Violet Chachki

Paul Jason Dardo (born June 13, 1992),[1][2] known by the stage name of Violet Chachki,[3] is an American drag queen, burlesque dancer, recording artist, television personality, and model, known for winning the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race. In June 2019, New York magazine published the results from their panel of judges and writers which ranked her in the top twenty Drag Race superstars.[4]

Violet Chachki
Chachki in April 2017
Born
Paul Jason Dardo

(1992-06-13) June 13, 1992
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation
  • Drag queen
  • burlesque dancer
  • model
  • songwriter
  • musician
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race (season 7) winner
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
PredecessorBianca Del Rio
SuccessorBob the Drag Queen
WebsiteOfficial Website

Career
Violet Chachki on stage in Copenhagen

Dardo began performing in drag as Violet Chachki at the age of 19. The name "Violet" was inspired by Jennifer Tilly's character in the film Bound, while "Chachki" is a variant of the Yiddish word tchotchke, a small object that is decorative rather than functional.[5] Violet first performed at the bar LeBuzz in Marietta, Georgia. He used a fake ID to perform in local drag shows, eventually winning Miss New Faces at Friends on Ponce in Atlanta. Later, the drag queen and Drag Race Season 8 contestant Dax ExclamationPoint adopted Dardo as his "drag daughter". Dardo was enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design at the Atlanta campus for fashion design, but dropped out to focus on drag. He became a regular cast member of The Other Show at the bar Jungle in Atlanta which gave him exposure locally and allowed him to perform with Drag Race Season 5 contestant Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, Amanda Lepore, and Lady Bunny.[6]

In 2013, Violet was photographed for "Legendary Children". The project focused on Atlanta's drag scene and was exhibited at Gallery 1526. Two photos that featured his penis and gaff (an undergarment used to conceal male genitals when in drag) were covered up after complaints. Later, the censorship controversy caught the attention of Vice.[7][8]

In 2014, Violet appeared on the cover for the single "Cosplay" by Captain Murphy (AKA Flying Lotus). He also appeared in a commercial for the single on Adult Swim.[9] Flying Lotus recorded the song as Captain Murphy for Adult Swim's Single Series.[10]

Violet was a contestant on seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race,[11] after having unsuccessfully auditioned for season six.[12] On the show, Violet was noted for excelling in fashion and design related challenges and their focus on aesthetics and confident demeanor.[13] On June 1, 2015 Violet won the competition and received a cash prize of $100,000.[14]

Violet Chachki is known for her burlesque performances and aerial work, including aerial silk and aerial hoop.[15] In January 2017, Dardo joined The Art of Teese, a neo-burlesque show headlined by Dita Von Teese.[16]

In November 2017, Dardo became the first drag queen in a major lingerie ad campaign, for Bettie Page Lingerie.[17]

In January 2018, Dardo walked for Moschino in their Fall 2018 Collection at Milan Fashion Week.[18]

In May 2019, Violet attended the Met Gala, where the theme was Camp: Notes on Fashion, wearing a glove-shaped Moschino dress which was altered by Jeremy Scott.[19]

Music

On June 2, 2015, Dardo released the lead single from his upcoming EP, "Bettie".[20] Their debut EP Gagged was released on June 30, 2015.[21] In May 2018 Dardo released their fourth single, "A Lot More Me", a burlesque track independent from an album.[22]

Artistry

Violet Chachki's style is characterized by her "obsession with vintage glamour".[23] She has been referred to as "the living embodiment of a 1950s female archetype" and has cited designers Christian Dior, Thierry Mugler and John Galliano as inspirations, as well as "style icons" such as Lady Miss Kier, Dovima, Dita Von Teese and Raquel Welch.[24]

The influence of fetish fashion and art is a staple in Chachki's aesthetic, with references to the bondage and latex subcultures,[24] John Willie's illustrations,[25] dominatrix imagery[26] and Bettie Page.[27] She told Design Scene in 2016: "I think drag in itself is kind of a fetish, it’s kind of uncomfortable and I think bondage and latex are uncomfortable and they have that same feel... I think especially when you’re really feeling it and feeling your look and you’re willing to suffer through the pain to kind of present yourself the way you want to present... I think that’s kind of a fetish. I think it’s exhibitionism almost."[24] Chachki is known for her tightly-laced corsets.[26]

Personal life

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dardo is half Ecuadorian.[28][3]

Dardo identifies as genderqueer, and does not mind being referred to as "Violet" when out of drag.[29][30]

Discography

EPs
Title Details Peak
positions
US
Dance
[31]		 US
Heat
[32]		 US
Indie
[33]
Gagged 111648

Singles
Title Year Album
"Bettie"[34] 2015 Gagged
"Vanguard"[35]
"A Lot More Me" 2018 Single

Other appearances
Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Drop That Pimp"[36] 2015 RuPaul, Miles Davis Moody RuPaul Presents: CoverGurlz2
"I Run the Runway"[37] Miss Fame Beauty Marked
"The Night Before Christmas" N/A Christmas Queens
"Rim" 2019 Brooke Candy and Aquaria Sexorcism

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2019 The Queens Herself Documentary

Television
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Self (Contestant) Season 7 – Winner [38]
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race Self (Guest) Season 8 – "Keeping It 100!" (100th episode) [39]

Web series
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 Untucked Self Companion show to RuPaul's Drag Race [40]
2019 His Vintage Touch Self Guest [41]
2019 Huda Boss Self Season Two, Episode Four [42]
2020 The Pit Stop Self Guest [43]

Music videos
Title Year Director Ref.
"Born Naked (Stadium Remix)" 2015 Steven Corfe [44]
"Bettie" 2015 Michael Serrato [45]
"Vanguard" 2015 Michael Serrato [46]
"I Run the Runway" 2016 Ali Mahdavi [47]
"All the Rage" 2016 Jungle George/Maluko Haus [48]
gollark: Try randomly clicking the fill/empty switch in the GUI.
gollark: If you have RFTools you can automatically "improve" terrain easily.
gollark: I would remove all nearby dirt and replace it with slime autonomously.
gollark: Fascinating. What are you going to do with this power?
gollark: As it turns out, learning languages is hard, so they're subject to bad network effects.

