RuPaul’s Drag Race: 10 Worst Runway Categories Ranked

Since its first episode, RuPaul’s Drag Race has been bringing fashion extravaganzas to the runway with countless gag-worthy looks. For as many amazing runway categories as there have been over the years, there have been a few that left fans underwhelmed. Some of the categories were unclear, leaving fans and the queens confused by the prompt, while others made for overall boring runways.

Runways are essential to Drag Race, as they can serve as the final nail in the coffin to send a queen packing or a way for them to find redemption. The show is known for pushing boundaries and going for the outrageous in every aspect, including fashion. Sometimes the queens either went too small that it was forgettable, or the category was whacky enough to leave fans confused. Here are the top ten worst runways from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Night of 1000 Madonnas

“Night of 1000 Madonnas” tasked the queens with putting their own spin on iconic Madonna looks, and it had all of the potential to be an amazing runway. However, somehow half of the queens had the same idea to go with less well-known looks, and it soon became Night of 1000 Kimonos. At the time, the judges were angry, and fans were slightly bored with the repetitive runway. Now, it is almost a Drag Race inside joke, a moment of a runway being so bad that it wrapped around to being entertaining again, and it’s a moment in Drag Race herstory fans will not forget.

Night of 1000 Michelles

“Night of 1000 Michelles” is a harder runway to appreciate since many fans may not be familiar with Michelle Visage’s looks, especially from her Seduction days. The critiques from the judges always confuse fans, as it is unclear whether they are judged based on how much they look like the original look or how well they put their own spin on it. Many of the looks on this runway were forgettable or could be mistaken for queens dressing up as the cast of Jersey Shore.

Fringe

Runways based around a single material can either go extremely well, such as All Stars 2’s Latex Extravaganza, but other times they wind up mediocre as a whole. Season 11’s “Fringe” felt like a throwaway runway where many queens added some sort of fringe to outfits, many of which were just bodysuits. In this case, seeing the material over and over again did not make for an exciting runway, but it did make for an iconic six-way lipsync.

One Color Runways

Most of the runways based around a single color begin to feel repetitive, especially if there are a lot of queens left in the competitions. The category sometimes seems to restrict their creativity, and many fans find it hard to remember the looks since they all blend together by the end of the runway. While some colors have been more successful than others, such as All Stars 3 “Red for Filth,” as a whole, the category should be retired. The most recent season 13 yellow runway did not have many standout looks, though it was hilarious to watch Rosé compare herself to all the other girls in her slightly orange Mask-inspired look.

Deadliest Snatch

Some runway categories are named more for their puns than what they are looking for out of the queens, and “Deadliest Snatch” is one of those times. In a play on “Deadliest Catch,” some of the queens took it literally and wore outfits in a fish theme, while others took it to mean something that made them look “fishy.” Also memorable was Coco wearing a hot pink cow print outfit that was as bright as it was out of place. As far as RuPaul’s Drag Race runways go, this was one of the more confusing ones, landing it in the top 10 worst runway categories.

Silver Foxy

During season 10, one runway was themed “Silver Foxy,” where all of the queens were tasked with showing off elderly glamor. It made for a rather uncomfortable runway, complete with IV bags and sagging skin. As humorous as it was when it came time for the lipsync and two somewhat elderly-looking queens battled it out, the runway itself was underwhelming and slightly disturbing.

Crazy Sexy Cool

In season 6, the runway category was “Crazy Sexy Cool,” which was supposed to be in reference to the TLC album. The problem was most of the queens did not make the connection, and the looks were all over the place. Trinity was straight out of the 60s, BenDeLaCreme looked like an extra from Doctor Zhivago, and Courtney Act wore a comforter. Though season 6 is one of the best from the franchise, this runway was definitely forgettable and confusing.

Favorite Body Part

A challenge dubbed “Favorite Body Part” first debuted on season 3 and was repeated again on season 5. It made for a lackluster runway on both occasions, with a majority of the queens wearing outfits they likely already had and just pointing to a spot on their body as they walked down the runway. Most fans are hoping this is one runway category they will not bring back for a third time.

DILFs on the Runway

RuPaul’s Drag Race has had some odd runway themes over the years, like having the queens dressed as mermaids being rolled out in wheelchairs. This season 4 makeover challenge, “DILFS on the Runway,” is definitely one of the strangest themes they have come up with and made for a cringy runway. Watching the queens walk out with newly made-over dads, both of whom are wearing fake pregnant bellies, was hard for fans to watch. The saving grace of the episode was watching a fake-pregnant Latrice Royale lip sync to “You Make Me Feel a Natural Woman” and bringing the house down.

Born Naked

Many fans on Reddit have dubbed the “Born Naked” runway as the “worst challenge ever,” with the main complaint being that it is a constricting theme. Another Drag Race fan noted that because of the category, “everyone basically looked the same” as they did a tearaway to some sort of nude illusion. It was fans’ introductions to the season 7 queens, and many were shocked to see that they repeated a similar theme on one of the RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff shows.

Source: Reddit

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