Balenciaga Taps RuPaul For Fierce Merch Collab

In the sassiest news to hit our inboxes this week, Balenciaga announced it has tapped RuPaul Charles for a merch and music collab. Not only has the world’s most legendary drag queen curated an Apple Music playlist for the house, Mama Ru has lent her personal signature to the line of limited-edition Balenciaga X RuPaul caps, tees and hoodies. Featuring spray-stencil lettering, the DIY-effect clothing looks like fancy tour merch (prices start from £350), and will be perfect for fashion queens to wear in the Drag Race workroom.

To model the Balenciaga merch, RuPaul enlisted club night icon Susanne Bartsch. While Ru swaps Zaldy’s famous gowns for fishnets, hot pants and a signed tee, Bartsch captures a more conceptual way of how to wear the collection. The playlist itself is less art school and more downright joyful. From Abba (“Voulez-Vous”, obvs) to remixes of Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga, plus multiple bangers from Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé and Rihanna, listening to it is like being at a Ru-Bartsch fusion club night.

Demna Gvasalia’s own playlist is more Radiohead than RiRi, but certainly no less punchy. Who doesn’t want to rediscover obscure Nick Cave and The Cure songs? Balenciaga X Apple Music might be the unlikely collab we never knew we needed, but anything that puts drag into the main cultural arena is more than OK with us.