A bit of lighting and evening drizzle did little to deter the crowd outside Slayyyter’s sold-out Atlanta show on September 21. Fans circled the block in gas station trucker hats, rashly-hacked denim, and enough rhinestone-and-camo ornamentation to suggest that, somewhere nearby, a lukewarm six-pack was being crushed beneath the nefarious gaze of a taxidermy deer.

Slayyyter’s WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA , released earlier this year, is a veritable electrotrash treasure trove of wardrobe inspo, with lyrics name-dropping designer staples like Chanel (in iterations both brand new and beat up), Celine and Saint Laurent, juxtaposed against a junk drawer-runway of jaded Americana. That tension between aspirational and accessible has long been central to her style and world-building, with her recent ascent into the mainstream putting a brighter spotlight on her love for DIY.

From the lace-trimmed top she donned for her lauded Coachella performance earlier this year, to the bedazzled, showgirl-inspired set and swan headpiece seen in her “CANNIBALISM!” music video, Slayyyter’s style offers a vocabulary as earnest as it is ironic and apocalyptic.

Ahead of her live debut of Turnstile’s “Birds” remix, we caught up with fans sporting Tumblr-era pastel hair and reworked looks, queued up to scream about “getting gay off that tequila”.

Style-wise, how do you know that someone is from Atlanta or the South at large?

The vibes everyone brings. I don’t go out here too much, but I feel like Atlanta brings it the hardest.

What part of your outfit has the best story behind it?

This headpiece! My grandma made it for me. It’s from the “brand new chanel$” music video. I saw it and immediately I was like, ‘I neeeeed that headpiece’.

Which Slayyyter song would soundtrack your movie montage?

The cut of it, whether it’s cutting and cropping it or just the shape of it. Sometimes when people think of the South, they think Chubbies or something preppy. But I also think that here, the crop or where it hits can indicate what part they’re from.

The belt. I sometimes get in my head that I need to get rid of stuff that I don’t use anymore, and then every once in a while – and I feel like it’s always for a concert – I’ll pull something out of a long-forgotten drawer. So, luckily, with this belt, I already had it. I found the lures, and they already had jump rings, so it was super easy to make.

I want to say “CRANK.” Maybe it’s not necessarily where I live, but it’s where I want to live, where it’s fun and fast and crazy and wild.

There’s a certain aesthetic. There’s a certain vibe, I feel, especially with queer people. There’s so much creativity and this type of Atlanta swag that is very distinct.

The shirt. I DIY’ed this myself. I got this white tank; I cropped it, and I did the dollar sign with a metallic red paint.

As far as WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA , I would say “GAS STATION,” but if I was going with any Slayyyter song, I’d probably do “Tattoo” from her mixtape.

A key factor is that a lot of it is repurposed or reused. There’s a lot of vintage stores and thrift stores around where you can repurpose old things or find old pieces that are really cool and can be reinvented with new patterns of fashion, which I really like.

There’s a lot of history with a lot of these pieces. I’ve had this tank top since I was like twelve – but it’s the mink for sure.

I got it at an estate sale for this old French man who was a clockmaker, and he had, like, an 8,000-square-foot house. It was huge.

I stayed up until, like, 5am, so that I could get first in line and I ran straight all the way up the stairs. I got this mink for the concert.

I think the “*PRAYER*” interlude would be really fantastical and cinematic, but if I wanted something kick-ass and cool, probably “crank 2.” I like the ending montage where it all kind of mixes together, and there’s a little more screaming.

Dezireh: When it’s their own, and they add their own touches to it. When you can feel that it’s that person’s outfit and not just something that they saw online and copied and pasted.

Kaj: Because we’re matching, but it’s still different.

Dezireh: My shawl because I stole it from my sister’s closet.

Kaj: This rosary because we spent all day shopping and we finally got it.

Dezireh: “Dial Tone,” if it was a getting ready scene.

Kaj: “Memories Of You,” if it was a love-type-of-scene. I was crying listening to it earlier, so I’m gonna go with that.

There’s that trashy-glam aspect. I love all of the patterns and all of the bling that she’s [Slayyyter] bringing in, while still being a bimbocore kind of person. I live for it! It’s such a switch-up from her previous aesthetics that I can appreciate as someone being from the South.

Oh my god! I actually ended up making this outfit right before leaving.

My friends Jared and Tegan helped me with making it. I’m a seamstress, and I went to school for apparel design.

I had already made an entire outfit that I wore for a Slayyyter drag show. I was just gonna wear that outfit, and then I was like, let me make it a little more WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA , so I’d say this top and this skirt.

We ended up thrifting, and I just cut a bunch of stuff up, sewed it up, and they helped me bling it out.

Shit… honestly, “GAS STATION.” “GAS STATION” hits different for me and I’ve performed to it. Same with “I’M ACTUALLY KIND OF FAMOUS.”

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We caught up with fans queuing up to scream about ‘getting gay off that tequila’