Behind the glitter and the spotlight, being a drag queen is far from being as easy as it seems. Florian, aka HitsuBlu, lifts the veil behind the scenes of an art that is as demanding as it is little-known.
At 1.92 meters tall, Florian does not go unnoticed. But if heads turn as he passes, it’s not just because of his size. High heels, radiant hair, extremely elaborate makeup and extravagant dresses… Florian plays the codes of femininity with ease thanks to his drag queen character that he named HitsuBlu. Being a drag queen, for him, is much more than a disguise. It’s the art of transforming yourself, of amplifying genres, of playing with appearances to better express what you are – or what you want to be – during a show.
It all started at 16, when he discovered the endless possibilities of makeup: “I always found it super interesting to be able to modify your face, to be able to express it differently“, he confides. A few years later, the trigger occurred in front of an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Racethe cult show from the United States that propels the art of drag into the spotlight. “I fell in love with the show. I thought it was great“, he remembers.
Like many drag artists, HitsuBlu cut his teeth on open stages. “Generally, you start with free scenes where you are not paid and where you can afford to make mistakes, to experiment“, she explains. At the beginning, she starts with lip-sync, that is to say the art of miming the words of a song in perfect synchronization with the music. “Usually, we start with that first. it allows you, when you’re afraid, to hide behind the sound” then to specify that there are also drag artists who sing for real – this is for example the case of Piche -, do comic sketches or engage in stripping acts.
Over time, HitsuBlu gained confidence, and professional opportunities followed. Today, she performs in paid shows, with carefully crafted performances. But behind the glitz, drag remains a real investment, well beyond the simple moment on stage. HitsuBlu designs her outfits herself, which she has made by French artisans in an almost couture spirit. “So, costumes can be very, very expensive. I would say between 500 and the most expensive I had to pay, it must have been 2500 euros“, she confides. To limit costs, she also makes all her wigs, an expertise that she puts to the service of other drag queens, including some who have gone through Drag Race France.
The remuneration remains modest compared to the investment requested. “We are paid around 150-200 euros per evening“, she specifies. An amount which may seem correct for a few minutes on stage… except that it in no way reflects the colossal work upstream. “The evening includes all the preparation beforehand, and people don’t see it. Often, we say that it’s well paid for three minutes of show… but people don’t see the hours of maintenance, rehearsals, and creation that lie behind it.“, she emphasizes. Because beyond the time spent, it is also a permanent mental load. “You are not paid for the time you prepare. It’s really seven days a week, 24 hours a day in your head“, she adds.
