Santissima Vicky
We had the pleasure of meeting Santissima Vicky, one of the hottest drag queens in Milan. We asked her to tell us the secret of her success and some curiosities about the icons she draws inspiration from.
Hi Vicky, tell us a bit about who you are and how your character was born?
I'm Santissima Vicky, a rude girl from Naples transplanted to Milan. I started doing drag by chance. I started by making funny videos on IG and some friends invited me to go out in a Milan for a night: from there I started learning the tricks of the trade. Thanks to my mother, I've always had a strong female influence and that's why I chose her name as my drag name.
The secret to being a successful drag performer isn't in putting on perfect make-up, it's not in having the best look. The secret is to have a strong personality and a recognisable character.
The world of drag queens is booming, what's the secret to being a successful drag queen?
Yes, nowadays everyone does drag, and I think it's beautiful and awful at the same time, because everyone who does it has courage to spare and is expressing a part we all have inside. The secret to being a successful drag performer isn't in putting on perfect make-up, it's not in having the best look. The secret is to have a strong personality and a recognisable character.
How do you prepare and choose your performances?
We get a theme on which we can choose a suitable song, often they are chosen by the artistic director of the evening and then we put our personality into it.
Is there an international drag queen or icon you take inspiration from?
I take a lot of inspiration from what I experienced in Naples. From my mother. From the women in my family, which has always been matriarchal. But if we have to talk about celebrities I think of Monica Bellucci, Monica Vitti, Sandra Milo, Lisa Fusco, Valeria delle Sigarette, Ariana Grande, Rosalia and Dua Lipa.
The world of drag queens is booming, what's the secret to being a successful drag queen?
Yes, nowadays everyone does drag, and I think it's beautiful and awful at the same time, because everyone who does it has courage to spare and is expressing a part we all have inside. The secret to being a successful drag performer isn't in putting on perfect make-up, it's not in having the best look. The secret is to have a strong personality and a recognisable character.
How do you prepare and choose your performances?
We get a theme on which we can choose a suitable song, often they are chosen by the artistic director of the evening and then we put our personality into it.
Is there an international drag queen or icon you take inspiration from?
I take a lot of inspiration from what I experienced in Naples. From my mother. From the women in my family, which has always been matriarchal. But if we have to talk about celebrities I think of Monica Bellucci, Monica Vitti, Sandra Milo, Lisa Fusco, Valeria delle Sigarette, Ariana Grande, Rosalia and Dua Lipa.
The world of social media is certainly a great means of communication, but very often, unfortunately, it's the means by which cyber bullies enjoy hurting others. Have acts of cyberbullying ever happened to you? If yes, how'd you deal with them?
It has never happened to me being cyberbullied, also because if I had been sent messages written to discredit or offend me, I'd probably wouldn't have even noticed and would've replied ironically. Although when I was a child, when I still had no idea who I was, it happened that such incidents brought me down, made me feel wrong. Now I really care little about what people say about me, unless I hold that person in esteem.
What's your motto in life?
I'm sure all the ones I've in mind wouldn't fit so I'll just say: 'live every day as if it were your last'. I'm a person who really lives a lot without planning for the future, I live mostly in the present. Sometimes a little too much in the past.
Santissima Vicky, where will we see you in 10 years?
Either in a two-story mansion in Malibu, or hospitalised at San Raffaele. If I stick to my motto, I think more the latter.