'Drag Race' Star Who Wore Viral Banana Outfit at Emmys Reveals Kim Kardashian-Inspired Look (Exclusive)

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16 Champion Nymphia Wind Turned Heads at the Emmy Awards

<p>Disney/Stewart Cook</p>
<p> Nymphia Wind attends the 76th Emmy Awards on September 15″ src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1nYsIfvlYfIvyEUw4NNvEg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs. com/en/aol_people_articles_471/d2aa0a0b779906e508f9ac482aba2c21″/><img alt= — Disney/Stewart Cook

Nymphia Wind attends the 76th Emmy Awards on September 15

RuPaul’s Drag RaceStar Nymphia Wind turned plenty of heads at the 2024 Emmy Awards on Sunday, even though no one could see her face!

The reign Drag racing The champion walked the red carpet at the Peacock Theater in a fluorescent bodycon dress with a facekini. The look featured hand-drawn and collaged elements as well as two giant detachable “leaves.”

Although Nymphia is the self-proclaimed “Banana Queen,” her references for this look were much more high fashion — and inspired by another famous reality star.

“The inspiration came from Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala look with Balenciaga, all black,” Nymphia told PEOPLE exclusively on Monday, September 16. “And also from Gareth Pugh’s 2016 runway show, where they covered their faces in makeup and then painted themselves over it.”

“For this version, I wanted bold color, bold structure and shape, and that was the main goal,” the drag artist added. “I thought it would be nice to just hide my identity, because I thought it was interesting what Kim did at the Met, where she hid her identity and ended up with a physical form.”

*Mike Coppola/Getty Kim Kardashian at the 2021 Met Gala*

Wind designed the dress herself with the help of her collaborator Shio Gan. The “leaves” were designed by BadBinch TongTong, a New York-based designer.

And just like on the reality competition, Nymphia found herself adding last-minute touches to her outfit just before the show began, sharing a clip of Shio furiously adding sequins to the dress during the car ride.

“I used the wrong glue that needed more time to dry,” Nymphia said of the decorations. “So I used the regular e6000 quick-drying glue (glue) while I was in the car because some of the stones fell off. Shio, my partner in crime who helps me make a lot of my outfits, was watering them while we were in the car rushing to the venue.”

When she arrived at the Peacock Theater, she wore a mask and leaves. Nymphia wore no makeup under her look — “a little break from cross-dressing,” as she put it. However, there were still challenges.

“It was torture because the mask was compressing my eyelashes. It felt like my eyelashes were poking my eyeball. So it was very uncomfortable,” she said, admitting that she had to partially remove the mask at times due to irritation. The mask also made her sweat a lot.

Related: Drag racing Winner Nymphia Wind Still Can’t Believe Her Eyes After Performing in Front of Taiwan’s President (Exclusive)

<p>NYMPHIA WIND/Instagram</p>
<p> Nymphia Wind takes a break from her facekini at the 76th Annual Emmy Awards” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CZuGBenrLjT8NsuXoai9Bg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTk2MA–/https:// media.zenfs.com/en/aol_people_articles_471/31a3093e7f77fdde11b50ba1d10db05f”/><img alt= — NYMPHIA WIND/Instagram

Nymphia Wind Takes a Break from Facekini at 76th Emmy Awards

Nymphia admits she was impressed by everyone in attendance, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

“He walked by and said, ‘I don’t know who you are, but I love it!’ And I said, ‘I’m Nymphia Wind!’”

“Oh, we love you!” Nymphia remembers. Modern family actor responding. “It’s crazy to meet these people… a lot of them actually watch Drag racing” . “

“Matt Bomer said to me, ‘Congratulations!’ Matt Bomer doesn’t strike me as someone who watches Drag racing” she added.

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<p>Amy Sussman/Getty</p>
<p> Nymphia Wind at the 76th Emmy Awards” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ZI7l5dE51LKkz.lhWLwBuQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjk-/https://media.zenfs.com/ en/aol_people_articles_471/4cc906d196e93f3f9b1c14f265ecd0ff”/><img alt= — Amy Sussman/Getty

Nymphia Wind at the 76th Emmy Awards

Related: Drag racing Winner Nymphia Wind Shares Viral Bubble Tea Lip Sync Look: ‘A Sight to See!’ (Exclusive)

Nymphia will have plenty of time to cool off after the sweaty Emmy Awards night; she plans a vacation to Antarctica with her mother. She will then be invited to star in Drag Race Vegas Live for a week in November.

This is not the first time that a Drag racing The nominee turned heads at the Emmy Awards. At the January ceremony honoring the 2022-23 television season, Nymphia co-star Plain Jane enchanted and terrified attendees dressed as the Green Goblin.

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