Tia Kofi reveals staggering cost of her Drag Race UK vs the World looks
Tia Kofi won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World season two. (BBC)
Tia Kofi, the newly-crowned champion of season two of Drag Race UK vs the World, has revealed the staggering amount of money she spent on looks for the series.
Tia Kofi became the second Queen of the Mothertucking World after beating Drag Race Down Under‘s Hannah Conda, Drag Race France‘s Le Grande Dame and Drag Race Philippines star Marina Summers in the finale of Drag Race UK vs the World.
Despite being the first winner of Drag Race UK to snatch a cash prize – of £50,000 ($62,500) – Kofi has become the latest Drag Race queen to admit that taking part in the show doesn’t exactly come cheap.
Speaking to George Clarke and Max Balegde on The Useless Hotline podcast, she was asked how much she spent on her lewks for the season, which, for those counting, included eight runways, six lip-sync and entrance and reunion costumes.
Kofi, who was first seen in season two of Drag Race UK in 2021, where she finished seventh, revealed that she’d spent more than £20,000 ($25,000) along the way.
After Clarke queried what aspect of the outfits caused the price to rocket, Tia explained that the success of the franchise meant that designers were charging more for their work.
“Different designers will charge different amounts… there is a culture [that] now Drag Race exists in the UK, the prices have gone up”, she noted.
“The designers who made one of the queen’s looks from season one [of Drag Race UK vs the World] made the majority for a very good fee. I think it was under £1,000 ($1,250), because they knew her and [wanted her to do well].
“That same design team now has a minimum spend of £2,500 ($3,100) per item. I think the wedding dress I wore cost me £3,500 ($4,390), and that’s one outfit. That doesn’t include the wig, the makeup, the shoes, the gloves, the nails…”
Contestant Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, who was eliminated first from season 16, previously revealed that she sold her car so that she could afford to compete, while Kofi’s co-star Gothy Kendoll told PinkNews that she too had forked out £20,000 ($25,074).
Other series stars who’ve previously revealed how much they’ve spent on the show include former winner Blu Hydrangea, who says she spent around £23,000 ($28,849) on the international edition of the franchise, and Gottmik, who claims to have dropped $20,000 (£15,948) on season 13.
Meanwhile Heidi N Closet previously confirmed that she spent $4000 (£3227) on drag for her appearance on season 12 in 2020, but forked out a colossal $40,000 (£32,266) on her looks before entering the All Stars 8 workroom.
Drag Race UK vs the World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
