GQ — RICK OWENS TALKS LAUNCHING AN ONLYFANS, RUNWAY DICKS, AND 30 YEARS OF ‘CHEERFUL DEPRAVITY’ — JULY 1, 2025 — By SAMUEL HINE

RICK OWENS AND I ARE WATCHING RICK OWENS GET FUCKED BY A HORSE.

LET ME EXPLAIN. WE’RE IN THE PALAIS GALLIERA, AND IN A FEW MOMENTS THE DOORS WILL BLOW OFF THE PARIS FASHION MUSEUM’S EAGERLY AWAITED RICK OWENS RETROSPECTIVE, “TEMPLE OF LOVE.” THE EXHIBITION PUTS OWENS—FASHION’S MOST CONSISTENTLY SUBVERSIVE AND FASCINATING FIGURE—IN GOOD COMPANY, AS ONLY THE THIRD LIVING FASHION DESIGNER (AFTER AZZEDINE ALAÏA AND MARTIN MARGIELA) TO RECEIVE THE HONOR. OWENS IS SHOWING ME AROUND AS A LONG LINE FORMS OUTSIDE FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION.

BACK TO THE HORSE. PAST TWO MAIN GALLERIES THAT DISPLAY A COLLECTION OF OWENS’S CAREER-DEFINING LOOKS, AND A RECREATION OF THE BRUTALIST BEDROOM HE AND HIS WIFE MICHELE LAMY SHARED IN ’90S HOLLYWOOD, THERE’S A SCREENING ROOM GUARDED BY A DISCLAIMER FEATURING SOME OF OWENS’S MORE PROVOCATIVE ARTISTIC GESTURES. I SHOULD MENTION THAT OUR VIEW OF THE VIDEO—APTLY TITLED “HORSE”—IS BISECTED BY A ROPY STREAM OF WATER, WHICH IS QUITE LITERALLY PISSING OUT OF A STATUE DEPICTING A LIFE-SIZE RICK OWENS RELIEVING HIMSELF. AN OPERATIC SCORE PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND. ON SCREEN, THE SHIRTLESS DESIGNER IS DANCING ON A WHITE PLINTH AS A BLACK STALLION APPROACHES. (THE SUBSEQUENT COPULATION IS SIMULATED AND NOT AS GRAPHIC AS IT SOUNDS. YOU JUST GOTTA GO SEE IT.)

OWENS IS PRACTICALLY GIGGLING. HE WOULD BE THE FIRST TO POINT OUT HOW DEEPLY FUNNY AND AWESOME IT IS THAT HIS 30-YEAR HOLY WAR AGAINST ORTHODOXY AND JUDGEMENT, HIS REFUSAL TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FASHION WORLD’S RULES AND MORALISM, HAS LED HIM TO THIS POINT. “IT’S ALL VERY CHEAP AND LURID ATTENTION SEEKING,” HE SAYS. “BUT IT’S SO PRETTY WITH THIS MUSIC, ISN’T IT?”

WITH THE MAJOR INSTITUTIONAL ACCOLADE IN HIS ADOPTED HOMETOWN, OWENS COULD KICK BACK, SO TO SPEAK, AND HIS LEGACY AS THE HIGH PRIEST OF HARDCORE INDEPENDENT LUXURY WOULD REMAIN SECURE. BUT OWENS IS A WALKING REFUTATION OF COMPLACENCY. TODAY HE’S WEARING HIS SIGNATURE LONG BLACK OVERCOAT WITH KNEE-HIGH LEATHER PLATFORM BOOTS, AND HIS NAILS ARE LACQUERED TO MATCH HIS RAVEN MANE OF HAIR. I’M CERTAIN THAT HE’S STILL AS CHISELED AS HE WAS TWO DECADES AGO WHEN THE PISSING STATUE WAS MADE—I’M ASSURED IT’S ANATOMICALLY CORRECT. HE’S CERTAINLY JUST AS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT DEMOLISHING TABOO AS EVER.

