To quote drag extraordinaire Latrice Royale, “That is high drag at its finest”

Ever since RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus the World started airing, the world has never been the same. After all, it is the first time ever in herstory that queens from different Drag Race franchises across the globe have been invited to compete in one place. All of them bring fascinating looks, camp, comedy, skills, and everything we could ask for. Coupled with the drama that the show serves us each week, we could not ask for better reality TV to look forward to, even though our favourite contestants could get sent home at any moment.

What will forever go down as a win, however, is how Thailand’s Pangina Heals strutted down the main stage in a beautiful white Thai dress, fixated on showcasing the beauty and culture of her home country to the eyes of the world. The category that week was “I’m a Winner, Baby”, and it could not be more fitting.

Inspired by angels and the heavenly goddesses portrayed in temple paintings, the dress is a contemporary take on Thai myths and literature. At first glance, this is seen in the traditional feminine silhouette Thais are very familiar with. The dress itself is all white in colour, but the real show-stopper once you get close is the 44 Thai alphabets hand-stitched across the torso and on the sleeves. According to Narong, the designer of this intricate garment, over 10,000 crystals were used to further embellish the dress, which required over 400 hours of manual beading.

For such an outfit, no ordinary accessories will suffice. The work of another endowed Thai designer—Sarran—a golden, modern-style chada sat gracefully atop Pangina’s white slicked-back ponytail. In numerous depictions of deities, chadas serve as a symbol of their divinity. Accompanying the piece was a set of ornamental cuffs laced around the ears depicting gardenias, a white flower endemic to Thailand that can symbolise prosperity.

As the first drag queen from Thailand to ever be presented on a global RuPaul’s stage, Pangina Heals wanted to bring her heritage with her, and she did so by working with other Thai talents to create something collectively incredible. Pangina stated that wearing the dress made her feel “regal, graceful, and like a Thai winner.” Winning the first episode in that dress was simply destiny.

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