RuPaul’s Drag Race is nothing short of iconic. Watching drag queens battle it out in epic lip sync battles, acting challenges, and design extravaganzas will never stop being extremely entertaining. With four seasons of All-Stars, eleven seasons of the original show, and the first season of the UK version currently airing, RuPaul’s empire doesn’t seem to have an end in sight. And we sure hope it never will, because this is the fiercest and most delightful race on the planet.
Throughout the episodes of each season, the queens are challenged to showcase several different talents they keep under their sleeves. In their effort to become the next great drag superstar, they go all out. And no other challenges are quite as gagging as the design challenges, reminiscent of Project Runway with a few twists. Let’s take a look at epic past design challenges where the runner-up should have been the winner!
RuPocalypse Now – Lashauwn Beyond
Lashauwn Beyond’s run on the fourth season of the show was short but sweet. She couldn’t deliver in the second challenge and ended up being eliminated after losing the lip sync. However, Lasahauwn showed great promise on the first episode, when the queens were challenged to create a post-apocalyptic look.
Even though Sharon Needles, the winner of the season, snatched the first win, Lashauwn deserved it better. Sharon was very much in her comfort zone, and her blood mouth was indeed epic. But Lashauwn’s garment was way more complex, and that hat? Honey, iconic.
Float Your Boat – Latrice Royale
Season four didn’t give us just one design challenge! No, no, no, Mama Ru went all in, and decided to challenge the queens create a pride boat and an outfit, using a color of the rainbow in celebration of pride. Willam ended up snatching the win, something that still raises a lot of eyebrows to this day.
Willam’s boat was just covered with pictures of her face, whilst Latrice Royale’s was beautifully decorated, her outfit was flawless, and that mug was beat for the gods. None of them ended up winning the season, but Latrice was very much robbed from this win.
RuPaullywood Or Bust – Lineysha Sparx
Design challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race are never easy, and the queens have to get extremely creative with the materials they are given. Case in point – the season five design challenge RuPaullywood Or Bust, where they had to come up with Hollywood worthy garments made out of things they found in the dumpster.
Roxxxy Andrews was the winner of the challenge, with her black dress cut up on the sides. A win that, let’s be real, belonged to Lineysha Sparx’s stunning pink gown. It looked more elegant and put together than Roxxxy’s by a long shot!
RuPaul’s Big Opening Part 1 – April Carrión
The sixth season of the show introduced the queens in two separate episodes, having them compete separately. The challenge was to create a look inspired by a television show that was assigned to each of them. The first winner was BenDeLaCreme, who conquered the judges with her showgirl like outfit inspired by Golden Girls.
But this win belonged to April Carrión, and her edgy backless number inspired by Duck Dynasty. It was a departure for her in terms of looks, and it showed just how versatile this talented queen actually was. It was a shame we didn’t see more of her.
RuPaul’s Big Opening Part 2 – Milk
The win for the second part of season six’s premiere was Bianca del Rio, the best insult comic in the entire world, and also the ultimate winner of the season. Anyone who’s watched the show knows Bianca isn’t a look queen, but she made a pretty good first impression with her Luau Party inspired outfit.
She looked great, but Milk looked better. The addition of facial hair was iconic and the first piece of evidence that this tall glass of Milk had a very specific identity and style that simply couldn’t be replicated. She deserved this win, and we’re still salty about it.
Keeping It 100 – Acid Betty
By the time season eight came around, the first episode marked the 100th episode of the show. In order to celebrate all the incredible and unforgettable herstory made, RuPaul challenged each queen to recreate an iconic design challenge from a past season. In the end, Kim Chi’s Hair Extravaganza took the win.
Was it great? Yes, it was absolutely amazing. Except for that walk, but we got over that. However, there was another gown that deserved that win even more, and that was Acid Betty’s Make Dat Money extravaganza. Like Michelle put it “every detail is covered with a thought”. The riggery!
Draggily Ever After – Valentina
It’s pretty consensual amongst fans that season 9 wasn’t exactly a fantastic season. However, it did give us some great moments, despite the challenges being overall a little awkward. A good example was the Dragilly Ever After design challenge, in which the queens had to create a princess look and a ‘side-kick’ to match.
Trinity ‘The Tuck’ Taylor eventually won, mostly because she was hilarious. But deep down, we all know Valentina deserved it better. Plus, this was the look that originated Raja’s iconic and epic rant in Untucked. “You’re beautiful, you’re perfect, you look like Linda Evangelista, you’re a model”. Yes, she is! Why didn’t she win?!
10s Across the Board – Blair St Clair
Blair St Clair was a sweetheart, and one of the fishiest queens to ever strut into the werkroom. She never won a challenge during her time on the tenth season of the show, but we’re willing to argue that she was the rightful winner of the season’s first design challenge. The queen had to make a garment out of items picked from a box.
Mayhem Miller was the winner, and although her look was awesome, Blair’s was better, more creative, and demanded a lot more technical ability. Mayhem’s was basic and honestly, a little boring. I do declare, Blair St Clair!
From Farm To Runway – Yvie Oddly
The last season from the show so far also gifted us with a couple of design challenges, and the cast was comprised of several phenomenal look queens. The design challenge From Fram To Runway asked the queens to get creative with farm items, and turn them into stunning gowns.
Plastique Tiara was the winner and while her look was stunning from head to toe, it was not quite as good as Yvie Oddly’s. She looked like the queen of Spring, and the dress was so well executed, it left viewers gagging. Plastique’s, on the other hand, was yet another version of the exact same silhouette she always wore.
Posh On A Penny – Crystal
Giving a little shout out to the season that’s currently airing, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, we wanted to give some appreciation to these stunning European queens. The third episode challenged them to go Posh On a Penny, meaning the contestants had to create stunning looks with junk found at a car boot sale.
Divina De Campo was the winner of the challenge, but Crystal was the one who deserved it most. She was channeling her French Marie Antoinette fantasy using materials most of us wouldn’t even know what to do with. Major props!
