Project Runway confirms iconic RuPaul’s Drag Race queen for season 21
Utica from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 is on season 21 of Project Runway (@queenutica, @thenevstevensgroup/ Instagram)
Utica from RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 is on season 21 of Project Runway (@queenutica, @thenevstevensgroup/ Instagram)
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Utica Queen – known on the show as Utica – has been announced as one of the designers on season 21 of Project Runway.
Though she never won a challenge on season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s flagship franchise, there’s no denying that the season wouldn’t have been the same without her.
A gagworthy sleeping-bag lewk from the Bag Ball, an apparent difference in attitude on-and-off camera, a status as an unexpected lipsync assassin and the recipient of two middle fingers from RuPaul, Utica truly made her mark on the Drag Race ecosystem.
And with any luck, she’ll bring some of that chaos into a different reality TV juggernaut, because Utica’s out-of-drag persoality, Ethan Mundt, has been announced as part of the 21st season of Project Runway (11 June).
Utica/ Ethan joins the franchise alongside 11 other contestants for the season, which will also mark the return of Hallowe’en queen Heidi Klum as head judge, after she departed from Project Runway in 2017.
Nina Garcia returns as a panelist, alongside Law Roach, who currently rotates on the RuPaul’s Drag Race judging panel.
Aside from her stunning runway looks, Utica is perhaps best known for being flipped off by RuPaul herself during the season’s Roast episode, after she implied that RuPaul was wearing sweatpants under the judging panel.
“This moment marks the first ever Drag Race crossover onto Project Runway, and that’s not lost on me. It’s more than a look, it’s a symbol,” Mundt wrote on Instagram. “A symbol of how far our art form has come, of how the worlds of fashion and drag continue to grow, influence, and uplift each other.”
Project Runway also announced some glittery guest judges for season 21; Christian Cowan, Harris Reed, Jenna Lyons, Joan Smalls, Michael Kors, Mickey Guyton, Nikki Glaser, Sara Foster, Sofia Vergara, Tyra Banks, and Zac Posen.
Utica joins fellow contestants Alex Foxworth, Angelo Rosa, Antonio Estrada, Belania Daley, Caycee Black, Joan Madison, Joseph McRae, Madeline Malenfant, Veejay Floresca, Yuchen Han, and twins Antonio and Jesus Estrada. Both Black and the latter Estrada have competed on Project Runway before, in seasons 19 and 7, respectively.
Project Runway season 21 premieres 31 July on Freeform with a two-episode launch, and will be followed by a streaming debut on Hulu and Disney+.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
