Charlie Hides Trans-Formed

The man of a thousand faces.  The YouTube Sensation.  The drag queen from the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. The live performer.  The husband.  The Comedian.  The Pop Star. The father of Colin, the French bulldog he recently adopted.  Or just, Charlie, as he is known to his friends...is changing the face of drag for the common queen...all hail "The Dame."

Even with all those titles to his name, The Dame Charlie Hides has just added another one to his repertoire..."business owner."  Right outside of London, England, Charlie has created and opened a total transformation studio called HAUS OF HIDES, a  wonderland fantasy come true boutique, where people who love drag, want to try it,  now have a place to be transformed.  So instead of spilling the tea with your friends, just sip it with Charlie as he paints you, wigs you, dresses you, and "trans-forms" you.

The Haus Of Hides Main Salon

We here at #IheartHollywood, recently had a conversation with The Dame at his Hollywood residence, in the "Joan Collins Suite," a space filled with portraits of Charlie from his last three decades of drag, his trophy from RuPaul’s drag race, as well as an unusual amount of Joan Collin's memorabilia, for a talk about Trans-formation and the Hause Of Hides.

Hi Charlie.  Can I still call you Charlie?  In this politically correct world, is that still acceptable?  
Charlie:  You can call me anything you want, just don't call me before ten AM.

The Haus Of Hides

Congrats on all your success, it's been a long time coming.  Tell us about Haus Of Hides, your Total Transformation Studio?  
It's where I use every skill and trick in the book to help bring out your inner diva.  The world is full of pigeons and I transform them into flamingos. As a kid I loved playing in my grandmother's dressing up box, she had so many fabulous hats and accessories. Like Nana, I've saved decades of frocks and jewelry and love painting other people's faces so we're calling it the Haus of Hides.  I've got a limited time left on this planet and there are so many people who need my help.

George, before Charlie and after Charlie

Walk us through the process.
A client arrives, excited, nervous, trembling with anticipation. I make them feel relaxed, give them a glass of fizz or cup of tea, we consult on the look they are going for then we play... with wigs, makeup, dresses, accessories etc. Often times we do a photo shoot with my husband James who is an exceptionally gifted photographer and makes everyone look gorgeous.

Martin, businessman by day, and seductress by night

Who are your clients?  Just gay men?
Absolutely not, many of my clients identify as straight men, often I'm the first person they've allowed to see them dressed up. But I also have middle-aged women, girls, boys.  Some girls just want to be transformed into a "Drag queen" or a glamorous Kardashian look for a photo shoot. Others have asked for a specific celebrity, like Marilyn Monroe.  I recently had a 16-year-old boy come with his mother, he loves old-school Hollywood glamour so we did several looks on him. He later wrote to me to say it was the best day of his life.

What do your clients want?
They are coming for the fun side of drag, the dressing up and chance to see themselves as they've never looked before. Often, it's the first time they are seeing themselves as the vision they've had in their head.   There's a magical moment that happens when they see themselves in the mirror that is indescribable and for me, very rewarding.

Look at client Jason...super smiley after Charlie trans-formed him from his unhappy "before"

To be a drag queen, what are the essentials one must possess? 
Drag is an esoteric and rapidly changing art form. Most often males (but not always) performing an exaggerated and stylized form of femininity.  Although not strictly necessary, a queen needs BALLS and the ability to captivate and enthrall an audience for as long as they are asking for their attention.

Customer Paul totally transformed

Would you ever consider bringing a pop-up version here to Hollywood?
Absolutely, can I use the Joan Collins Suite?

Let’s talk about Drag Race?  Was it a drag?
Not at all. I loved it. It was exhilarating, exhausting, transformative... 99% of it was fun.

Charlie transformed into Drag Race season 9 queen Sasha Velour

Tell us the best advice you can give a queen auditioning that you wish someone told you about the experience.
Bring sleeping pills.  After a very long production day, I would be shattered but the adrenaline was buzzing through my veins so by the time I finally nodded off, the alarm was ringing for another fun-filled day.

Are we going to see more of you on TV?  Would you ever do Celebrity Big Brother?
Absolutely!  Do you have any connections?  (WE DO)

I know you "don’t care if people think you are a bitch as long as they think you are thin" (that's the title of Charlie's hit pop song available on iTunes) and as someone who lives in Hollywood, I appreciate your vanity, what is the best part of playing a bitch?
Everyone wishes they could speak their mind at all times with no consequences. On stage, I get paid for it.

Your T-shirts now selling in the center of Hollywood at Hollywood and Highland where the Oscars are broadcast, and right near RuPaul's Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Considering that years ago you made a viral video at the same location...pretty damm cool.  Congrats.  
It's surreal, but I've had so many full circle moments in my life, I'm getting used to it.

Charlie visiting Hollywood many years before RuPaul's Drag Race

You grew up in New England, and now you live in England….which accent do you prefer?
The sweetest sound in the world is my husband James' voice. I love his British boarding school accent. It soothes me and perks me up at the same time.

James and Charlie enjoying Hollywood

Before you married your husband James Hides, did you think it was weird that you both had the same last name?
haha...  and it's such a rare spelling. Only a few families in the world spell it with an "i" rather than a "y"     It's fate that we found each other.

Your old fans knew you as Kandi Kane, then Kandi Kane Baxter, then Lisa Q Jones, but now finally Charlie Hides.  Are you done transforming?
Nope, gonna try my hand at being a Drag King next.  For the first time in my life I'm gonna try hyper-masculinity.

A Hyper Butch Charlie Hides

Can a man be a "drag king?"
Absolutely, there are bio-queens so why not bio-kings?   Ru says, "We're all born naked and the rest is drag."  All gender is a performance so it's time for me to explore that end of the spectrum.

Charlie as Adele, Justin, Lana, and Elton

Will you do Drag King transformations at the Haus of Hides?
Absolutely.  On my youtube channel, I've transformed myself into Elton John, Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Simon Cowell etc.  I've got mad skills and can transform anyone into almost anything.

Charlie as Cher and Madonna

Mad skills indeed.  It takes a real man to be trans-formed into a beautiful woman, and an even bigger man to do it as well as Charlie does.

If you want to check out more of Charlie, check out his YouTube Page, follow him on Facebook and Twitter, stalk him on Instagram, or just check out his website HERE.  If you would like to be trans-formed...click HERE.

Charlie Hides…..we ❤️you!!!