“At first, I painted on my self-confidence,” says Miss Ivanka T, reflecting on her early drag performances. “Miss Ivanka T. was always inside me—I just needed to find the right outlet to express that part of my personality.”

Over time, drag became her art form - a way to communicate and express herself. “Of course, drag is all about glamour, glitter, and drama,” she says, “but it’s also deeply political in a humorous way. It’s one big middle finger to everyone who still tries to exclude us.”

She’s candid about how it all began: “Honestly, I got into drag for the free club entry, the drinks, and the attention. I wanted to create a character who plays with femininity through fantasy wigs and make-up. I grew up in a small Austrian village where I had no one to look up to—so now it’s important to me to fight for more queer visibility.”

For i-D, we created a photoshoot with Miss Ivanka T and talked to her about TikTok, Austria, and the long road to self-acceptance.