When a famous fembot, star of fashion magazines is imitated by a drag queen, during Rupaul’s Drag Race Snatch Game, one can say that fashion tech has (almost) become mainstream.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

"Make us laugh!" When comes the time of the Snatch Game, things are getting serious for Rupaul, the host of the extravagant reality show program Rupaul’s Drag Race. This celebrity impersonation challenge is a long-awaited moment, meant to be a hilarious experience, during which the drag queens in competition have the opportunity to shine amongst the best. But it also often proves to be an intense moment of stress for the contestants whose humor is not the strong suit. Therefore Rupaul had doubts about Gigi Goode’s ability to make his imitation of Sophia the robot really funny. But the convincing performance of the queen proved him wrong, so much so that the contestant, in the guise of Maria the robot, won this challenge, in episode 6 of season 12 of Rupaul’s Drag Race, broadcast on April 3.

Gigi Goode's performance was particularly appreciated, when she tried to manipulate, with an all-robotic clumsiness, her answer cards, as you can see below.

Little wonder that Gigi Goode, a fierce fashion queen, set her sights on the fembot Sophia, herself often referred to as a top model robot, due to her appearances on magazine covers. Activated in 2015 by Hanson Robotics Limited, the gynoid Sophia is programmed to interact with humans, which has led her to answer to several media interviews and, therefore, to be immortalized in a large number of them. Below, some examples among others :

The Lifestyle Journalist India, April 2020 issue

Harper Bazaar Arabia, 2019

Stylist UK, 2019

Cosmopolitan India, 2018

Elle Brasil, 2016

* Continue reading with these Boudoir Numérique papers :

- Fashion tech extravaganza in Rupaul’s Drag Race 

- Fashion tech lights up Rupaul’s Drag Race UK 

 - Fembots and sci-fi at Dior : decoding 101