The Top 10 ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Reigning Winners’ Looks
Welcome to a special one-off Top 10 ranking, brought to you by Patreon subscriber Sacher! As part of the Drag Race Rewind project, $10-tier subscribers get to request one Top 10 ranking per month of anything RuPaul’s Drag Race-related. Sacher’s request was for a Top 10 of the best reigning winners’ finale looks. If you’d like to request your own ranking, as well as getting recaps and power rankings of classic Drag Race seasons delivered to your inbox every week, consider subscribing to the project! (Or, if you’re already subscribed, consider upping your monthly contribution!)
The reigning winner’s finale look wasn’t really a thing until season 8. True, Jinkx Monsoon and Bianca del Rio showed up to crown the next season’s winner in style, but it was still a new tradition at that point. Violet Chachki canonized the importance of the reigning winner’s look, and since then, it’s been a battle to match her style.
How do the looks stack up to each other, though? Which reigns supreme? Which needed work? Has anyone come close to what Violet did? It’s time for a Top 10.
Now, because this tradition didn’t start in earnest until season 6, and live finales just started in season 4, I had to cushion this list a little bit. I’m including the looks Chad Michaels, Alaska, and Trixie Mattel wore when they came to crown the All Stars 4 winner(s), which can be seen in the photo above. (Apologies to Chad Michaels, but you did not make the top 10 with that strange dress.) Additionally, though there wasn’t a formal passing of the crown, I’m including Raja and Sharon Needles’ season 4 and 5 finale looks, respectively. (One is very good!)
10. Sharon Needles, season 5 finale
I‘m not a fan of this, but I do think it’s interesting to consider in terms of what Sharon’s aesthetic is now versus what it was in season 4. This feels like a transitional garment, still with an edge of spooky but clearly glammed up. A preview of what was to come for her.
9. Sasha Velour, season 10 finale
Perhaps controversial, but I don’t like this look. It’s a little too self-consciously Weird for me, a garment that feeds into the idea that Sasha likes to position herself as more outré than she actually is. Also, and I know I’m a giant snob about this sometimes, but I do feel like certain events — final four, finale, etc. — require more formal looks. I celebrate all types of drag, but I also believe in a dress code. And there was a way to do Weird in a more formal way.
8. Jinkx Monsoon, season 6 finale
Credit to her, this is an elevation for Jinkx, and it came pretty quickly after she spent a season being schooled for her bad fashion choices. I love the skirt. On the other hand, the bodice is too stiff, and the headpiece is kind of ugly. But it is formal! I’ll give her that!
7. Trixie Mattel, All Stars 4 finale
It’s perfectly and quintessentially Trixie Mattel, so major points there. I’m not in love with the shape, which is a little boxy, and it’s a little too twee overall. But the more i look at it, the more I like it. It’s unique but still fits the brief of a returning winner, especially for the more downscale All Stars finale environment.
6. Aquaria, season 11 finale
My opinion of this one is slightly colored by seeing it in person at the season 11 finale, where it was obvious she literally could not stand in the reverse-heel shoes. She was able to freeze long enough for a take, but would hobble around the rest of the time. Lady Gaga would never. Still, it’s a gorgeous design and make-up job, and probably comes the closest to Violet’s in terms of sheer impact.
5. Alaska, All Stars 4 finale
It’s a reference to her All Stars crowning look, complete with the mascara and lip, which is fabulous. No one trumps Alaska in the continuity department — only Manila’s roadkill Big Bird look from the All Stars 4 premiere comes close. It’s not as elevated as the top four on this list, but the thoughtfulness behind it secures it a place in the top five.
4. Bob the Drag Queen, season 9 finale
Bob the Drag Queen has said plenty of controversial things in defense of Drag Race’s treatment of race, to the frustration of many a fan. But I have to give her credit for walking out to crown Sasha Velour in an African-inspired outfit that marks her greatest fashion moment on the show. She ended her reign looking distinctively, defiantly Black, in an era when the show was giving out wins to white queens like candy. It’s a strong look both in appearance and in significance.
3. Raja, season 4 finale
An absolute serve of a look, and so far and above some of these that I’m sad she didn’t get to participate in Sharon’s crowning. Raja is a fashion legend for a reason, and I’d shake to see what she could come up with if she were doing a crowning now. She might be the only one who could live up to Violet’s standard. As it stands, it’s just a very, very good memory.
2. Bianca del Rio, season 7 finale
Had Violet never shaken the table, this would’ve been the best reigning winner look ever. But, had Violet never shaken the table, we likely wouldn’t have viewed reigning winner looks as something so prestigious. So consider Bianca’s all-silver glamour ahead of its time: It’s striking as hell, and a complete evolution for the queen once knocked for wearing the same dress every week on the runway. It was a jaw-dropping drag moment.
1. Violet Chachki, season 8 finale
I mean, come on. Could it have been literally anything else? This is the best Drag Race look of all time, much less just a reigning queen’s look at a finale. Violet silenced any and all doubters of her capabilities as America’s Next Drag Superstar with this one look, a gown that brought capital-F Fashion to the finale stage. She will always be Drag Race’s best looks girl to me, and a significant part of why is based on this one garment. What a showstopper.
