RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Gigi Goode Tells Vogue Why She’s More Than Just a Fashion Queen

RuPaul’s Drag Race’s star Gigi Goode is featured in the latest issue of Vogue magazine photographed by Franz Szony and styled by Marko Monroe.

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On remaining cautiously upbeat during lockdown: “Obviously I’ve had a dream come true that was kind of taken away, in the sense that I should be on an airplane, traveling the world and performing on as many stages as possible and meeting fans, and I’m unable to do that,” she says. “But then, you have to look at the positives. You don’t have to be traveling around the world to discover new talent. I’ve been doing livestreams, and spending my time watching other queens’ livestreams and supporting whoever I can support. I’m so thankful to have discovered some of my favorite artists through that, many of whom I’ve never seen before and now have a new platform.”

On watching her mother sew in the makeshift atelier set up in their family basement, crafting costumes for local youth and community theater: “I’ve been behind a sewing machine since I could hold scissors, basically,” Goode explains. “It’s so therapeutic, it’s like meditation for me. Plus, it was time that my mom and I got to spend together that was strictly ours, as I have two older brothers with zero interest in fashion and sewing, so I knew that neither of them could barge in and ruin it.”

On Drag Race’s thorny relationship with race becoming a growing, and important, conversation: “I know that I’m lucky to have been given what I’ve been given, and it’s something that needs to change.”

On drag bars forced to shutdown and many drag queens facing extreme hardship: “I think if you’re someone who thrives and makes a living on being creative, however hard it might be, this current time should be lighting a fire under your ass,” she says. “It’s crucial to keep the motor running. When all this started to go down, and we knew we wouldn’t be able to perform [in] the near future, I was shaking in my boots, as I’m sure every drag queen in America was. How are we going to make money? It’s tough, both emotionally and physically. But then you have to remember that if it weren’t for artists and creatives, it really would be Armageddon.”

[Photo Credit: Franz Szony/Vogue Magazine]

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