“You’re born naked, the rest is drag”. So goes one of RuPaul’s most famous quotes. But what exactly goes into keeping the larger-than-life TV personality clothed?

A runway model for Thierry Mugler, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Vivienne Westwood, Zaldy began designing for RuPaul (born RuPaul Andre Charles) way back in 1992. Of course, the start of their relationship was just as extravagant as you might imagine. “By the time I arrived in NYC as a baby club kid, RuPaul was already one of the superstars of New York nightlife,” Zaldy said. “Soon enough, we were travelling together on a Susanne Bartsch nightclub tour in Japan, where RuPaul asked me and [make-up artist] Mathu Andersen if we could work together to create what we now know as the archetype of the Supermodel Of The World [RuPaul’s 1993 debut studio album].”

When his designs featured in the music video for RuPaul’s 1993 single Supermodel (You Better Work), Zaldy felt he’d found his true path. “Even though I was thrust onto the world stage as a nightlife personality and androgynous fashion model,” he says, “I always thought of myself as someone working behind the scenes, creating. From the moment I first saw and heard RuPaul, I thought of her as a divine individual whose message of power and love was important and was going to resonate with the rest of the world, and that was inspiring.” 

However, in those days, the blinding success that RuPaul now enjoys seemed unimaginable, even to those closest to the star. “I could never have foreseen how much resonance and importance and influence she would have and how her presence has transformed the world,” Zaldy says. Over two decades on, not only is Zaldy creating around 80 outfits for RuPaul a year, he’s also designed one for an ever-lasting RuPaul: the new figure inside London’s Madame Tussauds.

“When I got the brief for the new Ru form, it included references to royalty,” Zaldy says, explaining how he created this new wax RuPaul’s outfit. “The look really celebrates some of the things that have always been inspirational to me, like the shade of blue that is reminiscent of a gown Queen Elizabeth wore – ours being a bit more dragged-up in a silk faille shot with silver metal threads, and draped in a way so the ruching represents a sash.

“I am obsessed with the royal orders created by Queen Victoria,” Zaldy continues, referencing the awards the monarch bestowed upon female members of the British royal family and her female courtiers. “So I invented ‘Ru Royal Orders’ that celebrate important women in Ru’s life: Oprah, Diana Ross and Michelle Visage. Probably the most iconic piece of jewellery worn by a royal is Anne Boleyn’s ‘B’ logo necklace, so I created ‘R’ mirrored earrings with multicoloured stones and three baroque pearl dangles.” 

Extravagant stuff – but after all, if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?

In everyday life, RuPaul’s looks follow much less of a structure, says Zaldy. “There are no rules with RuPaul! When you are the creator of your own iconic status, you know no rules.” The designer works a year ahead on RuPaul’s outfits, ensuring there’s always an abundance of sequins, studs and frills. This approach has conjured up many a memorable look, with Zaldy’s favourite being a little number he knocked up for a performance in a Texas bar that involved “liquid-metallic, hot-pink, fringed chaps, complete with metallic leather and sequinned and crystallised shoulders in the shape of horse saddles”.

Zaldy sees RuPaul’s main fashion message as one of empowerment. “RuPaul never holds back, and she reminds us to not put limits on ourselves when it comes to expression, and to love yourself for who you are and want to be,” says Zaldy. 

It’s a message we could all do with reminding ourselves of every now and again – and if in doubt, lip-sync it out.

Images: courtesy of Madame Tussauds London