I am:

Buckwheat / Edward Cowley. My drag persona is a six-foot six Polynesian grand diva. She’s the mother of all mothers of drag queens here in Aotearoa, and she is warm, friendly, and in-your-face. I've been doing drag for 40 years.

Buckwheat performs on all stages inside and outside of Aotearoa. With a career spanning almost four decades, I've run the gamut from performing in little halls and getting changed in the back of a car boot to great stages all over the world. I've had a very long career, and it has taken me all over the world.

Currently I tend to perform locally here in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland and generally I'm now MCing events and producing shows. My solid showgirl days for me are phasing out. I do love drag. I love it very much, but I don't love it as much as I loved it three decades ago.

My fashion sense has been shaped by:

For me, the different influences are people, things that have shaped me. I'm a child of the 80s and 90s. So, a lot of music videos shaped Buckwheat – the big singing divas Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross.

My Samoan heritage is something that I've been drawn back into in the sense of the matriarchal lines. A lot of the things that my mother wore that I used to laugh at have now entered my wardrobe. So, it's one of those things, be careful of what you laugh at because you could become it.

Slowly and surely, I've become my mother in my drag personality, not only the way that she's looked, but her sense of openness and the warmth that she's had for family is something that my drag persona also has. That's what seems to have shaped my sense of fashion. And there have been lots of influences that have guided my style.

There have been other performers. RuPaul, for one, is someone that every drag queen of my generation aspires to in terms of looks. But her access and her availability for all things on an international platform are a set for her. She has things in her wardrobe that everyone else can just dream of.

In terms of designers, it's been designers for the fuller figure and anyone who is able to celebrate themselves to their best ability. Sometimes there are things that I thought I wouldn't be comfortable wearing and yet once I've owned it and relaxed about it, everything seems to fall into place.

My relationship with fashion is:

For Buckwheat, fashion is extremely important to her drag persona, and this is because, being a drag artist, a lot of it is about the look.

People are expecting something over the top. They want to see something that's visually exciting. Depending on what the event is, you may have to make sure that you are dressed appropriately in order to arrive there and elevate the event that you're working at. So, fashion plays an important part because people are very judgy, judgy.

When someone looks at Buckwheat, when she walks into a room, it's telling a story. Of course, the relationship has changed over the years. When you've done drag for four decades, the things that Buckwheat is wearing now has evolved.

Over the years, the character and the fashion relationship was developed where Bucky’s choices are that of a grand dame – elevated old school. You know, Patti LaBelle always well turned out, always dressed to impress. 

And also, your relationship with fashion changes with your availability of resources.

Putting together an outfit / inspiration:

Over the years, as the more impressive bookings and gigs come in, you're able to sort of spend a little bit more on your drag and you'll be able to tell the story that way. 

In the old days, people used to think you were a freak, but you wanted to be the best-looking freak in the room. Now it's a completely different story where we're often accepted.

You get invited to events. People will expect you to take them on a journey through your look. So, I want it to be elevated. I want to have that wow factor, and for it to be impressive to all of those who gaze upon it.

Now I tend to collaborate. I work with three different people from across the globe, including someone I work with closely in Thailand: Ooy of Ooy Fashions. I’ll send Ooy images of things that I want, and then she'll make them to my size. It's really important to be able to curate those pieces, because a lot of the pieces that we're working with, they have to work harmoniously with existing pieces. I tend to maintain existing colours and take those through and then be able to add different headpieces, back pieces, different skirts, depending on what story needs to be told.

So, there's a constant work of collaboration with people curating your pieces, you know, curating group pieces. They're extremely important because you know you want a cohesive look, one that matches and one that's pleasing to the eye. 

For me, it's extremely important to have ownership over every detail of our style, you know, because you know that is your brand. That is your calling card. And they are the things that people remember.

If you're walking into a room, it should be something joyous. It should be something that creates excitement and that people are happy to see. If you don't have ownership of it or of every detail, it allows for things to fall through the gaps.

