God bless Diamante’s nerve to do Pandemic Skype Finale RuPaul for Snatch Game. I thought it was kind of genius.
Thankfully they didn’t make the queens do both Snatch Game and The Ball in the same episode this year, and instead game the the fun theme of looking like nightmarish human-sized dolls. And I’m very upset that nobody did Tyra Banks in Life-Size.
Marina
I hope everyone is as baffled and confused by this look as I am because, aside from the fact that declaring “I made up my own disco doll!” is such an annoying cop out, the placement of the red splotches is… a little menstrual and I *genuinely* thought that when she first came out that she was some sort of sex education teaching aid, it didn’t really explain the discoball head but that was the least of my concerns.
Much like her tiger look, I’m almost entirely convinced that she just happened to own this horrific cycling unitard prior to the show and then she tried to make it fit the theme with the plasticky hair and the detachable pubic hair,
which admittedly I enjoyed, especially when it fell off but I still can’t quite get my head around the red crotch splatter.
Diamante Merybrown
As much as this could have just been a basic ragdoll look, I like that she drew inspiration from the song Muneco de Trapo by La Oreja de Van Gogh to at least give it another element with the devil cut-out on the back that’s kind of hugging her. I do wish she had maybe done something a little more with the makeup – she doesn’t paint heavily enough so it all gets a little washed out in the lighting and the incredibly harsh blurring filter that they invested in this year. I also wish she had maybe had a sort of yarn strand wig just to really play into the ragdoll rather than just wearing a bonnet but she does seem slightly wig averse, even more so than famously wigfree Joey Jay who somehow wore wigs in every episode she was in…
Drag Sethlas
This was really cool and not something I expected from her, given that her whole thing seems to be overly lavish details, it was a surprise to see her so… reduced. And as much as I don’t enjoy a perspex pleaser, there’s not much else she could have done. I am still waiting for her to change her makeup up a little bit and this would’ve been the perfect opportunity to just show she could do something a little softer.
Onyx
As much as I do find it really impressive that she managed to paint her face in such a way that it kind of looks like the sheen of porcelain, it is *slightly* distracting and does have a slight sci-fi look to it that’s a little at odds with the very cutesy dress – but I do like that after all her high concept and grandiose looks that she went with something softer and very feminine and still committed wholeheartedly to the bit because it would have been very easy for her come out dressed like a Transformers action figure. And my God did I love watching her steppy stepping across the runway
I can almost hear the squeak of her shoes.
It was very sad to see her go home because she was such a powerhouse on the runway but a lipsyncer she was not…
Sharonne
I’m assuming a “cushion doll” is kind of the same thing as one of those dolls that sits on top of a roll of toilet paper, or at least this gives me the same vibe, as well as also looking like the unshaved version of Adriana’s Uncle Fester Condom look on Drag Race Canada
and I actually really liked Sharonne’s tulle nonsense which was of course a reveal
and as much as I am here for some good Teela from Masters of the Universe cosplay, much like with a lot of the reveals in the last episode, I wish it was narratively cohesive and she had revealed to something that looked a little more like the dolls that are commonly used to make the cushion dolls but hey, what am I going to do? I still liked the Teela costume but it was just a costume…
Juriji der Klee
I ADORED THIS. And after an entire season with Lady Camden seemingly doing anything in her power to not wear pointe shoes, I’m glad SOMEONE finally decided to do it and she made it look so joyful and fun
she could have easily played this very po-faced and stoic but with her story about how she was the only transgirl in her ballet classes and how much of a struggle that was, this felt like such a moment of gender euphoria – I was delighted by it and I LOVED the nonsense Tim Burton does Cleopatra makeup
I’m glad she’s back on track after last week’s blip.
Venedita von Dash
I mean, I can’t argue with her explanation, her look was a doll with a cape – I don’t know if that’s *actually* a thing and I get the impression she was going for some sort of ventriloquist dummy look with the way she had painted her mouth
but then she also just wanted to the reveal that made NO SENSE but I loved that she specified the whips were for whipping fascists with
But sure, why not?
Estrella Xtravaganza
With the themes being dolls, I had expected some real nightmare fuel and I think Estrella achieved that best with the somehow simultaneously overly cartoonish and yet completely featureless doll’s head she had jammed over head
it’s giving me uncanny valley Coco Montrese on Instagram vibes
I do wish she had done more with the paper doll aspects of it and had a few outfits to reveal to rather than going straight from the dress to the lingerie which really reminded me of the pig head mask look that Villanelle wore in the second season of Killing Eve
and then she took the horrifying dolls head off and she was just doing Ilona Verley cosplay
I don’t know quite what it is, it might just be the pastel wig and makeup but it really reads as Ilona to me.
Then she just started eating a burrito on stage for absolutely no reason other than the fact she could, but hey, the judges loved it
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a judge on any iteration of Drag Race just stop making jokes to tell the queen that they’re amazing while they’re walking the runway? Estrella is just too powerful. Good for her.
A Doll Look Runway Ranking
- Juriji der Klee
- Onyx’s Squeaky Shoes
- Netflix’s Gritty Mannequin Remake
- That Little Ragdoll
- Masters of the Charmin
- The Anti-fascist Marionette
- Estrella’s Series of BIzarre References
- Disco Doll Is Not A Thing
And if you’ve enjoyed this recap of Drag Race Espana’s doll themed runway and would like to support the blog you can donate to my Ko-fi account HERE!