I am:

I’m Tāmaki Makaurau’s premium misfit. I'm filthy, glamorous and just plain trash. I've been doing drag for 11 years now. When I first started doing drag, I was 17. I didn't know how to do makeup. I didn't know how to sew, how to do anything, but I taught myself how to do all of that.

The great thing about drag is that you don't necessarily have to always look the same. You can delve into different aesthetics. My aesthetic is a bit more dark and spooky, but I still like to be like glamorous and beautiful.

I always thought if drag didn’t work out for me, I’d go into costuming, because costuming brings me just as much joy as fashion does. I studied fashion before I got on Drag Race.

My fashion sense has been shaped by:

Growing up within drag I was big Lady Gaga fan. We were all like, ‘oh my God, Lady Gaga’. And she was doing a lot of weird, avant garde fashion, which we love. Her big collaborator at the time was Alexander McQueen and then the lovely Vivienne Westwood. And then there's this diva that's popping off right now. Her name is Dilara Fındıkoğlu. She's one of my favourites at the moment. I like the avant garde, but also like really spooky but glamorous like Elvira and like Morticia Addams.

My relationship with fashion is:

Fashion for my persona is really important. There are so many moments in my career where I've put on a complete look, and it has transformed the way I feel in my presence and being.

For my momentous praying mantis look from [RuPaul’s] Drag Race I was so miserable during filming, but the whole look together was so cool. I was like, I don't know how I made this.

I feel clothes do have a big part with connecting with audiences…And then people are like, ‘oh, well, like, if they can do that, I can do that’. Or just being different and out of the box, because clothes are pretty much 80 per cent of the body and then you have your head. So, I feel like clothes are really, really important.

Putting together an outfit/inspiration:

One thing that I love about drag, is being able to create my own looks. I make pretty much make everything I wear because it’s really fun and something I love doing.

I don't really collaborate with designers, but what I've been trying to do lately is make a lot of pieces that I can mix and match, and so I can curate from my existing pieces.

I feel it's important to me to have ownership over every detail of myself, because, you know, if something's not quite right, you're like, ‘no, I need that to be like that’. But even if it looks bad, you're like, ‘okay, that was me, I did that. That's my problem’. But then also, it's like a good thing, but a bad thing, because then everyone's like, ‘oh my God, you look great’.

And I'm like, ‘yeah, but this is a bit wonky, or this is like that’. But people don't see that. But I do, but I feel like it's just probably because I take so much pride with the way I look and drag.

It's hard to source materials like rhinestones because you have to buy them all from overseas and wait for them to come.

And I'm lazy, so I procrastinate a lot. And then I usually make an outfit maybe like two days before I'm meant to wear it. But you know, that's fine. That's life. You make these outfits and you spend a lot of time with them. Sometimes you spend heaps of time, but then people don't know that you made it, and that's fine by me. But I make all my stuff. So, I feel proud.

Drag evolution:

I feel like the drag fashion scene in New Zealand has evolved a lot, because it’s now a lot easier to source things online, buy newer garments or buy from other designers overseas or even sourcing your own materials and stuff to make your own garments.

It's a lot easier now than it was, say, eight years ago, where everyone was just buying from the same place. But now everyone has their own little niche and fashion persona, which I really like.

When I’m not in drag:

My clothes are black and white, with pops of colour. But I would say it's not that important to be honest. I'd prefer to spend money on my drag, then on myself.

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.