"I’ve been putting out crappy music ever since Ru Paul’s Drag Race and I’m working on even more, if that’s possible!" Manila Luzon, season three runner-up and returning favourite on the only All Stars season to date, quips. The star hasn’t squandered any opportunities to create in the five years since she first exploded onto the national scene with her elaborate looks and over-the-top antics. She may be through accepting challenges from Ru for now, but Luzon’s perennial challenge is topping herself, and nothing seems to excite her more than finding ways to do just that.
During the New York City leg of the Ru Paul’s Drag Race Battle of the Seasons 2016 Extravaganza Tour, Luzon took a few minutes away from the VIP Meet-and-Greet to talk to Gay Calgary about becoming a drag queen, becoming too expensive to afford herself, and becoming a plate of spaghetti.
"I just love the whole creative process from costumes to performances to videos. I love all of it," she says.
Famous for the attention to detail in her conceptual ensembles, it comes as no surprise that Luzon was featured in the recently released Why Drag?, Magnus Hastings’s new coffee table book that includes over a decade of the photographer’s interactions with legendary drag performers. No collection of the drag elite would be complete without her.
"Any time Magnus Hastings asks me, ‘Wanna do a shoot?’ I’m like, ‘YES!’ We’ve done so many shoots, and I’m really, really honoured that he chose some of my shots to be put into his book. He shoots some of the most beautiful and fabulous drag queens, and I’m just honoured to be part of that, in the book, forever. History!"
The book features not only photos of the queens, but their answers to its titular question. So what did lead Luzon down her path to drag history?
"When I first moved to New York City, I was really young (like 21-years-old) and I’d go to the bars and clubs, and I was just another twinky boy in line. But when I would put on a dress I would go right up to the front, and the door bitch would be like, ‘Hey Manila, come on in! Here’s drink tickets!’ So I was like, ‘Well, I’m not leaving the house ever again unless I’m in drag’. That’s why I do drag. Skip the line and get some free drink tickets."
It wasn’t long before dresses brought her more than just drink tickets. Luzon cemented her standing in drag superstardom when she unveiled her now famous pineapple dress in a RPDR episode, for which she drew some heavy criticism from her co-contestants for her potentially racist performance. The dress was so singular that she overcame the shade to take home the win that week, and high-end doll designer NiniMomo recreated the eye-catching look on a collectible Manila Luzon doll.
"I don’t think it’s true that I’m the only RPDR queen with a doll of her – by the way, I didn’t write my fucking Wikipedia page! I have no idea who made that claim – but that doll was beautifully made and her dress had Swarokvski crystal beads. She cost more than the real pineapple dress. That doll was $700, so I don’t have one. I can’t afford me. But I have the actual dress at home. I am the doll."
What truly inspires her to create amazing looks isn’t the attention of doll-makers; it is love from her fans, and their dolls are the ones she treasures.
"I’ve gotten to travel the world and meet all different fans of drag. I spend a lot of time in airplanes, but it’s really cool to travel and see different cultures and the way people live life, especially in the gay scene. It can be so different, and it’s really interesting. And a lot of my fans make me little dolls of myself that I love. I have such creative fans!"
Luzon is quick to admit she is another girl out there trying to get a stocking-ed leg up in the world ("I don’t have a cause right now – I’m just out here makin’ some coins!"), but don’t let her comedic self-deprecation and jovial spirit fool you. There is nothing ordinary about her. Creativity is like oxygen for this queen, who relishes the opportunity to invent the looks for which she has become famous. When I challenged her to choose her next theme on the spot, she surprised even herself with how quickly she went from blank slate to show-stopping detail.
"Oh my god, how could you ask me to do this?! I love costumes and I love a good theme to a costume, but I have this fight with myself all the time, trying to come up with inspiration. I really love food lately, so more food is probably coming up. The popcorn dress is my favorite, and the pineapple, of course. Food is always a good inspiration. You can go to Chinatown and be inspired to do a shrimp lo mein look, or Little Italy and do spaghetti."
I suggested meatballs as a hair bow.
"Ooh, and two dogs sitting on my shoulders slurping a spaghetti wig like Lady & the Tramp! And a red and white checkerboard dress! Oh, hell yeah! Thank you so much for my next look!"
I’m not sure whether it was the meatballs that she thanked me for, or simply indulging her mile-a-minute extemporaneous brainstorming sesh, but I gladly accept full credit for the forthcoming ‘Little Italy’ look from Manila Luzon.
Hosted by Michelle Visage and featuring queens from across the years, Battle of the Seasons tours worldwide and sashays through Calgary on June 17th, when you will have your chance to see one of Luzon’s newest looks in person.
