The Drag Enthusiast: Loris Queen: Femme Fatale

Formerly known as "Serket Vane", Loris has been steadily taking over the drag scene. With a painted mug to die for and one of a kind aesthetic, she has charmed the hearts of drag fans and drag performers everywhere. Check out the interview below to get a closer look at her personality and painted mug beat for the gawds!

1. Who is Loris as a performer?

Loris is a femme fatale… a bad bitch in charge. I like to embody all the things that make women powerful, dangerous, and sexy when I perform.

2. When and why did you begin doing drag?

I started doing drag in college, when my brother who was part of the local drag show encouraged me to get on stage for the first time. This was approximately 3 years ago, but I had been dabbling in makeup and crossdressing for for at least 4 years.

3. You are formerly known as "Serket Vane", why did you decide to change your drag name?

Well in short, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I decided that my birth name is so eccentric and androgynous, that it only made sense to keep it. Besides, some of the most remarkable girls in the business (Willam, Rupaul, Chad Michaels) all use their real names as well, and they have had much success with them.

4. Where did you learn to paint your face?

In the bathroom at my mom’s house! I was never formally trained or educated, and I never had a drag mother to teach me, so I just practiced a lot until I got good enough to go out.

5. How long does it take you to get ready to go out?

Nowadays it takes me about 2 hours from shaving to being 100% ready.

6. What is your favorite makeup product that you can't live without?

Well right now I am using a product called `Sweat Stop‘ by Nigel’s, and it’s a topical anti perspirant for the face. I love it because for people like me who reaally sweat a lot, it can really keep your face looking crisp and your lines looking sharp.

7. How would you say drag has changed your life?

Drag empowers me, and helps me to love myself. Not only in drag, either! Being all dressed up like that gives me a chance to take all the things people don’t like about me as a person, all the things people shame me for…and turn them into something worth celebrating.

8. Where do you draw inspiration from?

I love the aesthetic of villains… Disney, Sci Fi, Horror, you name it. I think we can all agree the villains always look the fiercest! But in terms of what I want to communicate with my drag, I definitely draw inspiration from the likes of Divine, who never gave a fuck what anyone thought about her, and built her career off things that normal people might consider insecurities.

9. If you could travel anywhere to perform, where would you go and why?

I would love to travel to my home country of Switzerland and perform there. Swiss society is very old fashioned and I think it would wake a lot of people up, and maybe even inspire them if they saw a successful drag queen who was born in the same town as them.

10. If you could work with any other drag queen, who would you work with and why?

I have actually contacted Raja several times on multiple social media interfaces, and one time even ambushed her at Mickey’s Bar in Weho to talk about drag with her. Since seeing her on drag race, her confidence and unconventional style of drag has encouraged me to kick down doors, and not give a shit about what people think. It would mean the world to me to artistically collaborate with her!

11. If tomorrow you had your very last performance, what song would you perform and why?

Rise like a Phoenix by Conchita Wurst… I would want to sing something that the people who loved me could revisit and get some joy and hope out of watching, rather than feelings of despare, sadness or loss.

12. What is something that not many people know about you?

I was born and raised in Switzerland and didn’t learn English till the 4th grade!

13. What is your favorite thing about doing drag?

I love that it gives men like myself the opportunity to experience a lot of the hardships that women have to deal with on a daily basis. Because of that, it’s given me a great deal of perspective on the topics of gender equality and feminism.

14. Do you have a most embarrassing moment while in drag?

Nope. It’s hard for me to be embarrassed when I feel like the queen of everything. Whenever something happens that would embarrass mea s a boy, I just own it and when you’re operating at that level of confidence, people usually just go along with it.

15. Marry, Kai Kai, Kill: Raja, Violet Chachki, Katya

Marry Raja, Kai Kai with Katya, kill Violet.