RuPaul and Balenciaga Team Up for This Year’s Fiercest Pride Merch

As the world of fashion celebrates Pride this month, it feels like you can barely turn your head without coming across another brand offering a rainbow-printed riff on one of their classic designs. Leave it to Demna Gvasalia, then, to up the ante. Enlisting the help of none other than Miss RuPaul Charles herself—drag legend, pop star, and hostess extraordinaire of RuPaul’s Drag Race—Gvasalia’s perfectly-timed collaboration marks the third iteration of Balenciaga’s ongoing project with Apple Music.

For his first playlist, Gvasalia curated his own offering of favorite tracks, which ranged from smooth classics by Sade and Grace Jones to contemporary hits by Kanye West and Cardi B, while the second came courtesy of the infamous German metal act Rammstein. (Rammstein and RuPaul? We’d love to see that collab.) Continuing this spirit of eclecticism, RuPaul’s selection is Pride party perfection, featuring pop bangers galore from the likes of Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child, and Kylie Minogue. 

Alongside the playlist, there’s a limited-edition unisex capsule collection, with hoodies and tees that feature his signature across the house’s name written in a stencil font. Also accompanying the drop is a typically lo-fi mini-campaign that stars RuPaul herself, naturally, alongside New York nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch, who lies sprawled by a stairwell wearing a pair of the leather thigh-high boots inspired by medieval armor that became a viral hit from the brand’s fall 2021 collection. In the words of RuPaul herself, “we’re all born naked and the rest is drag.” Even, it seems, in a pair of Balenciaga heels.

Listen to RuPaul’s playlist in collaboration with Balenciaga and Apple Music here.