Top 10 Worst Runway Looks on RuPaul's Drag Race
#10: Country Realness
Mystique Summers Madison
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[“Mystique is pretty, everybody loves Mystique.”] That may be true, but that doesn’t make this country look any more...well, country. Between the over-the-top makeup and the basic shirt-pants combo that looks like it could have been bought at Wet Seal, it completely misses the mark on the “country realness” challenge, more reminiscent of a soccer mom with middling fashion sense and a bit too much eye shadow than anything else. Not to mention, Mystique made the fatal error of wearing the same top on the runway and in the challenge. The look landed her in the bottom, where she proved no match for the now legendary second season runner-up Raven, who sent her sashaying away.
#9: Roller Girl
Cynthia Lee Fontaine
Cynthia Lee Fontaine may have the shortest run of any Miss Congeniality winner, but sadly this outfit simply did not match the fierceness of her charming personality. A confusing mashup of an elegant top with a country-inspired bottom half and hat resulted in an ill-fitting mess. An admirable but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to try something new by the hot-blooded Puerto Rican, in the end, it was a bit of an assault on the eyes. Though Cynthia lip-synced for her life, she was no match for Robbie Turner’s roller-blading skills, which ultimately sent her packing. Hopefully she was able to take solace in the golden trophy the fans later awarded her.
#8: Bedsheet Caftan
Honey Mahogany
Only two times in the “herstory” of the series has a lip-sync resulted in a double elimination - and one half of the very first can be attributed to Honey Mahogany’s third and final loose-fitting caftan to be torn apart by the judges. Though the previous attempts were elegant enough to keep her out of the bottom, the third strike more resembled a sparkly bedsheet tied together with a belt than an actual outfit. Coupled with an equally gaudy wig, there’s no one point of focus, so the only option is to take in the entire jumble in one unsavoury gulp. At least she was able to prove her range come finale time.
#7: Gone with the Window
Shangela Laquifa Wadley
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Shangela may now be one of the more recognizable names to come out of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” but her first impression on the show was memorable for all of the wrong reasons. Tasked with creating a runway look out of window curtains, the admittedly burgeoning queen made a dress more reminiscent of corn stalks than couture, and was criticized by the judges for its overabundance of accessories, design, and failure to be form fitting. Luckily for all of us, she was given the chance to return in season three to show us what she’s really made of - and show us she did.
#6: Dead… Chicken?
Kennedy Davenport
Kennedy Davenport was very lucky that her team managed to not be on the bottom the week she chose to wear this number. She took to the runway (the theme of which was “Death Becomes Her”) in a bizarre orange jumpsuit adorned with feathers and what looks like coagulated blood. In “Untucked,” she explained that the story behind it is that a pimp gutted a hooker and burned her alive, but instead of dying she...crystallized? They say a joke is no good if it has to be explained, and here, apparently, the same could be said for a high-concept outfit.
#5: Cowardly Lion
Robbie Turner
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Robbie Turner may have been able to out-lip-sync Cynthia, but her fate was sealed with this “Wizard of Oz”-themed challenge. Robbie was assigned to create not one, but two looks based on the Cowardly Lion. It was already an uphill battle, since Kim Chi had previously created an instantly iconic lion look earlier that same season. Robbie’s offering was really nothing more than some poorly fitting fabric with a wig and some fur thrown on. None of these elements looked good on their own, but together with a messy wig/crown combo, it made for a completely disjointed look that resulted in this Seattle queen’s elimination.
#4: Garbage Couture
Serena ChaCha
Poor Serena ChaCha. She was only able to serve up two looks during her brief tenure on “Drag Race,” and both were seriously considered for this list. The challenge was to turn garbage into couture...but Serena didn’t entirely finish the transformation. We’re honestly not entirely sure how she was able to escape elimination with this abysmal outfit. From the lack of creativity to the shoddy execution, there’s little room to defend this offering. However, we have to cut her some slack for being the season’s youngest queen. She clearly learned from her time on the show and has since developed her aesthetic.
#3: Apocalypse Couture
Jiggly Caliente
Jiggly Caliente’s run certainly got off to an explosive start, though not in a good way. The first challenge was to create an apocalyptic look based on materials gathered from garbage, and for Jiggly, it unfortunately shows. Appearing as though she threw everything she could get her hands on into the outfit, the final product was an amalgamation of mismatched colors and material. It seemed she was destined to be the first elimination; however, Jiggly’s bubbly personality allowed her to overcome her initial misstep and find a decent ranking among the queens of season four.
#2: Drag on a Dime
Naysha Lopez
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To be fair, Naysha was the first to admit that she was an amateur designer, a skill level which wasn’t helped by the fact that her task involved making her dress out of pieces of garbage. With an unflattering shape and a baffling color combination of green and gold, the finished look was less garbage-inspired glamor and more… nauseating. The garbage-theme was apparent from the end result, as was the lack of design experience. Unsurprisingly, RuPaul decided to give her the boot, though she would later return to the show...for a brief stint of two episodes.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Hair Everywhere
Jade Jolie
Sex in the Alley
DiDa Ritz
Camera Dress
Alyssa Edwards
#1: Bacon
Kelly Mantle
For Kelly Mantle, a well-intentioned use of flower fabric went terribly wrong in the sixth season premiere. In an attempt to make a look inspired by “Downton Abbey,” she presented an outfit, that while unremarkable at first glance, was critiqued for having a top piece looking more like bacon than flower petals. And once that was pointed out… there was no way NOT to see uncooked breakfast meat across her chest. Despite being remembered mostly for the unfortunate-looking outfit, Kelly has shown she’s able to laugh at her mistakes in hindsight, which makes a winner - at least when it comes to attitude.
Do you agree with our list? What’s your favourite runway disaster? For more stylish top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to MsMojo.