CASE IN POINT: RATHER THAN PUT HIS FEET UP, THE 63-YEAR-OLD RECENTLY LAUNCHED AN ONLYFANS WHERE HE SELLS VIDEOS OF SAID FEET. (MORE ON THAT LATER.)

THAT WHICH PERTURBS OWENS OFTEN BECOMES A LEVER THAT HIS WORK PIVOTS AGAINST. WITH ITS CONNOTATION OF FINALITY, THE WORD “RETROSPECTIVE,” OWENS SAYS, IS “THREATENING!” WHICH IS WHY, AT HIS RUNWAY SHOW THE FOLLOWING EVENING, AT THE PALAIS DE TOKYO ACROSS THE STREET, OWENS WILL EMBRACE AN AURA OF MORBIDITY. THE MODELS, CLAD IN GLAM-PUNK LEATHER, WILL TRUDGE THROUGH AN ENORMOUS OUTDOOR FOUNTAIN BEFORE SCALING A PERILOUSLY HIGH SCAFFOLDING TOWER AS JETS OF WATER SPRAY TOWARD THE HEAVENS, AS IF ENACTING SOME SORT OF HEAVY METAL FUNERAL RITUAL. THE FINAL SONG IS KLAUS NOMI’S “DING-DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD,” INDICATING IT’S TIME FOR THE GUESTS TO CROSS THE STREET FOR A PARTY AT THE GALLIERA.

WITH THE RETROSPECTIVE, OWENS CONTINUES, “IT’S LIKE, IT’S PROBABLY ALL DOWNHILL FROM NOW ON. SO I’M CELEBRATING THAT AND I’M ENJOYING THE DRAMA. BUT I FEEL MORE ENERGIZED THAN EVER.”

OWENS AND I BEGIN CHATTING NEAR THE FOUNTAIN, WHERE HE AND LAMY ARE WATCHING A COUPLE OF MODELS PRACTICE SCALING THE GOTH ZIGGURAT, BEFORE HEADING TO THE MUSEUM, WHERE THREE ENORMOUS STATUES DRAPED IN BLACK FLANK THE NEOCLASSICAL FACADE.



GQ: I DON’T KNOW IF I’VE EVER ASKED HOW YOU COME UP WITH THESE INCREDIBLE SHOW CONCEPTS.

RICK OWENS: IF I KNEW THE RECIPE TO THAT, I WOULD BOTTLE IT AND SELL IT. IT JUST COMES, AND YOU JUST HAVE TO TRUST IT. AND SOME SEASONS ARE VERY SEDATE, BUT THEN EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE SOMETHING BIG COMES OUT. I KNEW THIS ONE HAD TO BE DRAMATIC.

[OWENS OBSERVES TWO MODELS SCALING THE TOWER IN WET PLATFORM HEELS. THEY’RE USING SAFETY HARNESSES, AND OWENS PURSES HIS LIPS IN DISAPPROVAL.]

THEY’RE TAKING THOSE STRAPS VERY SERIOUSLY. I GUESS FOR REHEARSAL IT MAKES THEM FEEL BETTER. HOPEFULLY THEY END UP NOT USING THEM. BUT IT DOES LOOK VERY DANGEROUS.



WHY DID YOU CALL THE EXHIBITION “TEMPLE OF LOVE”?

BECAUSE ORIGINALLY [THE CURATOR] ALEXANDRE [SAMPSON] PROPOSED DOING SOMETHING TO THE FACADE, AND I CAME UP WITH COVERING THE EXISTING STATUES, AND WE ENDED UP CALLING THE THREE THINGS THE SISTERS OF MERCY. THAT WAS OUR WORKING NAME AND AFTER THAT, IT JUST STUCK. SO THE NAME “TEMPLE OF LOVE,” WHICH IS THIS BIG SONG BY SISTERS OF MERCY, SEEMED LIKE A GREAT IDEA.

[OWENS STOPS IN FRONT OF AN EXPANSE OF FLOWERS IN FRONT OF THE MUSEUM.]

