It’s not yet dark in Soho, and a woman with a loose perm, a low-cut LBD and leopard-print stilettos is hurtling down Old Compton Street, screaming to get an elderly couple’s attention: “Ma’am, can you name three lesbians?!” Trailing just behind Tiara Skye is a man in cargo shorts, recording the whole thing on his iPhone. “I’ve known Tiara for a few years now and have been working with her on the streets since the early days,” says Oly, who edits Skye’s viral TikToks and Reels. “It’s been a privilege to see the positivity she leaves behind. In a world of ever-increasing division, where people seem to be building barriers between one another, it’s quite something to witness loving interactions between strangers. Tiara’s ability to transcend all types is a gift, and it really has restored my faith in humanity. She’s one of the good ones, choosing the right side and being part of the change.”
@tiaraskye_ From the #stage to the #street darlings! Thank you for keeping me sharp! Amongst it all let’s have a little LAUGH ❤️ stay CONNECTED and SHOW UP! 🏳️🌈💃🏽❤️ #tiaraskye #fyp #foryoupage❤️❤️ ♬ original sound - Tiara Skye
Since posting her first street interview in 2023, Skye has joined a long line of Soho characters – Muriel Belcher, Trisha Bergonzi – becoming the neighbourhood’s latest custodian, even if she, of course, prefers to describe herself as a “street-walker”, “queer talker”, “camel-toe activist” or “gospel singer”. More impressively, though, she has become perhaps the only vox-popper whom people actively want to be stopped by – even if her line of questioning can expose their shortcomings. But that, of course, is the point. Watching someone squirm while trying to spell “diarrhoea”, add 33 to 77, or frantically come up with the names of three famous people from a marginalised demographic under the pressure of a camera is deeply humanising. People adore her. When Vogue’s Zorawar Waraich was dispatched to film a short clip for our own socials, it took hours simply because she was stopped by fans every few seconds. “The streets were talking,” she says when I catch up with her the following day. “I had to listen.”
@tiaraskye_ @Mattr #Datedifferent linked up with your #street #walker #queer #talker to spill the tea on dating in London Real talk, real people, zero drama. Download Mattr & date different #dating #london #tiaraskye #neurodivergent #lgbt #lgbtqia #pridemonth #datingapps ♬ original sound - Tiara Skye
Though her rise might seem sudden, Skye – who tells me she is “ageless” – has, in reality, been working towards her coronation for decades. She traces it back to being chosen to sing a solo in church at the age of five, before being voted Miss Personality at the Western Cape Drag Pageant in 2008 and going on to form one of South Africa’s most successful drag acts, 3D, over the following 10 years. Things paused when she moved to London in 2019 for her partner’s job – “But please don’t mention him, because I need to appear f***able to the public” – where she spent a week working at Slim Chickens before rubbing shoulders with the stars as an award-winning customer service representative at Madame Tussauds. “Beyoncé and I filmed a video together,” she says, with a sigh. “The waxwork version.” Eventually, armed with a dodgy Amazon microphone, she took to central London’s streets in search of new opportunities. “Then,” she says, “viral, viral, viral.” Perhaps one day she’ll get a waxwork of her own.
Hi Tiara! Let’s go back to the beginning. If I were to meet a younger you, what would she be like?
“When I picture who I was back then, I see a five- or six-year-old who’d just been given the opportunity to sing lead in the church choir. That led to me performing at weddings and other events, and I’d get paid 100 rand, which felt like a fortune to a child from Sir Lowry’s Pass, a small town on the outskirts of Cape Town. Even then, I remember thinking, ‘This is only temporary,’ and promising myself that one day I’d create the life I have today. Growing up, people like me were just called ‘f*****’. I didn’t even know what being gay was until I was a teenager, but I always knew I was – obviously – a queen, darling. I came out when I was 17, and it didn’t go down well with my family, but my community in Cape Town supported me.”
Which is when you started your drag career…
“I started entering pageants, and I won them. It felt amazing. I became a performer, darling. Hello? If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. Okay? One of the biggest was Miss Gay Western Cape in 2008, where I won Miss Personality – a title that’s really stuck with me because, well, that’s still what I am, you know? Then I formed a drag group with two other performers, and we became one of South Africa’s most successful drag acts, performing for about 10 years at some of the biggest heterosexual venues in Cape Town, which just wasn’t the norm. It meant the world to me that us three ladies were able to break down those boundaries.”
What prompted you to move to London?
“Well, my partner got a job here, but he’s not part of this story. You have to be f***able in this industry, okay? So, to the public, I’m single. It’ll ruin my appeal otherwise. I might get cancelled! Anyway… I moved to London with him and got a job at Slim Chickens because, as a performer, I’d do any kind of work to keep the bills paid. I lasted a week. Then I moved to Madame Tussauds, where I stayed for two years, and won employee awards, baby.”
@tiaraskye_ Meeting #you lovers was the highlight for me and I’m so excited to work my way to a #street near YOU! I can’t wait to meet you #2026 here we GOOOO! #tiaraskye #fyp ♬ original sound - Tiara Skye
Among the stars.
“I could check you in, help you buy your tickets, make sure the Spirit of London ride was safe and, sweetie, Beyoncé – well, her wax figure – and I even filmed a video together. There’d sometimes be 5,000 customers a day, but I gave every single one the same energy and customer service. By the end of a shift, my mouth would be dry, baby. That’s when I realised I was still a performer. The b**** had been awakened. I started working with SG Lewis, appearing on his album covers, hosting his YouTube series and joining him on stage at Printworks, where I’d interact with the audience and go viral. I left Madame Tussauds because I wanted a pay rise. I kept applying for promotions and never got them. So it was time to go. I bought a microphone from Amazon and thought, ‘Why don’t I just start filming strangers, have fun with them and make people laugh?’ I just kept going viral, darling.”
