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Get ready to dive into a dazzling world of drag fashion that never hit the runway. From Lydia B Kollins’ playful Americana kitsch to Manila Luzon’s bold couture concepts, we’re showcasing the most stunning and conceptual looks from RuPaul’s Drag Race that were left unaired. Discover the creative stories and cultural inspirations behind these unforgettable designs and see what might have been!
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00:00And this masterpiece in the middle.
00:02It's one in the middle, I can't.
00:03That cape, that turban!
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:09for the most conceptual and stunning RuPaul's Drag Race looks
00:12that never got their moment on the runway.
00:14If I could sum up my journey in one word, it would be rollercoaster!
00:21Number 10, Lydia B. Collins' ugliest dress ever.
00:24Let's talk about these gorgeous fashions that you have.
00:26Sure, that's a very generous word for you to use, thank you.
00:29They are your fashions, aren't they?
00:30Yeah, they are. I love them.
00:32Inspired by Marilyn Monroe's famous 1950s potato sack photo shoot,
00:36Lydia B. Collins set out to prove that glamour isn't always about the outfit
00:40with her ugliest dress ever look.
00:42For the category, Lydia brought a literal potato sack dress
00:45emblazoned with her name across the chest.
00:47Surprise, I'm back!
00:50Freshly plucked, freshly bleached, pampered, tightened, and ready
00:54for the Tournament of All-Stars.
00:56Unfortunately, she was eliminated the week before,
00:58so the look remained packed away.
01:01Lydia eventually unveiled it on Whatcha Packin',
01:03giving viewers a glimpse of the outfit they never got to see on the main stage.
01:07And this burlap sack.
01:09Yes, I wanted to sort of give, like,
01:11how Marilyn Monroe can wear a potato sack,
01:13and she looks gorgeous in anything.
01:14I wanted to do that, but with Lydia.
01:15Then, in a resourceful twist,
01:17she repurposed the exact same piece as her entrance look for All-Stars 10.
01:21It was a scruffy but heartfelt throwback look
01:24that perfectly blended Americana kitsch with drag chic.
01:27What's under your ass be saying?
01:29Um, bottom side up.
01:31Number 9.
01:33Didi Fuego's Not Today Satin Look.
01:35Something very exciting about this look
01:36is that a lot of the looks were made in-house,
01:39and some of the looks I got to ask favors of
01:42and commission the designers of my dreams.
01:45There's something deeply personal about a look built from childhood memory.
01:49For Season 18's Not Today Satin Runway,
01:52Didi Fuego crafted a stunning satin matador ensemble
01:54as a celebration of her Mexican heritage.
01:56And she didn't do it alone.
01:58She collaborated with designer Gunnar Detheridge,
02:01whose resume includes custom pieces for Chapel Roan and Shakira
02:04to bring the vision to life.
02:06We incorporated some odd elements historically into this look
02:11that had nothing to do with Spain,
02:13that had nothing to do with Mexico,
02:15and had nothing to do with Matador.
02:17Honestly, like, we really kind of made our own version.
02:20On her YouTube channel,
02:22Didi actually sat down with Detheridge
02:24to discuss the creative process.
02:26And on Whatcha Packin',
02:27she revealed the look was rooted in vivid memories
02:29of watching the men in her family
02:31attend bullfights and soccer matches,
02:33and recognizing, even then,
02:35that those spectacles were their own form of theater and drag.
02:38I was like, this is not for me.
02:40This is too butch.
02:40And then I was like, wait, this is theater.
02:43This is costume.
02:44This is ritual.
02:46And I fell in love with the magic of it.
02:48Number 8.
02:49Plasma's Fandango Look
02:50Almost every way, it exceeded all expectations.
02:53Yay!
02:54It really did.
02:54Like, I had no idea that I would win anything,
02:57let alone two things that are so important to me.
03:00Plasma was one of the most exciting queens of season 16.
03:04Her mid-season elimination felt like a gut punch,
03:07especially when you see what she had waiting in her suitcase.
03:10The Fandango runway, featured in the penultimate episode,
03:13was never graced by Plasma's presence.
03:15And what a loss that was.
03:17This is my final runway,
03:18and I choose to walk it like an African queen.
03:21I'm giving you African fabrics,
03:23and then boom,
03:24I've given you these pleated fans that fall down.
03:29Her pink, purple, and black look
03:30drew from the rich tradition of Spanish Fandango dancers,
03:33while cleverly incorporating fan-like elements into the silhouette.
03:37It was also inspired by the grandeur of the Ziegfeld Follies
03:40and the Golden Age of Showgirls,
03:42giving it a distinctly vintage stage sensibility.
03:45I've always admired the courage and the strength
03:48and the resilience of women everywhere,
03:50and specifically women who chose to work in Hollywood
03:53in that time period.
03:55And if you think that's stunning,
03:56her unaired True Colors look,
03:58where she chose baby blue as her primary color,
04:01was also breathtaking.
04:03Number seven, Dahlia Sin's Frozen Eleganza.
04:06And this one's really fun.