References
  1. Sources for Chachki's birth name:
  2. Sources for Chachki's date of birth:
  3. Beckdahl, Kathy (September 3, 2016). "Violet Chachki has advice for other would-be drag performers: 'Do it now'". The New Orleans Advocate. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  4. The Editors (June 10, 2019). "The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America: Ranking the new establishment". New York. New York Media, LLC. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  5. "Violet Chachki Interview". Powderzine. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  6. Terrell, Matthew (April 28, 2014). "Violet Chachki Never Stops Chasing the Neon Rainbow". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  7. Terrell, Matthew (October 10, 2013). "No Amount of Censorship Can Stop Atlanta's Drag Queens from Looking Fabulous". Vice. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  8. Terrell, Matthew (September 27, 2013). "Legendary Children Censorship Reveals Discomfort With Drag Queens' Dicks". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  9. Fitzgerald, Christine (February 26, 2015). "Meet the Queens of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 7: Violet Chachki". Socialitelife.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  10. Nelson, Michael (August 15, 2014). "Captain Murphy – "Cosplay"". Stereogum. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  11. Beard, Lanford (December 7, 2014). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Meet the new queens and watch the first season 7 tease". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  12. Ho, Rodney (May 29, 2015). "Atlanta's Violet Chachki could win 'RuPaul's Drag Race' June 1". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  13. Hill, Libby (June 2, 2015). "RuPaul's Drag Race Wraps Up With a Messy, Redundant Finale". Vulture.com (New York). Retrieved June 11, 2015. Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. Weigle, Lauren (June 1, 2015). "Violet Chachki Crowned Winner on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7". Heavy.com. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  15. Machado, Sam (June 30, 2015). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 7 Winner: Violet Chachki Dishes on Aerial Performing & Burlesque, 'I'm Glad That I Can Bring It Back'". Enstarz.com. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  16. St. James, James (January 4, 2017). "ConDRAGulations! Violet Chachki Joins Dita Von Teese's 'The Art of Teese' Tour!". WorldOfWonder.net. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  17. Mikel, Ryan (November 16, 2017). "Violet Chachki Becomes First Drag Queen to Star in Major Lingerie Campaign". Out. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  18. STEFF YOTKA (January 18, 2018). "Violet Chachki on Walking Moschino and the Importance of Queer Visibility". RUNWAY. VOGUE. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  19. "Violet Chachki Serves a Lesson on the True Meaning of Camp". Vogue. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  20. "iTunes – Music – Bettie – Single by Violet Chahki". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  21. "iTunes – Music – Gagged – EP by Violet Chahki". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  22. "Violet Chachki Talks Fantastical, Burlesque-Inspired Music Film: 'I Wanted to Glamorize Reality'". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  23. "A Conversation with Violet Chachki, Drag's Unapologetic New It-Girl". HuffPost. June 1, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  24. Bygod, Matti (August 19, 2016). "Design Scene Interview with Violet Chachki". Design Scene. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  25. Drag Makeup Tutorial: Violet Chachki 'Leather and Lace Runway' Look (video). Logo TV on YouTube. May 20, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  26. VIOLET CHACHKI'S CORSET TOUR (video). Violet Chachki on YouTube. February 18, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  27. Reynolds, Daniel (June 3, 2015). "Catching Up With Violet Chachki: 'I Identify With Trans People'". Out. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  28. https://twitter.com/VioletChachki/status/561248713109417984?s=19
  29. "America's Next Drag Superstar is 22, Genderqueer, and a Trans Activist". June 2, 2015.
  30. https://twitter.com/violetchachki/status/696133959072116736
  31. "July 18, 2015 – Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2015. (subscription required)
  32. "July 18, 2015 – Heatseeker Albums – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 9, 2015. (subscription required)
  33. "July 18, 2015 – Independent Albums – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2015. (subscription required)
  34. "Bettie: Violet Chachki: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  35. Violet Chachki - Vanguard [Official]. YouTube. June 29, 2015.
  36. "RuPaul Presents CoverGurlz2: RuPaul: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  37. "Beauty Marked: Miss Fame: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  38. "RuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode one – the devil wears nada". The Guardian. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  39. "Season 8, Ep 1: Keeping It 100!". Logo TV. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  40. Untucked: RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 1 – Born Naked. YouTube. March 3, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  41. Violet Chachki: His Vintage Touch with Tony Medina. WOWPresents. April 19, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  42. Huda Boss S2:E4 - Episode 4: How Does Huda Find Her Inner Ho?. Facebook. August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  43. The Pit Stop S5 E2 | Bob & Violet Chachki Recap I’m In Love! | RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. RuPaul's Drag Race. June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  44. RuPaul - Born Naked (Stadium Remix) Official Music Video. YouTube. May 26, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  45. Violet Chachki – Bettie [Official]. YouTube. June 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  46. Violet Chachki - Vanguard [Official]. YouTube. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  47. I Run the Runway [Official] Miss Fame & Violet Chachki. YouTube. February 5, 2016.
  48. Violet Chachki Hits the Road In New Allie X Video "All the Rage". NewNopwNext. August 29, 2016.
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