A'Whora Talks Exclusively for DSCENE Magazine

A’Whora has made waves in the world of drag with her undeniable charisma, striking beauty, and unparalleled talent. With her signature style that blends high fashion and bold theatricality, A’Whora has become a prominent figure in the vibrant drag scene.

Professionally, A’Whora has achieved remarkable success in the fields of fashion design and modeling. In 2015, she made a significant contribution to sustainability in the fashion industry by creating a groundbreaking 10-piece collection for H&M. She has also lent her creative talents to renowned brands such as Kurt Geiger and John Lewis & Partners, leaving an indelible mark on the fashion world.

EXCLUSIVE

In December 2020, A’Whora’s star continued to rise when she was announced as one of the twelve exceptional contestants competing on the second series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Throughout the competition, A’Whora showcased her unique style and undeniable charisma, ultimately securing a respectable fifth-place finish.

DSCENE Magazine Editor Katarina Doric sat down with the breakout star to talk about her transformative journey on RuPaul’s Drag Race, her evolving career in fashion and television, and her perspective on the ever-expanding world of drag.

Hi A’Whora, happy to have you in DSCENE! What have you been up to these days?

Happy to be here baby! Well what has a girl not been doing momma, currently working on a few projects for myself at the moment, being the business woman that I am. Other than those, Its just none stop touring. I think I’ve managed to see the whole world in the space of 3 years. I can’t complain, that’s the reason I’m here with you gorgeous lot bringing that bad b energy.

Since your time on Drag Race, how has your life and drag journey transformed, and what new opportunities or experiences have come your way that you might not have expected before the show?

I think going into the show and leaving it I thought my field was going to be mostly fashion and that field of work in the industry, but it really wasn’t! I walked runways and attended fashion shows, did a few covers but my core work was television. I didn’t realise my personality and ability to self-produce myself would read the way it did which has led me to be more of a television ‘personality’ whereas before I thought I was mainly a fashion girly, people seemed to love me or hate me and it’s given me this provoking personality that makes good television I guess.

Your journey on RuPaul’s Drag Race allowed you to showcase various aspects of your personality. How do you balance the introverted side of George with the extroverted persona of A’Whora?

I still don’t think I have found the balance, and often I get the wires crossed too! Sometimes I find I can’t shake off George before going on stage and I start being extremely nervous, shaking and short of breath, and other times I sometimes go on dates as George and I turn into what we call ‘meet & greet’ mode, and I’m almost putting myself on to compensate someone’s first impression. It’s extremely difficult at times to not loose yourself. One of the biggest issues for me has been my body image. As A’Whora I have this specific image and look I want to give off and it’s very much trying to conform to the model ideals of the 90’s, but then when I loose weight for A’Whora it makes me extremely insecure as George as I enjoy being having a strong male build. Sometimes wearing a strapless dress as A’Whora looks awful on me as my shoulders look broad and my arms look large, I laugh about it now but it’s a very unbalanced life of constantly having to change yourself for what the medias curated for us. It’s all a work in progress.

The experience of fame and social media can be both rewarding and challenging. How have you managed to cope with the influx of both positive and negative messages online?

To simply turn off. I just stopped reading it and If anything, I found how to laugh at it all good or bad and let it go through one ear and out the other. Don’t get me wrong it takes a lot of time, self-control and maturity to get use to it and then rise above. What people say really doesn’t matter, all that matters is how you feel waking up everyday and right now my life’s to short to be spent worrying about other people’s negative opinions. I’m good babe, I’ve got my friends and family, so like RuPaul says ‘if they ain’t paying your bills pay those bitches no mind’.

drag queen — Full Look: Dominnico / Earrings, Shoes: Vintage

You’ve become known as a fashion queen. What are your aspirations within the fashion industry, and how do you plan to break down gender barriers in fashion?

There’s talks of a certain design I curated a while back that could really make fashion more inclusive and re-invent the body of fashion for all but I won’t give too much away on that one as I’m not about to sell myself out, but I just want to demolish the trend forecast system. I don’t want there to be any guidance with fashion or forced ideals as to what you should or shouldn’t wear. I think it’s more exciting just seeing people express their own understanding and interpretations.

Drag Race has become more mainstream and has attracted a diverse audience, including straight and cisgender individuals. How do you feel about this expansion of the fanbase, and what impact do you think it has on the drag community?

