This season of All Stars has delivered one of the most high-fashion casts in RuPaul’s Drag Race herstory. With drag superstars like Gottmik, Plastique Tiara, and Roxxxy Andrews all competing for the top crown, it’s no surprise that season nine has already delivered a number of epic style moments on the runway—and the season ain’t over yet! Someone who has emerged as one of the fiercest queens to beat? None other than Gottmik, who has worn everything from hand-painted dresses to custom Loewe looks.
This season, the drag star—who has made history as the first trans man to ever compete on the series—says she’s approached the season with a sense of levity and fun. “I feel like a lot of people go into All Stars being like, ‘I’m going to prove something.’ But I was like, ‘I’m here for me,’” Gottmik tells Vogue, who adds that it was important to showcase how much they’ve grown since first appearing on the show in season 13. “My first time on Drag Race was amazing, but I was trying so hard to give the show what I thought they wanted from me,” says Gottmik. “In the past few years, I’ve really honed in on who I am as an artist, and I ve found this amazing mix of high-fashion with more tongue-in-cheek, campy, comedic fashions.”
That’s certainly an understatement. Throughout the season, Gottmik has nailed the art of what fabulous drag style truly is—choosing striking designs that not only turn heads, but have intriguing backstories behind them. For the “A Tail and Two Titties” challenge, for instance, Gottmik wore a custom Marco Marco look that drew inspiration from their top surgery; Gottmik bore top surgery scars that were bedazzled in red crystals, paired with a blue scrubs-colored latex skirt. “Top surgery was such an important moment in my life—it truly saved my life,” says Gottmik. “I’ve wanted to do a top surgery look for a super long time. It reflected my personal journey—but I also had my tits in a bag, and gave them a ponytail.”
There have been other artful fashion serves, too. For the “Drag Imitates Art” challenge, Gottmik collaborated with Disco Daddy—a bedazzler to the stars—on a embellished dress inspired by Edvard Munch’s painting Scream. “I wanted to reference a work of art that was well known, but not too well known,” the drag star says. “I loved that Scream is colorful, but spooky at the same time. I wanted to do it in a really simple silhouette; It’s actually inspired by a blue slinky Balenciaga dress that Kim Kardashian wore.” For the “Paint Ball” challenge, Gottmik also hand-painted a dress herself. “I grew up painting. I was inspired by a deconstructed Galliano dress. I just started painting words and little pictures of punk-rock people.”
The All Stars contestant has even delivered fresh off the runway looks this season. For the “Signature Look, Signature Fragrance” challenge, Gottmik embodied their signature drag style in a punky, gothic Loewe look—complete with hefty silver chains and spikes. Turns out, Gottmik and designer Jonathan Anderson are friends, and came up with the collaboration together. “I was at DragCon, [and] I was like, ‘Babe, I m doing All Stars, and I would cry to wear an outfit from you.’ He was like, ‘I got you.’” The hefty chains were actually surprisingly light to wear. “They were 3-D printed, then given a chrome treatment,” says Gottmik. “It was a pinch-me moment to work with the Loewe team; The whole look was so me.”
For the “Mono-Chromatica” challenge, Gottmik slipped into a head-to-toe purple ensemble from Versace s spring 2024 collection. “It’s a look from the first Versace show I ever went to,” says Gottmik, who has also starred in a campaign for the brand. “I saw some controversy online where they were like, ‘She just pulled an outfit—that’s not fair.’ But wearing [runway] clothes on the main stage is a huge step for drag; Drag is often not taken as serious as a lot of other art forms, and we’re at a point where drag is now mainstream enough to be able to do things like this.”
With a few episodes still remaining until the grand finale, it’s clear that Gotmmik is on a fashion roll. Competing this season, the star says she’s proud of how much she’s polished her drag. “I m very proud of all my looks,” says Gottmik. “I realized that you do not have to always do the most—you don t always have to make this giant, insane outfit. It s about how you execute it, and your ideas and feelings behind the look.” As for what you can expect from her outfits to come? “They’re all a little more theatrical," Gottmik says of thier forthcoming looks. "That s going to be really cool to show.”