04:07See, this is House of Aja.
04:08This is very House of Aja,
04:10very kawaii, you know, anime.
04:12As the pork chop queen of season 12,
04:16Dahlia never got the chance to present
04:17her Frozen Eleganza look on the main stage.
04:19The concept leaned deliberately campy and anime-inspired,
04:23drawing from the anime stylings of her drag mother Aja.
04:26The design was made to resemble ice cream,
04:28with exaggerated sleeves and a cherry topping on the shoulder.
04:32I wanted it to be very something that was still me,
04:36but more campy.
04:37Right.
04:37Because I don't do camp.
04:39I do it here and there,
04:40and I want to do very big and bold.
04:42But it certainly would have brought a much-needed playful fantasy
04:45to a runway category that was essentially a parade of literal winter looks.
04:50Dahlia received criticism during her brief run
04:52for not always matching the fashion polish of her competitors.
04:55This look suggests she had some seriously tasty ideas
04:59still waiting in the freezer.
05:00You are stunning, but the hair,
05:02because it's like a mauve, I couldn't see it.
05:04I kind of lose that a little bit.
05:06Look over there!
05:07It's a QR code taking you directly to Ms. Mojo's 24-7 livestream,
05:11where there are a lot more pop culture countdowns to discover.
05:14Scan the code to join.
05:16I am giving you whatever is left of the polar ice caps.
05:19I just feel a fantasy of, like, ice goddess.
05:22Number 6.
05:23Denali's Drag Excellence Look
05:24Few things say home quite like the Northern Lights,
05:28and Denali turned that natural wonder
05:30into an elaborate piece of drag couture.
05:33And this beautiful finale look that you have next to you
05:36is very skater-y, very Denali.
05:39It's very ice-skater-y, right?
05:41Yeah.
05:41Would you have worn your braid, your long braid?
05:44No, not with this.
05:45Honestly, I wore that way too many times on the show.
05:47Her un-aired Drag Excellence look
05:49was inspired by the Aurora Borealis,
05:51paying tribute to her hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska.
05:54Although viewers never saw it on the Season 13 finale runway,
05:58Denali later wore the finished outfit
05:59for the season's virtual reunion,
06:01finally allowing fans to appreciate the design in action.
06:05She also discussed the look on Whatcha Packin'.
06:08This is obviously a tribute to growing up in Alaska.
06:11It is an airbrushed, floor-length gown,
06:14and I truly don't think there's anything more beautiful
06:16than experiencing seeing the Northern Lights.
06:18And it is stone to death,
06:20because I am a skater and I love stones.
06:21Her un-aired package contained another unforgettable creation
06:25for the Beast Couture runway,
06:26which Denali called one of her absolute favorites.
06:29She described that creation as a, quote,
06:32pregnant acid-trip alien queen.
06:34It's fun, it's reckless, it's camp.
06:37Number five, Kimora Hall's mixed bag look.
06:40I just have so much drag
06:41that I need to have a separate place for it.
06:44I have my own storage unit nearby
06:46where I keep the majority of the stage wear,
06:49wigs and all that,
06:50but I keep all of, like, the nice things,
06:52the valuables, close to home.
06:54A joke from a designer turned into
06:56one of the most breathtaking concepts
06:58in Kimora Hall's runway package.
07:00For the mixed bag category of the bag ball,
07:02Kimora originally planned a bag of tricks.
07:05Then her designer jokingly added,
07:07how about a douche bag?
07:08I am sparkling with Swarovskis,
07:10like, Kimora loves a good sparkle.
07:12Who's ready for a bite of this?
07:14The idea stuck,
07:15and they quickly sketched a black latex ensemble
07:17shaped like an enema douche pump.
07:19Kimora was eliminated before the bag ball,
07:22so the outfit never made it to the runway.
07:24She later shared photographs of the finished piece
07:26and the original sketches on her Instagram account.
07:29Her unused package also included a sculptural look
07:32covered in small pockets
07:33that were filled with beautiful roses,
07:35which was intended for the Oat Pockets runway.
07:37In a way, kind of helping show this newer generation
07:41about Bob Mackie and learning about him
07:42and his contribution to fashion and queer culture.
07:45Number four, Alyssa Hunter's Mirror Mirror Look.
07:48When Alyssa Hunter shared her unaired Mirror Mirror look,
07:52the internet collectively gasped.
07:54Channeling the evil queen from Snow White
07:56and the dark allure of a magic mirror,
07:58the look was dramatic, editorial,
08:00and exactly the kind of statement
08:02the main stage deserved to witness.
08:11Alyssa had already been eliminated
08:12before the episode aired,
08:14which means this masterpiece never got its moment.
08:17Nevertheless, she still got to showcase the look
08:19on her social media pages,
08:21which left many fans excited to see her return
08:24for an all-star season.
08:25Like, I made it to Drag Race.
08:26This is like a scale for my future.
08:29Like, Drag Race is in a scale.
08:30It's like a university to go and, you know, do much better.
