Inside Drag Artist Kendall Gender’s Home Dressing Room

We’ve barely been in Kendall Gender’s Yaletown apartment for one minute before she’s offering to make everyone coffee and giving a quick lesson on different varieties of press-on nails. When our art director compliments her makeup, she politely insists she isn’t wearing any (it’s a quip that has us all giggling—later, she tells us she’s been up since 7:30 a.m. getting ready). An artist prepares, and this drag queen’s downtown Vancouver home is the perfect spot to get ready and stay ready.

Given her own rhinestone-covered, ostrich-feathered, totally dazzling drag looks, the performer’s apartment is surprisingly minimal. Her sofa, rugs, bed, curtains and linens are all white. “I really like neutral design—it’s a little bit Axel Vervoordt, who did Kim Kardashian’s house,” she says. It’s the first place she’s lived in on her own since she was a teenager, and she’s curated the space—especially the solarium, where she dolls up Kenneth into Kendall—into a feminine, creative haven. “I wanted it to feel glamourous and girly, for the six-year-old boy in me who would have been so excited to play in a room like this… I wanted that dream to come true,” she says. Another dream come true? She can see how busy her favourite restaurant, Jinya Ramen, is from her window.

While the rest of the space is bathed in soft neutrals, the solarium is home to shelves of hot-pink heels, larger-than-life wigs and skincare products galore. There’s a spot for everything. “I’ve had to turn myself into a tidy person, because there is so much stuff,” she explains. “That being said, when I get into drag… that’s when everything gets really messy.”

Because most of the time in this room is spent looking in the mirror (and listening to SZA, her music of choice to quell any pre-show jitters), the drag artist is selective about what she puts on her walls. “I promise I have this up all the time,” she says with a laugh, gesturing to her framed Power 50 feature, which appeared in this very magazine in 2022. “I like to look behind myself at some of my accomplishments and that makes me feel at ease—it’s a very proud space for me.”

Photos: Kendall Gender’s Vancouver Dressing Room

Seeing Red

“This is not meant to sound materialistic,” the artist asserts as she explains that her favourite pair of shoes is her Louboutins. “I did a campaign for Annabelle Cosmetics—it’s the biggest thing I’ve ever done in my drag career.” Once she signed the deal, she treated herself to these sparkly heels.

Cowboy Kendall

There’s subtle Beyoncé influence everywhere—from the artist’s wigs to her tattoos to her prayer candle. “Beyoncé is always looking out for me,” she half-jokes.

Light Makeup

The neon sign comes from Kendall’s booth at RuPaul’s DragCon UK. “I mounted it on my wall,” says the artist. “Well, somebody mounted it. Shoutout to Taskrabbit.”

Get The Look

For this photoshoot, the artist was inspired by ’60s-era glam. The lavender ostrich-feather dress is by Chicago-based designer Monique Vee, and the wig is based on (you guessed it) an image of Beyoncé from her Cowboy Carter album.

 

How’s Your Head?

This stunning headpiece—and the flaming pink bodysuit that goes with it—was designed by Bunnism Studio. Gender wore it for the finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World.

Wig Out

The precariously balanced wigs range from Halloween costumes to as-seen-on-TV wonders (one comes from the episode of Canada’s Drag Race in which Gender won the “Roast of Brooke Lynn Hytes” challenge).

 

Cover Girl

From her spot at the vanity, Gender can see her framed Vanmag Power 50 award, her feature in this magazine and her cover of 2SLGBTQIA+ business magazine Q-Biz. “I like to have my accomplishments around me, but I don’t want to venture into Real Housewives territory where I have a floor-to-ceiling photo of myself.”

Slay Your Storage

Kendall Gender’s tips for keeping an over-the-top wardrobe organized.

Label Maker Foundation, powder, lipstick, eyelashes and eyeshadow palettes each have a designated, labelled drawer in Gender’s drag room. “Even if the insides are messy—and I promise you, they are—at least it’s easy for me to put things away,” she says.

See the Rainbow Rather than sorting clothing by season or style, the drag artist opts for colour coding. “All of my clothes and shoes are all rainbow organized; I actually do that in my ‘boy closet’ as well,” she says.

Pride and Seek Gender uses both exposed and hidden storage for her shoes: some are lined up on shelves, while others are tucked away in drawers. “For me, shoes are such a staple of the outfit, and displaying them reminds me of an old-school boudoir,” she says.

WerkRoom The queen keeps most of her drag things in a separate room from the rest of the apartment, which is white and minimal. “My life is so colourful and chaotic, I really enjoy the dichotomy of that very neutral space,” she says.

Good Housekeeping To keep her space clean and serene, the drag artist always tidies up before she turns in for the evening—there’s no do-it-tomorrow mentality here. “After I’ve gotten ready for a show, everything is everywhere,” she says, “but everything has its place, and I always clean up the night of.”

Shop Hopping

Where the drag artist sources key pieces for her Vancouver apartment.

Moe’s Home Collection Full disclosure: Gender has worked with Moe’s on 2SLGBTQIA+ events in the past. But she’s also been using their barstools in her kitchen for years.

CB2 The furniture and accessories retailer is where she goes to source special statement pieces, like her bedside tables or a dramatic lamp.

Retro Modern Designs The locally owned Hastings Street shop is where Gender found her sofa. Pieces here take their inspo from decades past—think bubbly ’70s-style seating.