You’ve been serving looks since the 1980s. I’m curious: How would you say your style has changed over the years? Or has it at all?
My look has changed a lot. My signature look is to not have the same look! It used to be more eclectic. Unfortunately, I don’t have many pictures from the old days, because nobody had a camera; It was not cool to take pictures. But my looks were more eclectic, and then they became more head to toe. Now, I often I dress [according to] my makeup. Some days I’ll have a piece of clothing that I really like, and I’ll do the hair and makeup around it. I have no real schedule or organization with it; it just depends when I see something, or how I want to feel that day. I would say I have three looks: There’s my drag drag, which is a cute pair of jeans and a Gaultier top or something. Then I have semi-drag, which would be a Gaultier dress and a wig. And then full drag would be a full hair and makeup and a head-to-toe look.
There’s a whole section in the book that explores how you often DIY your own clothes. How did you learn how to do this?
With the business that I’m in, recycling [is a must]. I can’t have a new dress or look every time I do something; I need to re-style things. I like wearing things in a totally different way, so that people don’t even realize that I’m wearing the same thing. I’m not good at acting or signing—I wish I was—but I’m good at styling and putting looks together, and mixing them up. I’m very much about the unconventional, I like things when they’re not smooth. When I do my New York shows, I like when something goes wrong; I’m not worried about it. I like the mistakes and the mishaps, they’re part of life, and I like when they’re not hidden. It’s the same with my looks.
Over the years, do you have any favorite party looks that stand out?
I don’t really have a best look; The look I do today will be my best look. But I will say, my [1995] wedding look was incredible. David [Barton] and I didn’t want a conventional wedding. I was doing a show called Inspiration at the Manhattan Center, and Playboy was sponsoring it. People could go up on stage and do whatever they wanted for three minutes—designers, hairdresser, photographers. I told David, “Why don’t we just come out at the end and get married?” We didn’t announce it at all. I had 42 bridesmaids; David had Mugler and RuPaul as groomsmen, and I had Polly Mellen, Katie Ford, Ingrid Sischy. Thierry Mugler designed my look; It was a nude bodysuit with a big, egg-like veil, and on top of my head he also made a bridal bouquet. I would say that was the piece de resistance.