Award-winning reality TV competition enters its 14th season
RuPaul’s Drag Race has officially returned, and I now have a reason to live once again. Season 14 of the show officially premiered Friday, Jan. 11 on the VH1 network. Before the season officially started, RuPaul herself said to buckle up and get ready because this will be a season like no other. This season also has a spotlight on representation. This season there is not just one, but two trans women to bless this season of the show. I’m so happy to see more trans representation on the show because these women are where drag culture in America really began. I hope that this starts to become commonplace within the franchise.
I will be our guide to everything RuPaul’s Drag Race, recapping each week’s episode as well as providing my own drag commentary. I will be the first one to say this, I am not a drag expert, I am just a mildly obsessed fan. I also want to say that all drag is valid, and all of these drag queens have put in so much work and defied countless odds to keep doing what they love in the middle of a global pandemic. They don’t deserve to have nasty comments about them all over social media. So, if you are that toxic Drag Race fan, please stop what you are doing and reflect. Thank you!
The premiere
Like the past two seasons of Drag Race, the queens have been split in half to be debuted in not just one spectacular premier, but two spectacular premiers. However, unlike the past two seasons, RuPaul lets the queens know someone will be going home in the first episode. Both seasons 12 and 13 split the girls into two premiers but no one was eliminated until all the queens were put together. It’s only the first 15 minutes and already RuPaul is rocking the boat. So, without further ado, let’s meet the first seven queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14.
Meet the queens
The first queen to enter the season 14 werkroom is Alyssa Hunter. I really liked Alyssa’s entrance look. I like the mix of patterns, while normally the mix might clash, everything worked really well together. There were a lot of details to the look from the type of jewelry chosen, where/what embellishments were made to the outfit and the choice of hair fit the outfit well. The only thing that I didn’t really like about the outfit was the bow and arrow she accessorized with. While they did help with the “hunter” storyline, any time a queen uses a bow and arrow as a prop it just looks awkward.
The second queen to enter the werkroom is Bosco. Everything about Bosco’s entrance look worked for me. From head to toe, every part of the outfit worked together. I was in love with the retro silhouette of her dress, the silhouette mixed with the polka dot print was gorgeous. She continued the polka dot pattern through the horned headpiece she wore. Her makeup was also a perfect contrast with a bright red lip that drew you to her face and smile. What really excited me was the hair detail: a simple black bang coming from under the headpiece. While it is just something simple, it tells me that she is a very detail-conscious queen.
The next queen to enter the werkroom was Kornbread “The Snack” Jete. From the moment that Kornbread entered the werkroom she exuded personality. It had only been two seconds and I was already in love with her. Aside from her personality, her outfit was also great. The outfit silhouette was a great choice for her and fit her amazing. As a plus-sized queen, I loved that she showed off her beautiful curves and swerves. The black leather was a great choice and looked great with the gold accents. My favorite part of the entire outfit was the hair. The gold accents gave me Medusa-esque vibes, and I love the added mini braids on both sides. For me, this was my favorite entrance look, but Kornbread’s personality could sell a trash bag. (Which has been done numerous times on RuPaul’s Drag Race.) And let’s not forget to mention that Kornbread is also a beautiful trans woman.
The fourth queen to enter the werkroom was Willow Pill. My first impression of Willow’s entrance look was very underwhelming. Overall, the outfit was really simple. The outfit was basically just a white sweatshirt over a white tank-top paired with a white skirt. However, if you study the outfit you can begin to see other detail. She brought some comedy to the outfit with the tank-top saying “Angle” instead of “Angel”, which fully sold dumb-blonde-valley-girl. Her choice of accessories also helped with that storyline. She wore huge belly button jewelry, almost everything had at least one rhinestone on it, she even wore the tacky belts that were the rage in the early 2000s. While I am still underwhelmed with the outfit, especially on season 14 of Drag Race, I can appreciate the details she used to make that character really come alive.
The fifth queen to enter the werkroom was Kerri Colby. I thought Kerri’s entrance look was gorgeous. While it was understated with a pretty simple construction it looked great on her. The outfit was basically just a white corset with a lace dress over top, with pink and blue chiffon coming from both shoulders. What really drew me to the outfit was the color details of the hair and makeup. Her pink and blue eye shadow looked gorgeous, and the blue roots of her platinum blonde wig also tied it together with the outfit. From head to toe, every part of the outfit worked together and looked great on her. While her outfit was gorgeous it also told a story, Kerri is the second trans woman to be featured on this season of Drag Race.
The sixth queen to enter the werkroom was June Jambalaya. My first impression of June’s look was also a little underwhelming. The jumpsuit looks like it may be a tish too small for her, but also could just be the cut of the jumpsuit. While the colors of the jumpsuit and top worked together, for me the outfit just didn’t work. When she entered the werkroom June said the jumpsuit was Emilio Pucci. I had no idea what designer that was, so I looked it up. The cheapest garment I found was $735 for a simple pair of flared trousers. So, even though the jumpsuit was probably extremely expensive, the fit and overall look just made the outfit seems lackluster compared to other girls in the room.
The final queen to enter the werkroom for part one of the season premiere was Orion Story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about Orion’s entrance look. When she first walked in, I really liked it, especially when I started looking at the finer details. But the longer I looked at it the less I liked it. The entire outfit was very detailed and well crafted. Fabric details carried throughout from the base corset into the headband and there was very detailed stoning work. I concluded that I like all of the pieces to the outfit, but when they came together, for some reason felt like it didn’t work. All of the colors and patterns in theory should have worked together great but they felt somewhat disjointed to me.
You can see the queen’s entrance looks on VH1.com or on the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page.