The commodification of rebellion: The slow commercialization of drag culture
- Saumitree Mukherjee & Hrishik Mitra
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Drag fashion is a fusion of history, creativity, and colour psychology. At its core, it’s a rebellious art, born in the underground theatre and queer subcultures which is designed to challenge identity and reshape how we see gender, beauty, and expression. From its theatrical roots to its current place on global runways, drag fashion is a celebration of self-expression, defiance, and unapologetic creativity.
The earliest traces of drag fashion date back to ancient theatre. In Ancient Greece and Japan,
men played female roles on stage, often donning elaborate costumes and developing intricate
makeup techniques and stylized movements to embody their characters and convey femininity.
The term “drag” itself is believed to have originated from actors referring to their skirts
“dragging” across the stage. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drag evolved into a distinct performance art. Vaudeville stars like Julian Eltinge captivated audiences with sophisticated female impersonation, blurring gender lines and setting the stage for modern drag. Simultaneously, underground drag balls, especially within Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities became safe havens for self-expression and fashion experimentation. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s saw drag balls flourish, with performers showcasing glamorous gowns, tailored suits, and dazzling accessories. These events weren’t just about fashion but were acts of resistance against societal norms. In Indian context from the Hindu mythology, deities such as Ardhanarishvara, a composite of Shiva and Parvati, symbolise the union of masculine and feminine energies. This concept of gender fluidity can be seen in the country’s classical performing arts like Kathakali,Theyyam, and Yakshagan, in which the roles of the females have traditionally been played by the male performers.
Drag fashion is known for being theatrical and exaggerated. Bold Makeup, Exaggerated
Silhouette and Statement Accessories are some of the key elements. Trends that are now the
backbones in mainstream beauty such as contouring and baking were invented in drag. Cinched waists, padded hips, and towering wigs challenge the conventional body-image set by the society. Accessories play a key role in Drag fashion starting from rhinestone-studded gloves to feather boas, they are essential for completing a drag look. Drag fashion often blends masculine and feminine elements, celebrating identity beyond binaries.
Drag fashion does not have any boundaries. In India, drag queens like Rani Kohenur, Lush
Monsoon, and Dark Fantasy blend traditional garments like saris with contemporary accessories, challenging gender norms and celebrating culture. From mythological characters like Ardhanarishvara and Cleopatra plays a huge inspiration in Indian Drag Fashion both as a
political statement and a dazzling art form that continues to evolve with pride and purpose.
Once considered the armor of old fierce rebellion and resistance, drag fashion now finds itself
traversing the thin line of cultural celebration and corporate appropriation. Drag, which started as a subversive form of art that challenged aloof gender norms, dissed societal expectations, and empowered queer communities, has slowly been creeping into mass consumer culture. This fashion has political grounds. It came from theater-like society, where several framers of culture had to fight against their existence, using fashion as a form of protest or even survival. Entering consciousness, RuPaul, Divine, and Lady Bunny were witness to a world of dull times stretching far under rules: they became their fashion; makeup and sequins were their very tool to shout back to the norm in defiance, set to question gender binaries, and celebrate that identity, gender, and orientation can all be fluid and performative.
But the visibility of drag itself metastasized especially thanks to RuPaul's Drag Race and social
media, and brands with empty culture closets started poking their noses in. Today, drag-inspired aesthetics are trending-from gender-fluid capsule collections to ad campaigns promising diversity. Mugler and Gaultier, both high-end fashion houses, have taken drag's exaggerated silhouettes and theatrical displays, altering them into haute couture.
While this visibility trend can be good for opening opportunities for actual drag artists, it does
pay a heavy price: As the aesthetics of drag become commodified, the radicalism behind it
begins to fade. Drag, as it was formerly known, used to symbolize resistance; now it's being put in the spotlight to market lipstick, fast fashion, or fragrances with their political stitch being
stripped away and packaged along for mass consumption.
Drag fashion's monetization by capitalism comes at the cost of excluding the very sides that gave life to it. A good number of queer artistes still find it hard to get acknowledged and fairly
compensated while their culture and identity are being scraped for a paycheck. In this case,
companies go the extra mile to use drag for tokenism to appear progressive, but against actual
LGBTQ+ rights, they lend no meaningful support.
So in the commercial rush, a few questions come up: Who's cashing in on the mainstream appeal of drag fashion? And who's being left sidelined? It could be that drag is being put in the pages of Vogue, but it is also a reminder: style born out of protest has to stay resistant to being watered down by monetary gain. The challenge now is to celebrate drag without commodifying it, to honor its roots, uplift its creators, and resist the
corporate erasure of its radical power.