08:36Alyssa's unaired spring-has-sprung look
08:38was even culturally richer,
08:40a tribute to Puerto Rico's national flower,
08:42the Flor de Maga,
08:43alongside El Coqui,
08:44the beloved national symbol of the island.
08:47They actually represent my island
08:48in Miss Universe's pageant.
08:50And yeah, it's made by Joshua Aponte.
08:53He's from Puerto Rico.
08:54And he's amazing and talented designer
08:56that I appreciate so much.
08:58Number three.
08:59Ora Mayari's Night of a Thousand Beyoncés look.
09:02It's one in the middle.
09:03I can't.
09:04That cape, that turban.
09:07Yeah, so this is inspired by my icon, Beyoncé.
09:10Everybody's icon.
09:11Yeah, I know.
09:12She wore this in Coachella.
09:13And I'm just like,
09:14I absolutely need this on the main stage.
09:15Had Ora Mayari survived three more episodes,
09:19season 15 could have delivered
09:20one jaw-dropping Beyoncé runway.
09:22Having been eliminated in the Daytona Wind episode,
09:25Ora never reached the Night of a Thousand Beyoncés category,
09:28but later revealed the custom outfit she had prepared.
09:30The design recreated Beyoncé's opening look
09:33from her iconic 2018 Coachella performance,
09:36originally created by Olivier Rousteil for Balmain.
09:47Designer Joshua Naponte adapted that elaborate design for drag,
09:50including Ora's name and a moon across the back.
09:53Seven different embroidered sequined fabrics
09:56were deconstructed and reassembled to create the cape.
09:59Once photos surfaced online,
10:01fans were understandably gagged.
10:03The detail, the craftsmanship, the reverence,
10:07this look was a love letter to Beyoncé
10:09and to the art of drag itself.
10:11I wanted to show you guys like when I go to the back
10:14and just kind of like give that reveal of my name on the back.
10:18And my drag, it's inspired by the moon also.
10:20So I wanted to add that crescent moon on top of my name.
10:22Number 2. Utica Queen's Drag Excellence Look
10:25This one is based off the Cathedral of Notre Dame
10:28and the event of it burning.
10:30Okay.
10:30You can't see the whole thing,
10:32but this thing goes all the way to the floor
10:33and has big trains.
10:34It's crazy.
10:35Woof.
10:35Gothic architecture meant high-concept drag
10:38in Utica Queen's unaired drag excellence look.
10:40Inspired by the Notre Dame Cathedral,
10:42the design transformed religious imagery
10:45into an elaborate avant-garde ensemble
10:47covered in intricate hand-applied jewels.
10:49There was something eerie about the finished creation,
10:52with its unsettling details and otherworldly silhouette
10:55drawing comparisons to the pale man
10:56from Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.
11:06Utica also explained that her religious upbringing
11:09informed the concept,
11:10making the look more personal
11:12than its theatrical weirdness might initially suggest.
11:15I'm a Seventh-day Adventist.
11:17We worship on Saturdays, the Sabbath.
11:20Sometimes religion works for the gays
11:22and sometimes it doesn't.
11:23My family gave me amazing morals
11:25and I wanted to hold on to that
11:27and bring it into my art form.
11:30Unfortunately, she was eliminated
11:32before the season 13 finale runway
11:34and never got to present it on the main stage.
11:37Considering how unpredictable
11:38Utica's fashion could be,
11:40this was exactly the kind of finale reveal
11:42fans expected from her.
11:44Utica, you made it to the top six.
11:45You showed everybody your Minnesota quirk,
11:48your kook, your fashion,
11:50your comedy,
11:51and most importantly, your heart.
11:53Number one.
11:54Manila Luzon's Swerves and Curves Padded for the Gods Look.
11:58My first idea was a dress that looked like a maxi pad,
12:00a bloody maxi pad.
12:02This particular runway challenge,
12:03I brought a backup dress,
12:05just in case wearing a bloody maxi pad on the runway
12:08was a little bit too risque.
12:09Sometimes a runway concept is so outrageous
12:12that it gets rejected before the cameras even roll.
12:15For All Stars 4's Swerves and Curves runway,
12:18Manila Luzon originally planned a couture gown
12:20modeled after a menstrual pad,
12:22complete with a dramatic bloodstain.
12:24According to Manila,
12:26RuPaul considered the idea, quote,
12:27in bad taste,
12:28and production instructed her
12:30to wear her backup look instead.
12:42She ultimately walked the runway
12:44in the pink, quilted French-inspired ensemble
12:47viewers saw on television.
12:48But the rejected design didn't disappear forever.
12:51Manila later posted herself modeling the original gown,
12:54explaining that she wanted to challenge
12:56the stigma surrounding menstruation.
12:58It was camp and deliberately made to shock.
13:01And that was precisely the problem.
13:03Do what drag is supposed to do.
13:05And it's supposed to, like,
13:06push your ideas and your thoughts
13:09on what is glamorous
13:11or what is, you know, normal
13:13or what is, you know,
13:14like, tantalizing or scandalous.
13:16What's your favorite unerred drag race look?
13:19Let us know in the comments.
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