version of a Lakitu from Super Mario Bros. navigate the runway but it certainly had drama and was a lot of fun to watch. If only she and Vivaldi could have had their showdown over Vivaldi’s contraband cellphone while she was looking like this because Vivaldi would have looked even more like she had just seen a ghost as Vanessa gathered her up like a ponytail. A testament to the fact pageant queens will suffer no bullshit.
Carrying through the rose theme from her death costume, her life costume was a really stunning floral affair
this to me feels a lot like what I think Scarlet Envy wanted her Season 10 RuVeal outfit to look like, unfortunately she landed in the alarmingly tumorous territory
it is a surprisingly fine line.
Vanessa however looked perfect, I have no notes – her makeup was just breath-taking, which is a feat given the lighting they’ve chosen to inflict upon everyone.
Vivaldi: Two Costumes She Had
Vivaldi’s was a take on the fact she’s both super into the idea of love and then she also hates it and likes being alone – which is big ol’ mood. I certainly got the theme from the first look which was basically just a take on cupid
I get not wanting to be cliché but genuinely just wearing a little toga or a diaper might have been better than strapping a bathmat around yourself. The wig however is really cool, and her wigs should be she did do some for Fred and Envy Peru last year… WHICH DEFINITELY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW LIGHTLY SHE GOT OFF WITH BREAKING THE CONTRACT…
Her second look was, while kind of cool, absolutely just a costume she owned
that being said, the hair and makeup are phenomenal. In regards to the outfit, I don’t really love the dropped waist corset and I can’t say I loved the platform boots with either of these looks but I imagine she payed a bomb for them so I get feeling the need to wear them at some point and if you think you’re about to be disqualified you might as well go for it.
Keta Minaj: Also Two Costumes She Just Happened to Have
Keta’s theme was Yin and Yang which basically boiled down to having a black and white look, one of which is just unabashedly Elvira cosplay
and I’m not one to complain about Elvira cosplay and I shan’t start now: she looks great.
I was a little less pleased, at first, with the white look because it was a little bit like a murder mystery character was trapped in a pillowcase, and really I should have seen the fact it was a reveal coming given that it’s about as subtle as Aquaria dressing up as a pan of JiffyPop Popcorn
her Elvira one was also a reveal, apparently
does this count? I’m assuming something went wrong and she didn’t get the time to snap the skirt closed because it’s not like Keta to do something by halves.
My Little Puny: Love and Hate
This was a really cute combination – of course I think the Hate outfit was better – how could one possibly say anything bad about a bedazzled novelty knife clutch AND a hat?
That being said, both of those accessories deserve better than a leotard – I really slick PVC pencil skirt would have sealed the deal as this being the best outfit for me.
As for her love costume, it suffered from what we call The Rosé Conflict in which there is a complete lack of harmony between the queen and the ruffles they insist on putting in absolutely the worst places they possibly could
it takes a while for you to realise that it’s meant to look like a heart, and if you’re thinking it looks like something from Ali Express, according to the next episode, it absolutely was.
The wig however is fantastic and quite frankly deserves an apology for being paired with the wretched outfit.
An Opposites Attract Runway Ranking
- Vanessa van Cartier Coming Up Roses
- Keta’s Pillowcase Villainess
- Vanessa van Cartier’s Death Mask
- Tabitha’s Registry Office Wedding Realness
- Keta’s Elvira Cosplay
- My Little Puny’s Hatefully Let Down Accessories
- Vivaldi’s BDSM Feather Duster
- Tabitha Burying Her Registry Office Wedding Husband Realness
- Vivaldi’s Bathmat Cupid
- My Little Puny’s Rosé Cosplay
Dutch Loving
For the episode 9 runway the queens had to wear an outfit inspired by Dutch culture, it seems weird to leave this runway category to the semi-final, it’s usually a really good one for the first episodes as it gives more of an insight into the queens themselves but if Drag Race Holland has taught us anything, it’s that they choose chaos every time. I mean, they did eliminate the front runner of the competition in the semi-final.
Vivaldi
This outfit was a tribute to The Vengaboys and I’ve tried my best to see if the outfit itself is something they’ve ever worn but I don’t think it is, the tribute starts and ends at the fact The Vengaboys are a band who released CDs and she is wearing a shawl made of CDs.
The outfit is cool but Vivaldi really just doesn’t seem to be able to let go and truly embrace the fun and absurd side of the runway – it’s very Violet Chachki in season 7 but without an ounce of personal growth.
My Little Puny
Well, I’m glad she mentioned that she was inspired by the Viktor and Rolf runway show that did this before everyone told her she was ripping off Courtney Act’s runway look that did the same thing. I think I’ll always love a look like this, especially when I queen puts a slightly more personal spin on it – in Puny’s case – the Delftware details are really pretty but it’s the croissant and jam wildly bobbing away next to her head that did it for me
true danger is deciding to live but one restless dream away from having your face look like a pastry murder scene.
Vanessa van Cartier
This is just pure nightmare fuel, I hate it and yet it is very well done so I can’t really call it a bad look. She’s also Vanessa van Cartier so I wouldn’t DARE call it a bad look. I’m amazed by how much stability the Miffy head actually had, I’m curious to know how it was made more than anything else.
The dress, which is adorned with 100 clog keyrings is super cute and really could have been worn without the alarmingly off-putting Miffy cosplay but it does show another side to Vanessa, who has played it mostly quite glam so far.
Keta Minaj
Keta’s look was inspired by Rembrandt as well as the fact steel is Holland’s biggest export and I think the result is a really cool look, I do however think the Rembrandt inspiration is a little lost amongst everything else, I think the look needs a little bit of softness to give it more of a baroque feel, because as is, this is just very stylised Elizabethan steampunk, which isn’t bad, I’m just being an absolute cretin. I do really like the look and don’t for a second think she should have been eliminated
A Double Dutch Runway Ranking
- My Little Sleepy Puny
- Keta Minaj’s Elizabethan Steel Factory Accident
- Vanessa van Cartier Has To Promise Never To Do This Again
- Vivaldi Making a CD Coat in Her Hotel Room
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