Rock Hits
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Winner Aquaria Models Amy Lee Looks, Talks Style With Singer
Rock stars all have celebrity fans, but it’s not every day that the fandom spills over into a photo shoot modeling some of said star’s famous looks. But that’s what happened when RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 winner Aquaria recently showcased the looks of one of her style icons, Evanescence’s Amy Lee, for a Paper Magazine feature.
“It’s really amazing to watch the transformation,” Lee states. “It’s like another thing takes over, like you’re inside a character, and it reminds me of the way that I feel when I’m onstage and the music just becomes personified in me. It’s me when I’m onstage, for sure, but it’s also kind of like I’m outside myself, like there’s something else flowing through me.”
As part of the feature, Aquaria also interviewed the vocalist, with the topic eventually turning to Lee’s style choices. “My first vision for what I wanted to look like had to do with bringing very different things together and making them work,” said Lee noting that she wanted something that mirrored the classical-meets-heaviness of the band’s sound. “The ‘look’ was about trying to bring a visual element to the music, so the ‘goth’ thing for me was the classical influence — bringing in some Victorian-era stuff and then distressing it and mixing it with chains and dark makeup and ripped parts and all of that was my way of describing the music, visually.”
She added, “Alexander McQueen was a hero of mine. And just generally, I love asymmetry. I love it when things are super long on one side, and then short over here. Part of that I feel like is coming from something in me that feels fractured. Like, I’m owning my imperfections and showing how beautiful something not perfectly straight can be, if that makes sense.”
The conversation also allowed for Lee to return the compliment when Aquaria praised the singer’s authenticity. “You’ve already achieved quite a lot. You’re so creative. Watching you on Drag Race, you’re an incredible makeup artist, you’re an incredible hairstylist, you have an incredible gift,” said the singer. “It reminds me a little bit of what I do because, from the fashion to the character to the music, all these different elements combine to create something. You’re putting together a piece of art, the same way as putting on a show or writing a song. It’s all made up of little elements and you have to be a really creative person to make the whole thing come together with your vision. I just think that’s super inspiring. And I can relate to it.”
Check out some of the photos from Aquaria’s photo shoot and see the entire conversation for Paper Magazine here. And be sure to pick up Evanescence’s The Bitter Truth album, out now.