OH, THIS IS GOOD. I ONLY WANTED BLUE MORNING GLORIES BECAUSE THAT WAS MY FAVORITE FLOWER IN CALIFORNIA. AND I ENDED UP PLANTING THEM ON HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD WHEN WE HAD THE STUDIO THERE, AND THE MORNING GLORIES JUST BURST INTO THIS HUGE, WONDERFUL CANOPY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRITTIEST NEIGHBORHOOD. SO ANYWAY, I WANTED TO DO THEM HERE. YESTERDAY I CAME, THERE WERE RED FUCKING GERANIUMS SPOTTED AROUND. SO WE HAD THEM TAKEN OUT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT AGREED ON. ISN’T THAT FANCY?



VERY. HOW DID YOU FIND THE PROCESS OF LOOKING BACK AT YOUR WORK TO PUT THE EXHIBITION TOGETHER? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU REGULARLY DO?

I DO, BUT HAVING IT ALL IN ONE BIG LUMP IN FRONT OF YOU IS VERY DIFFERENT. AND IT IS VERY LOVELY AND VALIDATING. BUT I WAS THINKING ABOUT HOW THE IDEA OF A RETROSPECTIVE AUTOMATICALLY MAKES YOU THINK OF PEAKING AND DECLINE AND MORTALITY. AND SO I TOTALLY LEANED INTO IT [FOR THE RUNWAY SHOW]. THE MUSIC IS VERY MUCH ABOUT DEATH. AND I DID A COLLABORATION WITH THE BAND SUICIDE. IT’S VERY MOODY. AND THEN THE FINAL SONG IS “DING DONG (THE WITCH IS DEAD).” IT’S A KLAUS NOMI VERSION OF IT THAT I TECHNO-FIED.



YOU ARE ONE OF THE ONLY LIVING DESIGNERS TO HAVE A RETROSPECTIVE HERE.

FANCY. AS. FUCK. YOU KNOW, I’VE HEARD PEOPLE SAY, LIKE, I HATE THE WORD RETROSPECTIVE! AND YEAH, ’CAUSE IT’S THREATENING. IT’S ALL ABOUT, IT’S PROBABLY ALL DOWNHILL FROM NOW ON. SO I’M CELEBRATING THAT AND I’M ENJOYING THE DRAMA, BUT I FEEL MORE ENERGIZED THAN EVER. AND I FEEL THERE’S SO MUCH THAT I WANT TO DO TO IMPROVE.

WHAT’S FUNNY IS RECREATING OUR BEDROOM FROM LOS ANGELES, IT WAS THE WEIRDEST DÉJÀ VU WALKING INTO THAT SPACE THAT WE HAVEN’T BEEN IN FOR 20 YEARS. AND THAT WAS A SPACE WHERE THERE WAS A LOT HAPPENING. THERE WERE A LOT OF DRAMAS, A LOT OF TRANSITIONS THAT, I MEAN, I WAS SUPER DRUNK IN THAT BED. I HAD NURSES GIVING ME SEDATIVES SO I DIDN’T HYPERVENTILATE TO DEATH IN THAT BED. SO I MEAN, THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WALKING INTO THAT SPACE. BUT I MEAN, OF COURSE IT FEELS DELICIOUS BECAUSE IT ALL WORKED OUT.

WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU TO ACTUALLY RECREATE THE PHYSICAL SPACE?

I KNOW, IT DOES SEEM VERY SELF-INDULGENT.



AND ALSO VERY INTIMATE.

AND I HOPE PEOPLE SEE THAT, BUT I MEAN, IT SEEMS VERY SELF-INDULGENT. AND THEN THERE ARE PICTURES OF ME PISSING AND VIDEOS OF ME DANCING SHIRTLESS, SO THERE’S GOING TO BE A LOT OF EYE-ROLLING.