I think we all started noticing your work when you were filming by the Vogue offices.
“In Embankment! That was right at the beginning, and while it was scary, it was important for me to show that people aren’t who the media tells us they are. That people aren’t as offended by trans women as we’re often led to believe. There was a time when I was genuinely afraid to go outside because of that, but the people have restored my faith.”
You were reclaiming the public space you had been made to feel afraid to be a part of.
“I was demanding space, baby. For me, and people like me. It’s taken on a life of its own. I’ve even become a security guard at times, darling, which was never the plan. But when push comes to shove…”
And when you ask people to, say, name three lesbians, or Black celebrities, what is your intention?
“It’s never about tripping people up, because I know I’m putting them on the spot, and there’s no shame in not getting the answer. I could ask a lesbian to name another lesbian and they’d still forget. It’s the sweetness of people in those moments that I’m trying to capture. The sincerity. The ‘Oops’. The, ‘You know I’m not racist!’ Yes, I know, mama – and we love you. It’s really about the community connecting on the streets, because we’ve all become so scattered. If I were to die, having experienced even just a little bit of that, it would be okay, because it’s been so loving. Oof. I’m about to get teary-eyed just talking about it.”
It breaks the tension around saying the wrong thing. How do you prepare for a night in Soho?
“Having a prosecco, getting excited to show people on social media the silliness inside all of us. It’s human to get things wrong, to ask questions – and people don’t want to be serious all the time. By the third glass of prosecco, I’m like, ‘Everyone looks amazing!’ But I try to keep the subjects I stop as random as possible, otherwise I’m just going to choose the gays, the lesbians, the bis, the trans. It’s important to show the heterosexuals too, because they remind us that they’re okay as well. And their responses don’t always match their appearances. Especially older couples. They give me all the details. They’ve done it all.”
And it’s nice to see straight people suffer a bit.
“They deserve it, darling. Then they’ll see me again at the end of the night and want to tell me all their family stuff, and I’m like, ‘Okay, but I’m drinking beer through a straw. Not a lot of air is getting to the brain.’ And remember: my experience was growing up queer, from a poor background, with more than 100 family members descended from just two grandparents…”
What does Soho represent to you compared to when you first arrived in London?
“It’s become a place I feel I need to protect, because our queer spaces are dying out. So yes, I’m putting a party on in the street. I’m getting loud. I’m running around. And because people are coming to see me, the streets are busier, and I hope the businesses are, too. I feel a responsibility to the community because we all keep each other safe.”
People often step in when you are met with aggression. Why is it important for you to post those videos, too?
“Because it’s the truth, Ruth – and if there’s one thing I’m going to do, it’s tell the truth. See it, say it, sorted, darling.”
Who taught you glamour?
“Diana Ross. I love the fur coats – faux fur, of course – the drama, the leopard print. RuPaul. Jenifer Lewis. Dame Edna Everage. And the most dedicated drag queen of all: Elizabeth II, who was devoted to the craft and to service. My style hasn’t really changed, and it probably should, Vogue. I still love tight, over-the-knee dresses – legs shaved, of course – plenty of cleavage and high, high heels. I like to come across as a street aunty. Not someone you’d necessarily find sexually attractive, but still a mouthful of some sort.”
Is there a secret to running in those heels? You move at quite a pace.
“Baby, have you ever been desperate for your dreams before? You would run, too.”
Who is the most fashionable letter in the LGBTQIA+ alphabet?
“I have to say ‘G’. Thank you for your service, homos.”
What does a day off look like to you?
“Doing absolutely nothing. Watching videos of people falling over or getting pepper sprayed. But sometimes it’s me lying there feeling anxious, thinking, ‘What can I do next?’, ‘How can I do better?’ Because the more loving I can be to strangers, the more love I get back.”
What have all these conversations you’ve had with strangers taught you about people?
“Look, I used to sit on the Tube and, if someone was staring at me, I’d dagger-eye them back, lashes touching my skull. Now I’m like, ‘They were probably wondering how I was so beautiful?’ Doing these videos has made me realise that we’re all defensive, scared, and just want to get along. I’m literally in love with people – not in a sexual way, I can’t sleep with all of them – and that’s a feeling I missed out on for most of my life. I was scared of being called a f*****, of being attacked for being different. Maybe my skin’s just become a bit thicker now.”
What are your plans for Trans Pride?
“I know there are speeches, so I’ll probably try to get my attention-wh*** ass on stage. Otherwise, I’ll be recording, marching, protesting, celebrating. I’m going to be so visible, and so loud, they can’t miss me. I really hope everyone comes to Soho to connect, and reconnect. The least we can do is show up and remind each other that we’re in this together.”
And what’s the big dream?
“To host my own travel show, where I go around the world speaking to local queens, seeing how they’re feeling, lifting their spirits, and letting everyone know how we’re doing and what can be done to help. Obviously, I’m scared the rug will be pulled out from under my feet, but I still have customer service qualifications, and I’ve always said that as long as I can pay my rent, I’m happy. Mostly, I just hope what I’m doing can contribute not only to my community, but to society, because we are optimistic, baby, and we are encouraging. People have given me the freedom to be who I want to be. I want to be the person they need me to be in return.”
Original article appeared on British Vogue
