A love letter to Bimini Bon Boulash

Release the beast Bimini! Into the cis, patriarchal world of fashion. Bimini Bon Boulash sashayed their way off the runway of Rupauls Drag Race UK into the company of the highest court of fashion, namely British Vogue and the palace of Anna Wintour. 

If you dont know Bimini (more known affectionately as Bim) then you should. Self proclaimed Plant-Based Princess of the East End and your friendly neighbourhood nonbinary queen. Bimini charged their way through Rupaul’s main stage head to toe in provocative couture worthy of any 90s supermodel as one of the only non binary queer creators of the season. Bimini brought a new flavour to the kaleidoscope of taste served on Ru Paul’s dragrace and went on to serve it at the table of the biggest fashion houses. The recalamtion of queer culture for queer people is happening now and as Bimini signs to Nextmodels and is interviewed by British vogue it is clear to see there is a queer rennaissance on the horizon. ‘Don’t be scared to embrace the femme’ christined by Bimini, became for me the tagline of the season, for young hes shes and thems, its the start of a revolution. The category is: painterly high fashion. Lights, Camera, nips out!

​

Week after week on Drag Race, Bimini served us not only high-end fashion concepts, but ethics and unrivelled wit of originality. As an unashamedly queer artist, Bimini is making waves to bring ‘niched’ queer fashion expression confidently to the forefront of culture. Gender identity and conflict are concepts that give a nod of poigniancy to each and every look of Bim’s. An ambition to represent and be authentic, both notions that are ingrained in every drag queen. That are starting to awaken in the mainstream.“I’m showing more than just my canckles” Bimini says with a wink as the episode cuts to them sashaying down the runway in a baby blue bejewelled lace gown. A touch of translucency accompanied with matching cloche hat and parasol, of course. Just one of a long line of looks served by Bimini featuring an amoeba, pantomime dame and to top it off, a sultry looking bride a la Vivien Westwood. You’d have to be made of the very purest conservative stone not to smile and be a touch enamoured by Bimini Bon Boulash. It takes red lips, pale palour and every delicacy of a demure debutante and the audacity of a drag artist to pull off the look. Back to Bimini’s explaination of the look and a cheeky reference to the stiff upper lip “fashion editorial for British Vogue” changes Bim’s East London diction to a posh drawl. A prophecy ordained by Anna Wintour: to be immortalised in the glossy pages of Vogue. Apparently she thought so too. Imagining Anna Wintour tune in to watch Drag Race UK weekly and pulling down her iconic sunglasses to the end of her nose at each runway look is enough to make me laugh.

​

We, thankfully, live in changing times and the tempestuous world of fashion is a microcosm of it. Plot Twist: there’s only so much change the fashion industry can handle. Can an industry that perepetuates cis, patriarchal stererotypes be trusted to enliven queer voices? These are the people ordering womens bodies to go in and out of fashion like a sexist tide. Wide hips, heavy breast and long hair all desirable features as of 2015, funnily enough all features you can aquire at a good drag shop.

I saw Jari Jones, Black transgender model, actress and activist as the covergirl of Calvin Klein back in 2020. Standing proudly in Manhatten, New York on a billboard alongside 9 cherry picked  queer and trans ambassadors such as poet Reece King, Gia Woods and drag queen Pabllo Vittar. I take a sigh of relief and am contented. Oh no, hang on, its an LGBTQ+ #PROUDINMYCALVINS campaign. Of course. 

​

I guess that’s the last time I’ll see openly queer people representing a fashion house until next year bar some fetishized bi girls who fit a certain fantasy. Maybe I’m a little naive, for a second, I forget the unspoken rule, ‘queers should stay in their lane’, unless specifically harvested for an lgbt month campaign that is. Welcomed with open arms, a touch of well chosen charity and the promise that straight high fashion will resume shortly. Maybe I am being negative - pessamistic. But it is a reality that so many queer and trans models are niched into and equated to their sexuality and gender identity , a reflection of the queer experience in life I suppose. Tokenism comes to mind. Sashays away. Trend might be a more adequate and let’s be honest accurate description. Though it’s true that John Galliano and Alexander McQueen, as openly gay dessigners, have often adored androgyny and gender fluidity in the conception of their runway looks and rightly so. However, it seems non binary and androgynous people are left out of that club of being able to walk the runway. The club they created. Harry Styles’ Met Gala Looks and Jaden Smiths famous Louis Vuitton skirts have ruffled the feathers of gender confromity it’s true but how far can they go in an industry that refuses to accurately embrace the authentic non-binary experience?

​

Is gender fluidity reserved only for seemingly straightish men? It’s difficult to find evidence to the contrary. I talk about Ru Paul’s drag race with my family and I can feel the discomfort in the air. As though the gay is catching. A man wearing a dress? Out of choice? God no. All this, I feel without a single word uttered and is delivered by a choice of reactions: a smirk, an eye raise and a change of subject. Fair play, I forget progress belongs to the future, not the past. But I hope it isn’t always like this. I know it won’t always be like this. 

Bimini is angelic in many respects, not just an iconic fashion guru who makes you want to put on your highest heels and laciest dress but also makes you want to live authentically and without apology. You are who you are, and for better or for worse fashion is identity and identity is power. Androgyny is in and so are androgynous people. I can see the tide turning and theres only so long any fashion house can surpress a landslide of reclaimed queer creativity - there’d be pools of glitter all over the floor I imagine. Limp wrist, hair flick, creme de la creme! 

​

Iona Milner