Cover Marina Summers for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World’ (Photo: stylised from @marinaxsummers / Instagram; edited by Angela Nicole Guiral)
Marina Summers for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World’ (Photo: stylised from @marinaxsummers / Instagram; edited by Angela Nicole Guiral)
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We look back at some of Marina Summers’s best runway looks from the show, favourites chosen by the drag queen herself and the public
Everyone can agree that when Marina Summers steps on the stage, she lights it up with a brilliance that is unmistakably hers, a spectacle reminiscent of the time she danced with flames on the talent show of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World season two. There and then, Marina Summers proved she’s the ultimate package: she doesn’t only lip sync or strut the runway but performs to the best of her ability. “Marina Summers is the ultimate Filipina diva,” she says in an interview with Tatler. “She is the Filipina muse. She is Filipina excellence. That’s what I am trying to portray now internationally because that is my identity.” And that entails giving her all.
Because of her hard work, the drag queen has emerged as a source of immense pride for Filipinos. This is evident in how she consistently trends on social media every Saturday morning following each UK vs the World episode. Her looks, in particular, have become a focal point of widespread attention and admiration. She has captured audiences with her creativity and flair, which improved as the show progressed.
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Despite narrowly missing the crown, she stole the hearts of many and remains, in her own words, a “Filipina winnah”. To celebrate, we round up Marina Summers’s most iconic looks from the show that made a resounding statement—a fusion of selections handpicked by the drag queen herself and those adored by the rest of the world.
The Filipina Winner
“The entrance look was really one of my favourites in my wardrobe entirely,” says Marina Summers. “Because it speaks fashion. It speaks of elegance. It has a storyline. It speaks camp. It speaks of beauty. It’s a package, you know.”
It’s only the first episode, but Marina Summers uttered one of the most memorable lines in the season: “It’s time to give the colonisers the chop.” She was bronze-fury personified, brave and fearless in the face of her fellow queens in a lone warrior-inspired Philippine terno. “It’s captured the whole message that I am trying to portray this whole season, which is Filipina domination,” she adds.
The queen of the underwater world
In terms of extravagance and the “Marina” ocean branding, her look for the Runway Rudemption episode is also one of the drag queen’s favourite outfits: a glowed-up version of her previous bangus (milkfish) terno. In Michelle Visage’s words, the entire look was “outrageous and beautiful”.
This was also one of Marina Summers’s most incredible moments, forever etched in her memories as a drag queen. To have RuPaul, an icon of drag culture, acknowledge her and her artistry in such a profound manner was beyond surreal. “You were born to be on stage. You were born to do drag,” RuPaul said, the latter line only uttered to a select few in the entirety of the whole franchise. Her song, Born to Do Drag, released after the episode was aired, serves as a reminder of this achievement.
The Ara Marina
The red carpet is home to looks that fuse elegance and extravagance—a fitting and expected theme for RuPaul’s famed series. For the Red Carpet Eleganza episode, Marina Summers boasts a custom Leo Almodal ensemble, channelling her “Eighties bold-star fantasy”.
The specific look is among her last few for the season, and she made sure people would remember it. “This is probably the most gorgeous I’ve ever felt in a gown,” she says in an Instagram post.
“Philippines, Asia, and the world, thank you so much for giving this little Filipina a big chance to win your hearts. This was such a magical run for me, and I couldn’t be any prouder! I will always and forever be your Filipina winnah,” she adds.
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The Dragang Magayon
Red is the colour of lava, and it is also the colour of Marina Summers in the Ruveal Yourself episode. She brought fire to the stage, and the competition heated up with her on the roster. Her dresses are tributes to one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Philippines, the Mayon Volcano.
“What an honour to wear my very own version of Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray’s lava gown by the one and only Mak Tumang himself. I feel like a winner already! Thank you for sharing a piece of history with me,” Marina Summers says in an Instagram post. “I don’t know about you, but I have been living my gayest dreams on the mainstage recently. From Pia to my national costume, and now this? My pageant fan heart is about to explode!”
The Bride
It feels good to be represented on screen and stage; Marina Summers knows this best. For the Take Me Up The Aisle category, she humbly wore traditional Yakan wedding ceremony-inspired attire, representing one of the Philippines’ many ethnolinguistic groups.
“I feel honoured and blessed to have been able to share this traditional Yakan wedding ceremony attire on the world’s stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs the World. From Luzon, to Visayas and now Mindanao. I meant it when I said I wanted to represent the entire country,” she posts on Instagram. “Thank you so much, Erich Miñoza and our Yakan textile makers, for letting the world see this beauty. I am forever grateful.”
While Marina Summers lost the game—having ended her UK vs the World journey after losing to Australia’s Hannah Conda during the top 4 lip sync smackdown for the crown—she ultimately won in the long run. Her three challenge wins for the talent show, Rusical, and dance, along with her mass appeal, were enough to pave the way for her in the international scene and show the world the excellence of Filipino drag.
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
