Glitter or grit? How Trixie Mattel’s Solid Pink Disco turns crocs into a queer battle cry

Trixie Mattel brings Solid Pink Disco to WorldPride

Like many queer people, I've been going to pride events longer than I've been out myself. I've witnessed and participated in marches and block parties, parades and protests with tens of thousands and tens of tens, the flooded shutdown blocks of New York City, and the timid display of queer vendors in Fort Worth, Texas, outnumbered by protestors. In my short life, I've experienced the two, presumably ever-distancing, sides of the queer experience in the United States.

All of which informs my character, my perspective, and ultimately, my interest in Trixie Mattel.

Trixie's resume is challenging to convey. After competing in season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race and winning season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, she had a solid, devoted fanbase from the show alone. Between seasons, she created a stand-up comedy tour, released her debut studio album, and co-starred in three seasons of the YouTube show UNHhhh with Drag Race alum Katya Zamolodchikova.

She has also been a judge on a drag queen singing competition show and released an EP, a double album, and a New York Times Bestseller book (co-written with Katya Zamo). She produced and starred in two seasons of a home renovation show, Trixie Motel, in which she renovated a Palm Springs motel into a fully operating, 7-room, Trixie-fantasy motel.

She also went on five tours (two co-headlining again with Katya Zamo), created a highly successful makeup company, and published a feature documentary, Moving Parts, with her business collaborator and then-partner, David Silver.

As an individual or a persona, Trixie Mattel is a true multi-hyphenate, often existing in this magical intersection of genres you didn't see coming. When asked what she might recommend to creatives at any age trying to find their own hyphenates, she advised all artists to feel as empowered as drag queens to explore across mediums.

"Drag queens get to do hair and sew and make music and tell jokes," she told me. "We don't limit ourselves in any one discipline."

Did I mention some of her music is folksy, and she plays the autoharp? A potentially steep departure from the glittering fantasia of the Drag DJ Set, Solid Pink Disco. That is, until you see it.

The entire evening felt artfully constructed in Trixie's likeness. The show's two openers, Drag Race alum Shea Couleé and DJ Mateo Segade, set the tone for a non-negotiable girly, funk-a-licious dance party akin to a giddy sleepover.

True to the invitation, every person in the crowd I could see wore at least one article of pink, if not a head-to-toe set. Wigs, mostly bright pink or (Trixie) blonde, scattered the crowd. Older gay guys with shirts off, gorgeous-eyeliner-goth lesbians, and groups of friends held hands and drinks and sang together.

Tiaras, glitter cowboy hats, a handful of Trixie-beat faces, a few impressive Juno Birch-a-likes, and generally, a venue full of queer people were bouncing by the time Trixie walked out. Then, the ground began to shake.

All boas and screaming and hands in the air, the place erupted as Trixie pranced onstage between two dancers to the opening, stylized strums of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". High-energy beats took off while Trixie twirled in a pink, fringe, sequin mini-dress. Weaving 60s to 80s, hot girl pop and rap and disco bled together like a pillow fight that had staff and security getting down as they passed out water bottles.

"I Feel Love," "Gimmie Gimmie," and "Hung Up" were warm, classic throughlines between modern pop hits by Kim Petras, Chappell Roan, and others.

The music never stopped but was punctuated by costume changes and partnered dance numbers as the performer transitioned between roles, ranging from a saloon showgirl to an 80s exercise video instructor. At one point, she jumped rope in sync with the dancers and called us jobless for turning up on a Tuesday at her show; the crowd cheered in agreement.

Behind a gorgeous woman bouncing in an enormous blonde wig were captivating, often hilarious animations of Trixie's signature face. Visuals of aliens, Renaissance, or flapper dancing, Trixie Mattel wove in and out of compilations of digital culture that seemed to coexist with, or even inform, the Trixie Universe.

Iconic clips of I Love Lucy, The Powerpuff Girls, and snippets of Madonna music videos shared the screen with 1950s heart-eyed cartoons, horror movies, and anime. Stamped with out-of-context clips from Trixie's own YouTube videos, gluing down eyebrows, or putting on 10 pairs of eyelashes, it all felt like a house party thrown by a bestie while the parents were away.

The theme of "pure" queer, feminine fun was clear; however, totally Trixie. Despite the genre and the 10 PM on a Tuesday setting, the evening was thoughtfully designed by the same person who creates folk and pop songs, sometimes on the same album.

Nods to western or southern glamour didn't stop at the opening number. One of the signature moments in this iteration of the Solid Pink Disco tour: midway through the set, Trixie holds up a pair of pink, bejeweled crocs and a pair of fringe, sparkling, heeled boots.

Offering them to the crowd to "make the audience choose, gladiator style," she takes turns raising each to the sky as if to measure the cheers. "It probably won't surprise you, but they always go for the Crocs," Mattel lamented when asked if the heels ever win that battle.

It felt like the perfect metaphor for the Trixie persona. She agreed, "That's how I know that they are my people." When her manicured hands raised the Crocs in victory, the audience howled in agreement. That was the moment I began to absorb the impressive unity brought by Solid Pink Disco

I had never witnessed such coordination in a crowd. To request your audience wear a color is one thing; to see a few thousand people honor that request in their unique style felt altogether different.

That said, for presumably obvious political and geographical reasons, Pride this year already felt different. Washington, D.C., as the host of the 2025 World Pride, had been generating headlines for months. Never mind a crowd of people in pink gathering for a Drag Queen DJ set on a Tuesday night.

"In the [same] way Pride is important, a party like Solid Pink Disco just reminds you that you have nothing to be ashamed of." That much was definitely true, but again, it felt like something more…something distinctly Trixie.

When asked how she hoped Solid Pink Disco would resonate with fans, Mattel hoped, aside from dancing until the point of exhaustion, that "people feel liberated and free at the party and carry that feeling into their everyday lives."

Put simply, "it inspires people to keep some pink in their closet for a rainy day." I felt it working on me.

As a relatively busy queer person with a 9-to-5 job and an appetite for personal projects, I couldn't remember the last time I painted my nails. I could feel the irony in my writing of artistic liberation inspired by drag queens. I thought of Alaska Thunderfuck [5000], another Drag Race competitor and winner of All Stars season 2.

She has a song that reminds fans and peers alike: If you're not wearing nails, you're not doing drag.

The next day, I painted my nails with the only pink polish I had. Since then, I smile when I see it in the mirror or type at my computer, remembering Trixie's remix of "Wannabe."

I'm already thinking about what color I want next.

For the past week, I've often thought of Trixie's sparkly pink Crocs. How the joke probably stemmed from necessity, the more comfortable choice is obvious.

I thought of all the versions of Trixie fans I watched file into the venue, how they united in humor and comfort, and the color pink, which they lovingly described as "healthy escapism" by the slumber party host.

In the landscape of life, Trixie thinks, "I guess if Solid Pink Disco the party is the Croc, then the partygoers are the Jibbitz. Maybe that makes me the foot? I don't know, ask me next Pride."

ARRANGED FOR OUT.COM BY NIKKI AYE, DIGITAL PHOTO EDITOR

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