Violet Chachki, the winner of season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, is no stranger to lingerie - they've built their career within the 'pin-up' aesthetic, referencing the intersectional styles of iconic burlesque dancers and fetish culture.
However, the drag queen's career has reached an even greater milestone recently, with the star being revealed as the new face of the Bettie Page Lingerie Collection.
On Wednesday, the brand revealed Chachki's campaign imagery, which shows the gender non-conforming drag queen in the latest lingerie from the brand Playful Promises.
The new collection features bold imagery (of cheekily-placed handprints), and references 1950s-style, cone-cup soft brassieres, garters and suspenders.
While Chachki isn't the first drag queen to front a women's underwear line (that honour goes to Aussie drag queen Marie Claire, who in 2014), they are the first RuPaul's Drag Race queen to lead such a campaign, as well as one of the first gender non-confirming people to front a women's lingerie collection.
Chachki spoke to about the job, acknowledging that the booking means a lot in terms of representation for non-binary, gender non-conforming, and genderfluid people.
"It's interesting to be kind of a figurehead for something that is very polarizing for a lot of people," Violet said. "It's really gratifying when a company takes the risk. Because it is a risk and there will be negative feedback. I love that certain companies just don't care, but are taking a step in the direction of having more visibility for the queer community. And I think the result is just more acceptance."
The star says that even if their involvement in the campaign receives negative feedback, it will be entirely worth it: "Either way, people have a feeling about it. I think the worst thing you can be is middle-of-the-road. If this campaign can make people stop and think, then that's amazing."
“I think the most impactful thing any gender non-conforming person can have is visibility,” the performer told the .
