Diego Montoya's work as a fashion designer has not only been heavily featured on the RuPaul's Drag Race runway over the years, but he's also won two Emmy Awards as a costume designer in all four seasons of HBO's We're Here. After creating so many extraordinary outfits for drag artists that looked like pieces of art, Montoya flips the script bringing his queer and Latine sensibilities and honoring drag artistry in an exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields."This is the first time my costume work has been presented in a major museum setting," Montoya tells Out. "I've had individual installation-based pieces in museums before, but costume design has been my primary focus for over a decade now, so having a collection of my work exhibited in this grand context feels really special."This museum exhibition named Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo opened on June 6, 2025 and will continue through March 29, 2026. Featuring pieces created for queens like Sasha Velour, Blair St. Clair, Kandy Muse, Jimbo, and Miz Cracker, this is not only a huge milestone for Montoya as a designer, but also an achievement for drag artistry overall to literally be seen at an art museum."It's surreal! I've always dreamed of having my work shown in a museum, but to have it be featured in a way centered around the queerness and drag has exceeded anything I could have hoped for," Montoya says. "Our work often thrives in spaces overlooked by traditional institutions, so to see it treated with such care, and presented with the full resources of the museum, meant the world to me. It gives me hope to see museums beginning to make space for this kind of work and for the communities it represents."While Drag Race fans can quickly recognize Montoya's looks (and which queens wore them) displayed at the museum, the designer highlights a new piece that he created for this exhibit."There are too many things I could say about all of these pieces; they all hold so many memories and fun anecdotes, and I'm weirdly sentimental about each of them," he says. "We made one new piece, 'Rocaille,' specifically for this exhibition, which is Newfields's first-ever fashion commission. Knowing that she will be preserved and have a life beyond me is so cool."The new piece in question, "Rocaille," was created with Indiana drag artist and actor Blair St. Clair in mind. The outfit's official description reads:"Referencing the shell motif that is a mainstay of Rococo dcor, the new ensemble is designed in an exaggerated mermaid shape. It includes elaborate hip panels and a framing collar reminiscent of eighteenth-century European royal fashion, and is topped with a feathered headdress that recalls such pieces worn by Las Vegas showgirls and cabaret performers. With its opulent reimagining of drag costume and its liberating possibilities for gender expression, Diego's work is both a technical leap forward in fashion design and a radical statement on the potential of clothing to transform our sense of self."Unsurprisingly, Montoya went above and beyond to ensure that these drag looks were properly presented to the public. "It was important to me and my team that the costumes weren't presented like regular gowns on mannequins," he explains. "But, rather, that they really felt like the embodiment of a drag queen. Mandie Holden and her team did such a beautiful job of customizing all of the mannequins and their poses to reflect the dramatic drag silhouettes."Montoya adds, "Each one is covered in pearl-finish with a slight shimmer and has long pearl nails to match. We also made all the mannequins custom masks with pearl embellishments and hand-cut and curled pearlized lashes to represent the 'drag face.' Makeup is so important in drag, and this was our way of honoring that transformative element.""Hopefully when people see these cinched, padded, shimmery bodies with long nails, outstretched arms and long lashes they'll appreciate how much work goes into a drag artist's actual transformation," he muses.Born in Lima, Peru, Montoya was only 10 when he and his family moved to Miami. As one queer Latino immigrant to another, I ask Montoya how he's been navigating the current political climate in the U.S."It's been painful to witness how this administration has framed immigrants as some kind of threat, reducing real human lives to political talking points," he says. "Unfortunately, this is nothing new, and just like artists in the past and as will the ones who will come after me hopefully understand it's important to stay visible, create with honesty, and use your art to remind people of our shared humanity."Montoya continues, "We have lost too much queer art and history. I am grateful to those who have preserved our stories until it was safe to share, and I hope we won't have to pass it along in secret ever again. As an immigrant, I carry deep pride in having made, even in a small way, a contribution through my work, and in being able to represent my community."For an exhibition to include so many queer artists, feature a Latino creative like Montoya, and display drag artistry so prominently, one should absolutely recognize the big swing that the museum and its team have taken. Thank goodness.Montoya credits Michael Vetter, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the IMA, for putting together this exhibition named Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo, which showcases the influence of the Rococo period through contemporary art by three artists: Montoya, Robert Horvath, and Anthony Sonnenberg."It's been exciting to see how our individual approaches, while very different, come together around this shared influence," Montoya remarks. "It's also very interesting to see our work in conversation with the Rococo pieces from the museum's permanent collection, which are also included in this exhibition."When asked for comment, Vetter tells Out that "the response to the exhibition so far has been tremendous guests have been blown away by the intricacy and beauty of these works and the labor involved in creating them."Vetter adds, "Visitors have been particularly excited to see Diego's pieces in conversation with works in other media (ceramics, painting, and video) that are more typical of the kinds of things you'd see in an art museum."So, what's next for Montoya?"I'm really interested in expanding into more long-form storytelling in areas like theatre and film, where the work can shape a more complete narrative," he replies. "Much of what we've been creating in the studio recently are singular pieces for specific moments, but I'm eager to explore world-building through costume."Montoya concludes, "I feel very lucky that we get asked to do all kinds of things, and that we're flexible enough to often mold to the needs of a particular project. As long as I get to keep creating, I'm open to wherever life may take me. I've also always wanted to do jewelry Who knows!"For more information about the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields and its Resplendent Dreams: Reawakening the Rococo exhibition, visit DiscoverNewfields.org. Photography courtesy of Eric Lubrick and Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.See on Instagram