When the makeup is wiped off, the costume and the heels are set aside, and the crown comes off—who is Plastique Tiara?
“It’s Tiara time,” Plastique Tiara declares.
And indeed it is—the glitter dust is settling atop Plastique Tiara’s career. She had just come from competing at Drag Race All Stars Season 9, embarking on an Asian tour, closing the Peter Do SS25 show in Paris, and is continuously churning out creative content for her million-follower platform. RuPaul himself said, “We’re all born naked and the rest is drag”—the unbridled creative possibilities that such a statement offers when it comes to the art are unbound, limitless, and fearless—and Plastique Tiara embodies that. However, she makes a case for the ‘rest’ when not wearing her crown. That is, without the layers of drag, in their most unadorned self, Plastique Tiara or Duc Tran Nguyen is regular. And he’s happy and confident with ‘regular’—because drag made the creative so.
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Drag combines fashion, beauty, comedy, and movement in a way that no other art form does. Nguyen has molded this art into his own with his bare hands—with the strength of his charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, he has made a name of himself in the world of drag. “I was always creative, but I never knew there was an outlet that would let me express all of my passions and interests into one—but then drag became the ticket for me,” Nguyen tells MEGA. “Being a part of this is a blessing, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Just last month, Nguyen kicked off his Asian tour in Bangkok, Singapore, and Manila. For the Manila leg, drag queens Eva Le Queen, Marina Summers, M1ss Jade So, and Drag Race Philippines contestants Myx Chanel, Khianna, and J Quinn joined him on stage. “It was one of the first higher-production drag shows in the country, and I’m happy to be a part of the story,” Nguyen fondly declares. “We featured some of the many iconic performances of the Filipino drag queens, and it was amazing to witness Filipino culture and Filipino drag excellence.”
Nguyen has built a lucrative and successful career of international acclaim born out of this legible identity. But this “Asian Doll” wasn’t always as self-assured as he is now.
Drag and Discovery
Hailing from Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen professes that it was scary to be gay when he was younger—having to move through the strict moors of that culture. But since moving to the United States, he found a way to be more in touch with his roots through drag; beyond his fashion serves and comedy chops, Nguyen has taken his culture to every corner of the world and on every stage. During the season finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11, he proudly sashayed the runway in a traditional Vietnamese ao dai dress. At the People’s Choice Awards last February, he showed up as a Vietnamese doll.
Throughout his career, Nguyen proclaims his refusal to hide or deny who he is and where he’s from. “You are the product of your environment. When you know where you come from, you’re more in touch with yourself. Now, after years of drag, I know who I am and I know where I come from,” he declares. “That’s why I’m happy to make Asian drag—Southeast Asian drag—known, because I feel we’re so underrepresented. It’s a must to feature Southeast Asian representation as much as we can.”
“Southeast Asian queens do it best. There is so much beauty and culture that we infuse in our drag, and everything is done with heart. That’s what drag is all about.”
– Duc Tran Nguyen
Crownless Confidence
Drag demands a tricky balance of bravery and vulnerability, and despite his drag name, Duc Tran Nguyen is as real as he can be. Though at first, Nguyen confesses that drag was a “shield” to hide behind, slowly and surely, this persona allowed him to gain confidence in himself. Without the wigs, lashes, costumes, and rhinestones, he was just as beautiful, even in the regularity and ordinariness of it all. That part of him—Duc Tran Nguyen—is just not as loud as Plastique Tiara. “I am a regular 27-year-old guy,” he says. “I’m a regular guy living his art. And I think drag is so powerful. When I put it on, I feel like an unstoppable creature.
“Underneath it all, I’m just human, and I’m doing this to further express myself or help make other people feel good. I’m just a normal human being trying to live life as best as I can.”
– Duc Tran Nguyen on life outside of drag
But coming to this mindset would not be possible without drag—as contradictory as it might seem. In drag, queens have an unshakable sense of power, allowing them to embrace and amplify the unconventional and eccentric aspects of their identity. But outside of it, queens can be weighed down by expectations, judgment, or even discrimination when they aren’t ‘in character,’ or when they’re simply existing in a world that might not always be welcoming. Now, even when not adorned with the glitz and glitter, Nguyen has realized that his strength and beauty are not confined to his persona. All because—and through—drag.
“I was never confident in myself outside of drag until I found it. When I started to transition into my drag persona, that made me realize that my power in drag is available to me out of drag, too. So I’m practicing every day to harness that power more when I’m just another human as well. I’m trying to level the two—me in and out of drag—because I’m just as powerful and confident in both.”
With this truth, Nguyen then confesses that he is living drag because he loves it—not because it allows him to hide. That this newfound confidence is not contingent on his appearance, performance, or the image that he puts out into the world or stage. That self-assuredness and self-love isn’t something that can be put on and taken off like a costume—it’s an inner strength that can flourish when doing something that we love. Drag, after all, is about doing things with heart.
So when the makeup is wiped off, the costume and the heels are set aside, and the crown comes off, this is who Plastique Tiara is: someone unafraid, certain, secure, and happy. Someone who loves where he comes from and is proud of it. Someone who is navigating life—with high-inch heels or without.
“Drag made me find my confidence—it was a catalyst for me to find that confidence. The sense of gender is interesting when you’re queer, and drag just makes you say, ‘Okay, I’m gay, and I’m okay with it. I’m feminine and I’m okay.’”
– Duc Tran Nguyen
With that, Nguyen wants to be a catalyst for someone else too, saying that if he could bring even one iota of that joy to the art for someone else, he would consider it a win: “In the future, I want to share my expertise in some kind of a brand or a product—something to further catalyze someone else’s drag. It took me years to find what works and do what I do, so if I can help someone through their drag journey, that’s the journey I want to take.”
To future and young drag queens, hesitant and afraid and unsure, Nguyen has one last confession to make: “Do drag because you love drag and you love the way you feel—rather than doing it for fame and fortune. I did drag because I love it and I love the way I feel. If you love drag, if you love who you are because of it, and it makes you love the rest of you, the rest will follow.”
Photographed by BJ PASCUAL. Creative Direction by GALLAHAN EAST. Makeup by CARISSA CIELO MEDVED. Hair by GAB VILLEGAS. Styled by GEE JOCSON. Styling Associates ANGELO VASSALO and JASON MAGO. ASSISTED by BOLO PASCUAL. Shoot Coordination by JOANA FERNANDO. Sittings Editor MIA CASTRO.
Special thanks to PIA CAMPOS of W TALENT MANAGEMENT, JUSTIN CALPO, and BOLO PASCUAL.