A lot of energy goes into that in terms of maintenance. After every costume is worn, a clean down process. And part of that is sort of, you know, ensuring that each item is steamed and put into a clothing bag and then it's hung.

I've got a catalogue of each time the item has been worn where it was worn. 

Sustainability:

I think audiences are aware of the sustainability and environmental impacts of one-use items. We talk a lot about plastics being used once. I'm a little bit concerned with the things that I'm seeing about people wearing / performing in one or two times. What happens to the life of a garment after that?

So, a lot of the costuming, design and fashion forward looks for me are in and around what's going to happen to this garment after I wear it. Where can I upcycle it to? Who will have a use for it? Can they upcycle it, recycle it, reimagine it so that it gets another life after the life it's had with me?

Cultural shift:

There have been a lot of things that have helped me, particularly in my Pacific culture, that have been key in the terms of the way that I like to be represented in the fashion sense, unexpected sources of inspiration. 

I've seen a lot of drag fashion evolve in New Zealand over the last four decades, and a lot of that has really been in terms of acceptability for drag. When I first started doing drag, it was illegal to be gay. So, the drag queens used to have to go to work in the clubs, put all their drag on and then do the show, take it all off before they left the venue.

It wasn't until over 35 years ago when Priscilla, Queen of the Desert came out that it actually brought drag out of the clubs and bars into the world because people wanted to have Priscilla parties and all of a sudden they wanted a drag show. It changed the way that people did drag and the acceptability even in fashion.

I've been privileged to be able to walk the catwalk as Buckwheat in New Zealand Fashion Week several times purely because of the character. 

The first look that I really adored was in the 80s when a good friend of mine, James Leuii, made a set of costumes for us. They were a copy of a Chanel two-piece suit. It was a real elevation in terms of the drag that we were and had been doing, and we were able to wear those out on a Friday afternoon to an event.

It was a head turning moment. And it was not just the costuming that we were wearing in the club, but it was an elevated version that we could wear outside of the club. It was slightly corporate and extremely colourful and we know we nailed it. There was a really good acceptance.

As we walked down the street, you could see the joy on people's faces as we came across them. So often people used to look at us and laugh and go, ‘oh my God, look at those freaks’. But in this instance, it really was a defining moment in terms of what fashion and how you looked and how people perceived you, how you could do it well. That was an incredible time of change for us. 

Clothing is really important in terms of acceptability with an audience, especially when you're performing for an audience that doesn't necessarily see you or know you or understand you. So first and foremost, people are looking at a costume to connect.

A lot of the times when you're doing a drag show, what you're wearing will be the first foray or introduction into how they perceive you. People are only nervous about things they don't understand or they fear. So, part of the performance element in what you wear enables you to calm everything down for them, to see it for what it is. Often, it's with comedy. Often when you break down people with laughter, you break down the barriers and then a moment is open for them to see you on a human level.

When I’m not in drag:

When I'm not in drag, fashion is really important to me. It’s an additional calling card to who Edward is as opposed to who Buckwheat is. And that is also something that's developed over the years and my early days as a performer.

A lot of energy and effort went into the way Buckwheat looked, and Edward was left behind somewhat. That's changed because I was then able to observe what was going on within my own head and then put time and effort into creating who Edward was. 

Edward always likes to be well turned out. I've got a great sense of who I would like to be when I'm not in drag. And that is equally important. Finding balance in life for me is important. So, in terms of sort of making sure that I look good for myself first and foremost is something that I like to do. I often wear a suit jacket with shorts. It will be of the same fabric. I've got a great tailor that will create things for me, which is something that I really value.

Portrait by Denise Baynham, 2025.

Audio engineering by Finn Hopley.
Video by Rochelle Ivanson.

Last published January 2026.

This exhibition was created for the New Zealand Fashion Museum for Pride 2026 with support from Britomart Group, Foundation North and The Rule Foundation.