So before we start off, what are proper pronouns? When I’m in drag, they or them are my preferred, or he also. People say she and sometimes I’m ok with that, but my order is they, he, and then she. How did you first get involved with drag culture? Well, I saw Party Monster when I was a kid, and I wanted to be like Marilyn Manson. I wanted to be in a punk band, so I’d dress up and go to clubs, and tell people my name is Maxi Glamour. How did you come up with the name Maxi Glamour? So there’s a scene in Party Monster where they’re like “money, success, fame, glamour,” and I was like “well, I want to be glamourous.” And so, Maxi Glamour. I also call myself the demon queen of Polka and Baklava, it’s just kind of like an assemblage of two things that transcend cultural boundaries. In college I was president of the international club, and I studied linguistics, so I would say I’m a xenophile; I’m obsessed with other cultures and things around the world that are different. Polka started off in Check Slovakia and you can see influences of it in Mexican music, and German music, and like all over the world. How about we start from the beginning. Where are you from? I was born in Oklahoma (laughs), and my mom hated it there so we moved to St. Louis when I was two. I went to school in San Francisco and studied fashion design and whatnot, then came back to St. Louis, because I missed, you know, tornadoes… And the humidity! Ha, yeah. I really missed thunderstorms, you know? And the snow; all those things were really cool. Do you think going to fashion school in San Francisco helped you stylize Maxi Glamour? Was it hard to cultivate an image for Maxi, or did you already have inspiration behind them? Well I started performing before I went to college, so I think that really helped me think of clothes and know how to construct
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them. It’s still rough. I don’t want to be like “Yeah, everyone who wants to be a drag queen go study fashion!” but I think my particular route it did help me out a lot. Do you have any style inspirations? Yeah, so many. Leigh Bowery is great, Jimi Hendrix, Marilyn Manson, Prince, Iris Apfel…Jean Paul-Gautier. And I like anything that looks like something I haven’t seen. Are there any staples to Maxi Glamour’s wardrobe? I like lace and rhinestones, those are staples. Imagine…like a demonic hooker that got dropped off in a romantic brothel in the middle of Morocco. Haha, very specific. That’s my staple! Do you have a favorite article that you’ve ever created? Hmm. It’d be a headdress. That is my favorite thing to make in the world. I’m not good at making wigs but I could make a headdress for days. I would say it’s my 20’s inspired art deco headdress. It’s sort of imperialistic galactic soldier, which is horrible, I hate imperialism, but my outfit looks like an imperialist. My newest headpiece is probably my most favorite one. If I were a parent I’d be horrible. I’d have like 8 kids and the youngest would be my new favorite. I feel like it makes sense for artists. My newest work is often my favorite because it’s my most recent headspace. One thing we were really curious about was the process of getting ready. Could you walk us through a typical day or night? Well when I’m in drag, I spend like, four to five hours. Like shaving my face and my body, I want to feel smooth and I want my abs to look great. And then comes the painting and sitting in front of a mirror for hours and hours. The longer I have the happier I’ll be, and the better the face will be. I’ve spent eight hours in the mirror doing makeup. That’s the best makeup I’ve ever done. And then I scurry around to find clothes, and replace things I can’t find with