I think the bigger the better, our community and diverse representation needs all the exposure and platform it can get. It’s about time we were all finally seen for who we are and I think it’s amazing that it’s being shown in a safe queer environment where we are not the one gay/queer featured as a token! I do think that with the overexposure comes saturation, but I think right now we need the community voices to be heard more than ever, so I’d love for this mainstream wave to be used to heard and not just for commercialised purposes.

You mentioned the importance of acknowledging the origins of drag and giving credit to those who paved the way. How do you think Drag Race can better represent and celebrate the diversity of drag, including drag kings and other forms of drag?

I think the show should be open to everyone, if you express through the art of drag then you should be welcome to take to the stage in my eyes. I think slowly but surely there is progression. Everyone spends the same amount of time to create looks, makeup, learnt skills etc so I don’t think there is any difference between queens/kings and all in-between. I think the show should expand the bracket and make the competition harder, because drag is fiercer beyond queens, and we have had over 30 seasons of men in wigs, let’s switch it up!

Your humor and quick wit have been evident on the show, even in the face of criticism. How do you view the power of comedy and satire in challenging stereotypes and pushing boundaries?

I think we live in a world where a blonde girl is seen as unintelligent due to the way we curated roles and characters in media, so when a girl like that comes out with a stella comedy set it’s gagging people, I think it’s more fun when you give off an image with the personality that almost contradicts the image. We should all be trying to break the mould and with that break our own forced agenda/perceptions that the media has portrayed for years. I also think the key to being able to challenge roles is by making yourself knowledgeable, and from knowledge comes wisdom, with that your able to educate others and the best way to make people educated isn’t giving them a lecture, it’s by entertaining them, and that can come through the art and wit of comedy! The best way to move forward is through laughter.

In the high-pressure environment of Drag Race, friendships and dynamics can evolve rapidly. Were there any unexpected bonds you formed during the competition that you didn’t anticipate, and how have those connections influenced your post-show interactions?

I think my bonds with most of the cast changed a lot for me. I’d never been in a position before with such a diverse room of people. I was fresh from school being surrounded by snobby fashion folk who only had one interest and barely any life experience beyond a sewing machine. So, to finally be in a room full of such diversity was incredible for me. I was able to have open conversations with icons of our community, people who have paved way, people who come from all kinds of walks of life and that was the most eye-opening experience from the show for me, you learn so much just from listening to people’s stories, it makes you both grateful and mindful for the life you live. I was the person stood front row at Joe Blacks show years before and to then be able to have a conversation with someone who I respected to highly was amazing for me to walk away with. Everyone had such a unique and individual approach to drag.

Drag Race often showcases intense moments and conflicts. Can you share an instance where you and another queen, who may have clashed on the show, have managed to find common ground or mend your relationship after the competition ended?

Let be real, I had many clashes on the show. It wasn’t really the situations that affected me, it was watching myself back and seeing myself from an outside perceptive and reflect and grow from that. For me, seeing how I reacted in those situations/environments, yes, it was difficult which is expected in a heated environment of a competition but I also found it uncomfortable to watch sometimes as I didn’t like the way I could see myself be so invested and opinionated for the sake of a show. It’s all a learning curve I suppose, but I’m thankful to have been able to watch myself back and grow from it, at the end of the day it was great television. I was 22 then, now 27 and times have changed and people change and I think that the experience of drag race as a whole helped to evolve me and grow me as a person. I’m very thankful to have such talented and diverse sisters in my cast who have all gone on to do amazing things that I’m incredibly proud of. As a group we have a strong bond that will carry us forever.

Looking ahead, what are your future goals and aspirations as both A’Whora and George? How do you see your drag career evolving?

I don’t have a plan nor do I want one. I have goals yes, but I’m just grateful to be in the position I am and I think the excitement of my career has always been remaining open minded and available for the unexpected. That’s the joy and adventure of being a drag queen that each day takes you somewhere new and enables you to meet someone new! I’ll of course keep touring the world as always (after this break) but mostly I just look forward to many more years being happy and living freely with myself and my career. I’m surrounded by amazing people, a supportive family and management team that work so hard, I genuinely couldn’t ask for more right now other than to keep growing and evolving and of course serving looks henny.

Follow A’Whora on instagram – @awhora