“I can’t help being a trans icon. It’s in my genes!”
This is what Denim declared as she made her grand entrance on season four of Canada’s Drag Race back in November—and it couldn’t be more accurate. The drag star, who ended up making it to the final four, made herstory this season as the second trans man to ever compete in the franchise. And despite losing the top crown to Venus, she’s still a winner in our books, baby! Denim emerged as a standout of the season thanks to her extra-quirky (and always campy) fashion. “Nothing can really prepare you for Drag Race,” says Denim. “It made me feel incredibly proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. It also taught me so much about my aspirations with my drag and how I want to evolve and elevate it even more.”
Hailing from Canada’s maritime province of Prince Edward Island, Denim’s foray into drag began while navigating queer identity as a teen. “Growing up as a queer kid in Prince Edward Island, I really didn’t know anyone else who was trans,” says Denim. “I had an epiphany that, for my entire life, I was playing this femme persona leading up to my transition. The first 18 years of my life was me doing drag.” As Denim got more interested in the art form, she discovered a sense of power in using fashion and performance as a means to play up all of the different facets of herself. “My drag stemmed from a reclamation of this hyper-feminine persona that I put on for so long,” says Denim.
While studying at university in New Brunswick, Denim began pursuing drag more seriously. “I was really just doing drag in my bedroom, because there was no queer scene. I was pulling looks [and] posting them on Instagram.” Eventually, that private self-expression turned into Denim doing live performances, and the realization that drag could be a full-on career. “The first time I performed on a stage was at a college party in someone’s basement,” Denim says. “I performed ‘Goodbye Earl’ by The Chicks. I was wearing a denim thong, so I said, ‘My name is Denim Pussy!’ The name Denim stuck.”
On this season of Canada’s Drag Race, that initial sense of flamboyancy and fun was still very much alive and well. No matter what the challenge was, Denim brought a sense of style and humor to the screen. “My drag is controlled chaos,” she says. “It’s camp, it’s avant-garde.” Equally as important throughout the season, says Denim, was finding looks that also felt true to her trans identity. “As a trans man doing drag, I’m always trying to find ways of accentuating the features that make me feel comfortable in my body. I like playing with soft features against really harsh, masculine features—like having my flat, hairy chest out while having a super glam painted face.”
It’s hard to pinpoint the best Denim look this season, but there were certainly a few highlights. Her entrance look—a fully denim ensemble nodding to “an early 2000s mall goth”—was the perfect introduction. “I can’t name myself Denim and not show up on the first day in a full denim look,” she says. That first episode, Denim also delivered an outfit that served as an homage to their hometown of PEI: The fabulously wacky look included a melange of cow prints and gingham. (Call it small town couture.) “That was made out of a bunch of scrap fabric that I had. I have a million cow knickknacks in my apartment,” says Denim. “It was a play on a muumuu dress—like if a cow got abducted by aliens and then thrown back onto earth and was just this mutated club kid cow.”
As the season evolved, the fashion moments only got more outrageous, like the crochet look made out of judge Brad Goreski’s old sweaters (a design challenge for the episode). “I crochet, so I really just wanted to be able to showcase that,” says Denim. Then there was her take on Steampunk style, including high-tech wings and a propellor hat that spun. “I went to school for cyber and electronic arts, so I was looking for an opportunity to have a programmed outfit with moving elements,” says Denim. “When I clicked a button on the side of my helmet, it would make my propeller fly. It’s very nerdy.” More recently, Denim twinned with her mother for a denim and velvet challenge. They both channeled Old Hollywood. “She’s supported me through my entire transition and my career,” says Denim. “But she’s always watching from the audience, and I wanted to give her that power of being in drag for the first time.”
Yes, the looks were entertaining and memorable, but it’s Denim’s poignant drag journey that cemented her as one of the must-watch contestants of the season. In addition to being the second trans man in the franchise, Denim also spoke candidly about her autism this season, providing representation within the Drag Race universe in more ways than one. “I really haven’t felt represented in the Drag Race universe by anyone openly talking about being on the spectrum,” says Denim. “There’s so much stigma around people on the spectrum. A lot of people think that we’re incapable of achieving the same things that a neurotypical person can.”
After Drag Race, Denim has plans to hit the road with her fellow contestants and expand her performance repertoire. “We are planning a tour for the top four, so I’m excited for that,” says Denim. “I also really want to focus my energy into doing more theatrical or cabaret shows. I’m open to all possibilities!”
