Last Thursday, Bimini Bon-Boulash, the candidate of the British version of the drag queens competition, “floated down” the runway in a costume representing a bacteria, inspired by the laser cutting dresses of the tech-savvy designer, Iris van Herpen.

By Ludmilla Intravaia 

In this article :

• Bimini Bon-Boulash’s bacteria dress

• The designer Rickielee Drayford’s inspiration 

• Iris van Herpen's laser-cut dresses

• A’Whora’s 3D printed bodice

“Scientists agree that eukaryotic cells, which humans are made from, evolved from bacteria over two billion years ago… doesn’t get much more prehistoric than that!” When Bimini Bon-Boulash was assigned a “pre-herstoric” theme for RuPaul's Drag Race UK runway, she immediately thought big or, in this particular case, microscopic. She was going to take the catwalk by storm, embodying what the English drag queen described, on her Instagram account, last Saturday, as an “freaky alien organism” (images below : © BBC/WOW).

The contestant for the crown of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, the British edition of the famous drag queens show, collaborated with the London designer Rickielee Drayford who drew inpiration from the work of the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen.

Below, watch the catwalk walk of Bimini Bon-Boulash who compared her appearance to that of “a bacteria floating down” the runway.

The bacteria outfit of Bimini Bon-Boulash refers to the laser-cut dresses of Iris van Herpen, the icon of fashion technology, such as, for example, this silhouette of the haute couture Fall-Winter 2019-2020 collection, Hypnosis.

Note that Iris van Herpen also influenced, for the same pre-herstoric runway, the drag queen A'Whora who paid tribute to her Skeleton dress with a bodice 3D printed to her measurements (more info in this Boudoir Numérique article: The drag queen A'Whora takes inspiration from Iris van Herpen for her 3D printed outfit).

* Continue reading on Iris van Herpen with these following Boudoir Numérique articles :

- Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture SS21 - 3D printed nail art by Eichi Matsunaga for Iris van Herpen

- Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture SS21 - Iris van Herpen’s dress in recycled plastic by Parley for the Oceans

- Paris Haute Couture Week SS21 – Kinetic crowns by Iris van Herpen

- Iris van Herpen X Dutch National Ballet : The symbiosis of haute couture and dance captured in the film Biomimicry

- Christina Aguilera in Iris van Herpen for Mulan's music video Reflection

- Lady Gaga wears a dress from Iris van Herpen at 2020 MTV VMAs

- Boudoir Numerique's favorite : face jewelry by Iris van Herpen

- Leomie Anderson in Iris van Herpen at MTV EMA's 2019

- Iris van Herpen’s Infinity Dress comes to life on the runway

- Iris van Herpen’s laser cutting sets the red carpets on fire

- Storm Reid and Kelly Rowland electrify the PCA’s red carpet in Iris van Herpen

- Grimes, Katy Perry and Björk in tune with Iris van Herpen

* Continue reading about fashion tech in RuPaul’s Drag Race with the following articles from Le Boudoir Numérique :

- The drag queen Miss Abby OMG wears a luminous outfit for the grand finale of Drag Race Holland

- The lighted crown of the drag queen Ma’MaQueen divides Drag Race Holland jury

- Werq the World S2 EP1 : Asia O’Hara, the luminous drag queen

- Mocha Diva's laser glasses dispel the darkness of confinement

- Fashion queen Gigi Goode impersonates Sophia, the top model robot

- Fashion tech extravaganza at Rupaul’s Drag Race

- Fashion tech lights up Rupaul’s Drag Race UK