University for the Creative Arts (UCA) alumni Leo Tsao has won season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race as his banana-themed ‘glamazon’ alter-ego Nymphia Wind.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is a US reality TV competition where drag queens compete against each other in a series of design and performance tasks in the hope of being crowned ‘America's Next Drag Superstar’.
Leo, originally from Taiwan, graduated from UCA 2017 with a BA (Hons) in Fashion Atelier.
Other than Nymphia’s banana theme, other runway looks included references to Asian heritage and high fashion, and Leo made almost all the costumes himself.
UCA Fashion programme director, Chip Harris, said: “Leo developed a great range of skills on the course and as a very conceptual thinker, he was always ambitious and individual in his approach.
“Leo’s graduate collection epitomised this, which demonstrated an exceptional technical and creative skillset that was also selected to show at Graduate Fashion Week.
“I am not surprised to see his ascension within the RuPaul's Drag Race universe, and it is good to see that he used his skills to showcase amazing costumes, styling and visual narratives.”
UCA president and vice-chancellor, Professor Jane Roscoe, added: “The whole of UCA, and especially our School of Fashion and Textiles, is celebrating the unique and incredible talent of Nymphia.
“As ‘America’s Next Drag Superstar’, we are so excited to see what she does next!”
Leo is the toast of Taiwan, with the country’s president, Tsai ing-wen, saying: “Congratulations to you, Nymphia Wind, for being so accomplished in the difficult art form of drag, and for being the first Taiwanese to take the stage and win on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“Right after being crowned queen, you said ‘Taiwan, this is for you’.
“Taiwan thanks you for living fearlessly.”
