On the 18th and 19th August, DragWorld UK is taking over Olympia London and bringing many of your favourite drag artists with them! One of which being Charity Kase who we had the opportunity to chat to about topics including her 365 days of drag challenge.
Hi Charity Kase, firstly how are you?
Hi CelebMix, I’m sparkling thank you! Just can’t get enough of this heat.
Who inspired you to get involved in drag? What was the reaction of your friends and family?
I’ve always been fascinated by fantasy worlds and magic for as long as I can remember. When I began going to see drag shows, drag queens like Anna Phylactic and Cheddar Gorgeous over here, and like Raja on Drag race all really inspired me to begin creating looks! My family and friends are all super supportive of my work and even my dad shows my looks off to his friends these days!
Last year you did your 365 days of drag challenge, what inspired you to take on this huge task?
I had originally started the year off doing a 100 days of drag challenge, which was something I had seen floating around on Instagram for the previous few months. I chose to do this to improve my makeup skill mainly but I received such a great reaction and had so many requests to continue that I simply thought it would be sad not to finish the year! Phi Phi O’ Hara had done it the year before and I wanted to rise to her challenge!
Which of your looks was your favourite to create?
I struggle to choose favourites as there is just so many! I like my more whimsical cartoony characters, the carrot lady or the venus fly trap stand out!
Which was the hardest to do?
Lady Rainicorn from Adventure Time was quite difficult. I had never created a mask out of latex before and it was so heavy! I used tin foil as the structure inside and it was all falling out and the mask was slipping off my face. I had made these hooves out of socks and cardboard so everything was such a faff. I think people don’t realise that most of the photos were taken in the smallest corner of my room behind my door and on my phone on a self-timer – balanced on top of a precarious pile of books on a chair! It was quite stressful!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRG7Pm9FSRn/?hl=en&taken-by=charitykase
How did you find the fan response during and after the challenge?
It has been incredible! I was so overwhelmed meeting fans at drag world last year. I feel like my artwork is appreciated and even understood by people all over the world. That is something which I will never take for granted.
We absolutely love your UpperKase fashion items, do you prefer this kind of designing or the drag challenge designing?
I enjoy doing both types of design! I love creating characters the most though I think. Although painting and designing clothes is more of a therapeutic thing for me and helps me to take a break from the constant rollercoaster of drag and monsters!
Where did you learn your skills shown through the challenge and your designing?
Youtube for makeup! There are some great bloggers out there who can teach you everything you need to know about makeup and SFX! A lot of it is my imagination too, I have lots of wacky ideas and through trial and error I find out how I can make things work! I did an art diploma in college before moving to London a few years ago and I use a lot of the skills I developed then with sewing and painting for Upperkase and also Charity’s costumes!
What would you say to those people who might be scared of following their artistic dreams?
Do it. Last year taught me that If you work your hardest and push yourself to the limit, nothing and nobody can stop you achieving your dream.
You’re appearing at DragWorld 2018 in August, what can people expect from the event?
Lots of glitter! I will be launching a brand new merchandise collection in collaboration with deathbycrabs at my booth all weekend and also be taking part in some meet and greets. I hope to get involved in a couple of panels and see some fabulous performances again too!
What’s next on the cards in 2018?
I will be performing at some pride celebration across the country this summer and also a few festivals, keep an eye on my social media for more details!
https://twitter.com/thecharitykase/status/974063213452169217
DragWorld UK takes place at London’s Olympia on 18th & 19th August – for your chance to meet & greet Charity Kase up close and personal book your tickets via www.dragworld.co.uk.
Will you be heading to DragWorld UK? Tweet us @CelebMix to let us know!
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