RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series 4 episode 2 runway recap: All the Neon Nights looks

Spoilers ahead for the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series four, episode two runway.

The queens continue to showcase some fabulous drag and the runway this week on the BBC Three show took us on some “Neon Nights,” with the queens serving some major highlighter realness.

But which queens were neon, and which were a little ne-off? Here’s every look the Drag Race UK series four girls served on the runway in episode two.

Starlet

Serving “Neon Demon fantasy,” Starlet’s look was a pink velvet devil ensemble, complete with super-emphasised shoulders and hips, a tail and yellow fur plumes hand-sewn onto the outfit.

The result was what Drag Race UK judge Graham Norton called a “Grinch that stole Pride” fantasy that offered a devilish take on neon.

Jonbers Blonde

Jonbers was studio-ready with her artist-inspired look, combining a paint-splattered coat with an orange PVC ruffled ensemble with matching beret. She also carried a palate which read “drag is art” – something Michelle Visage said she has been saying for 30 years.

Baby

Baby was not exaggerating when she said “there’s a lot going on” with her outfit, combining feathers, chains, belts, beads and harnesses, all in clashing neon colours.

The London queen said she loved her episode two neon look because it combined everything she loves about drag into one ensemble.

Sminty Drop

Sminty described her look as “gaylien the house down”. It combined a neon hoop skirt and nipple covers (which eagle-eyed Drag Race fans might remember from her Meet the Queens look.)

The look has also started what Drag Race UK fans will soon be calling “Old Maiden-gate.” After Michelle mentioned that Sminty had done this silhouette before, Sminty, told the other queens in the Untucked Lounge that she would rather do the same thing again than wear an “Old Maiden” dress – a reference to more traditional styles - something that made Cheddar Gorgeous tell her she needed to open her mind to other drag styles.

Black Peppa

Black Peppa’s look for series four episode two was described as “the moment” of the night by Graham. It brought together a sculpted yellow dress with giant hair, topped off with one of the biggest hats in Drag Race her-story.

Michelle (aka White Salt) compared Black Peppa to Diana Ross, who is also known for her big hair. This is high praise indeed, as long-term Drag Race fans know that Diana is Ru’s favourite diva.

Copper Topp

Copper’s “Neon Nights” look was a mix of high-camp pantomime and the New Romantics. For those not up on their drag her-story, the New Romantics were a group of high-fashion club kids from the 1980s known for their bold make-up and flamboyant looks often inspired by historical costume.

When presenting her 18th century-influenced mix of orange ruffles and blue puffball sleeves, Copper name-checked three New Romantic-era icons: Leigh Bowery (who Danny Beard gave a shout-out to last episode), Boy George (an upcoming judge on Drag Race UK series four) and Adam Ant, whose Prince Charming music video was a particular inspiration for the look.

As for the judges, FKA Twigs called it “the Marge Simpson spring collection,” due to Copper’s big blue bouffant wig, while Michelle called it “Miami Dolphins couture” due to orange and blue being the colours of that American football team.

Danny Beard

Danny Beard said of her look: “I wanted to look like a sexy neon Juno Birch Mars Attack alien mama just landed in her big shaft ready to go for a big shop with my bubble guns and she’s going to get a loaf of bread for the kids in the spaceship.”

Some explanation for those not quite on Danny’s level. Juno Birch is a drag queen known for her avant garde looks combining sci-fi elements with a 1960s housewife aesthetic. Danny and Michelle also name-checked Mars Attacks!, a 1996 Tim Burton film featuring an alien masquerading as a beehive-haired retro pinup.

Cheddar Gorgeous

With this epic look in Cheddar’s suitcase, there must not have been ‘mushroom’ for anything else. The queen transformed herself into a giant funghi, which she described as the “spirit of the mushroom god, come to connect humans together and bring life back to our barren world.”

If the neon rainbow colours and multiple mushrooms growing off the dress were not enough, Cheddar took the look to the next level by blowing neon dust at the judges.

Dakota Schiffer

Dakota Schiffer let her nerd flag fly with a look she described as “Pokemon gym leader realness mixed with a bit of Balenciaga.” The queen combined a puffer coat in acid yellow and green with a body-hugging dress and headphones featuring giant spikes.

Though she admitted that neon is not a colour palette that she is usually interested in, Dakota said in her confessional that this look was her tribute to her love of video games – in her Meet the Queens, she said that she often listens to video game music when getting in drag.

Le Fil

Le Fil’s high-drama, hi-vis look was inspired by an iconic moment in 2000s fashion history – when supermodel Naomi Campbell turned her 2007 community service stint for throwing her phone at her housekeeper into an impromptu series of runways.

The “Neon-i Campbell” look saw Le Fil wear a wig that mirrored the model’s bowl cut at the time with a big-shouldered orange neon dress inspired by the hi-vis jacket Campbell had to wear while picking up trash. To cap the look off, Le Fil even had a trash grabber to keep the runway neat and tidy.

Pixie Polite

Pixie served what she called "oversized structured plastic realness" with a hand-painted PVC coat in red and green with a matching hat and a green wig that caused Ru to call "22 inches" – a reference to 2014 meme, that originated from US reality star Ts Madison.

These runway looks, on top of this week's girl group challenge, suggest we've even more talent to come next week...

RuPaul’s Drag Race UK series four airs Thursdays on BBC Three. Episode one is streaming on BBC iPlayer now.