However, in those days, the blinding success that RuPaul now enjoys seemed unimaginable, even to those closest to the star. “I could never have foreseen how much resonance and importance and influence she would have and how her presence has transformed the world,” Zaldy says. Over two decades on, not only is Zaldy creating around 80 outfits for RuPaul a year, he’s also designed one for an ever-lasting RuPaul: the new figure inside London’s Madame Tussauds.

“When I got the brief for the new Ru form, it included references to royalty,” Zaldy says, explaining how he created this new wax RuPaul’s outfit. “The look really celebrates some of the things that have always been inspirational to me, like the shade of blue that is reminiscent of a gown Queen Elizabeth wore – ours being a bit more dragged-up in a silk faille shot with silver metal threads, and draped in a way so the ruching represents a sash.

“I am obsessed with the royal orders created by Queen Victoria,” Zaldy continues, referencing the awards the monarch bestowed upon female members of the British royal family and her female courtiers. “So I invented ‘Ru Royal Orders’ that celebrate important women in Ru’s life: Oprah, Diana Ross and Michelle Visage. Probably the most iconic piece of jewellery worn by a royal is Anne Boleyn’s ‘B’ logo necklace, so I created ‘R’ mirrored earrings with multicoloured stones and three baroque pearl dangles.”

Extravagant stuff – but after all, if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?

Sequins, metallic chaps and royal references: RuPaul’s stylist Zaldy shares the secrets behind the drag icon’s most fabulous looks