While I DO think that the ballooning budget for the average drag race queen is getting out of control, I also think the problem is a little more complicated than "RuPaul and Michelle are evil." Because don't forget RuPaul and Michelle were also there for the early seasons, when design challenges dominated and the popular criticism, at the time, was "Waahh! Why is Drag Race trying to be a wannabe Project Runway!? Not every talented queen is a seamstress!" because people's faves were losing out to the girls who could sew.
And, even today, for every queen that spends a shit-ton of money on drag and essentially tries to buy their way into Drag Race fame (...Miss Cracker, I said what I said), there's is a Jaida Essence Hall -- the current reigning queen who made all but two of her costumes herself. And while none of Jaida's looks were big and bombastic in the way that's become the Drag Race norm, they were nonetheless chic, well put together, and fit her aesthetic as a queen.
And, I mean, there's also Utica from this season. Made one of the best runways of the season out of a sleeping bag.
There's a multiple factors that are contributing to the problem, but at the core, I think I the culprit is the show overcorrecting from the early seasons and trying too hard to chase what gets the fans talking.
I would personally love to see more design challenges, more thrift challenges (because when you're a new queen, this is STILL where most of your drag is coming from). Bring back the old school limits on what girls were allowed to bring with them. Will it lead to less "show stopping" runways and give an advantage to the girls who know their way around a sewing machine? Yeah. But I prefer that to the current advantage to girls with coin.
