EXCLUSIVE: Aquaria Signed to IMG, Named New Entertainment Editor of Dazed Magazine
Aquaria is advancing her career in rapid fashion.
The winner of season 10 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has been signed to IMG, and will also be the new entertainment editor for Dazed magazine. Born Giovanni Palandrani, the makeup artist and entertainer said she set a goal earlier this year — after skyrocketing into the pop-culture spotlight by nabbing the show’s trophy — to make a name for herself, not only as a drag queen, but as a general talent.
“Linking up with IMG has given me an opportunity to expand my career and my name into all sorts of different markets and career avenues,” Aquaria told WWD exclusively, adding that IMG facilitated the link-up with Dazed as well.
So what will those markets and career avenues be? Modeling (runway and editorial), more television, acting and makeup — although Aquaria noted that she’ll probably still be creating looks for herself when she does get in front of a camera.
“If I have the opportunity with some fantastic makeup artist, I would more than happily allow them to turn my face into whatever they are imagining,” she said. “But I know a lot of the draw to me with brands and designers is that they like my take on whatever they’ve got going on.”
Aquaria said when she walked in Nicola Formichetti’s Nicopanda show in February during London Fashion Week, Formichetti largely let her do her own thing. “Before the show, he was like, ‘Here are the clothes, come do you want you want. Create the character that you want.’”
When it comes to Dazed, Aquaria said she needs time to develop a strategy, since she’s spent the past six months on a string of tour dates.
“My head’s been all over the world,” she said. “I’ve seen tons of different performers in tons of different cities and I think at this point, I need to reflect on what entertainment I’ve seen over the past year that has made an impact on me. What social movements have I witnessed that I think could use more traction and publicity? I know in the past publications and writers have given me that same love. So I want to share that with other people.”
For now, Aquaria will hone her artistic interests and allow her involvement in the entertainment industry to inform the work she’ll do as an entertainment editor at Dazed. But this certainly isn’t the last move you’ll see her make.
“Being signed with IMG gives a legitimacy to the work that I do — it’s the entertainer’s version of going to college,” she concluded. “I may not have a diploma, but I can certainly turn out a great dance number, do makeup, hair, costuming and styling, you name it.
“Well, I’m not the best comedian. But you name anything else and we can pretty much figure it out.”
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