BUT THERE’S A LOT OF ME IN IT, JUST SIMPLY BECAUSE THIS CAN’T HAPPEN ANYWHERE ELSE. WHO ELSE CAN BE AS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR LABEL IN THIS DAY AND AGE? PEOPLE JUST CAN’T DO THAT. I JUST LOVE EMPHASIZING THAT BECAUSE IT’S SO UNUSUAL AND BECAUSE IT REALLY UNDERLINES THE FACT THAT IT’S A VERY PERSONAL GESTURE. IT’S NOT A COMMITTEE DECISION. AND THAT’S WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR. I’M LOOKING FOR UNCOMPROMISING PERSONAL GESTURES. SO THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO PROVIDE.

THE WAY WE STARTED IS I ASKED ALEXANDRE, WHAT’S YOUR WISHLIST? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE? AND HE REALLY WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THE HOLLYWOOD YEARS AND THE BEGINNINGS. AND HE ASKED FOR THE PISSING STATUE, AND HE SAID, HOW CAN WE HAVE THE FURNITURE INVOLVED? SO I CAME UP WITH THIS IN THE BEDROOM, BECAUSE THE BEDROOM REPRESENTS THE SEED OF THE FURNITURE COLLECTION. THE BED IS THE FIRST PIECE THAT MICHELE AND I MADE FOR EACH OTHER, WITH EACH OTHER. AND THAT SPACE JUST SEEMS AS RELEVANT TO THE WAY I LIVE NOW AND TO THE KIND OF A WORLD THAT I’VE TRIED TO CREATE. IT SEEMS NOSTALGIC, BUT IT ALSO SEEMS COMPLETELY CONNECTED TO THE WAY WE STILL LIVE. WE HAVE A VERSION OF THAT BED THAT WE SLEEP IN EVERY NIGHT.



DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST PIECE OF MEN’S CLOTHING THAT YOU DESIGNED?

NO, BUT I REMEMBER THE FIRST SHOW. I DID A COUPLE OF CO-ED SHOWS EARLY ON, AND I DID MY FIRST MEN’S SHOW [IN 2006] AT PITTI UOMO.



WHICH IS WHERE THE PISSING SCULPTURE IN THE EXHIBITION WAS FIRST SHOWN.

AND THAT’S WHEN I DID THOSE FIRST “DUNKS” THAT I GOT THE CEASE AND DESIST FOR. BUT WE PRESENTED THOSE FOR A WHILE BEFORE ANYBODY ORDERED THEM. THAT WAS A LESSON IN TENACITY AND COMMITMENT. I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE NOWADAYS IDEAS AREN’T ALLOWED TO DEVELOP ENOUGH, MAYBE BECAUSE ORDINARILY IF SOMETHING DOESN’T HIT THE FIRST COUPLE OF SEASONS IT GETS RETIRED. AND THEN I BOUGHT MY HOUSE ON THOSE SHOES. IT’S A REAL LESSON ON COMMITTING TO SOMETHING AND REPEATING. AND IF IT’S A GOOD IDEA, REPEAT IT. BUT I GET IT. IT’S A TRICKY THING. IN THIS DAY AND AGE, BEING REPETITIVE IS ALMOST RADICAL. I THINK IT FEELS COURAGEOUS AND IT FEELS KIND OF HONORABLE. SO THAT’S KIND OF WHERE I’M ABOUT REPETITION. IF IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR DONALD JUDD, IT’S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.



WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THE EXHIBITION, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR WORK?

I USED TO THINK, IF YOU KNOW WHO I AM, YOU’VE ALREADY DECIDED. BUT THERE’S A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST DISCOVERING THE AESTHETICS THAT THEY WANT TO RESPOND TO. SO THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE TO SEDUCE AND CORRUPT. BUT I THINK THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT JUST THINK IT’S ALL SENSATIONALISM, LURID SENSATIONALISM, AND THERE IS A LOT OF THAT.

BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS. AND I THOUGHT THAT WHEN I DID AN EXHIBITION AT THE TRIENNALE IN MILAN [IN 2017], I LOVED IT, BUT IT FELT VERY BOMBASTIC. AND I WAS THINKING, IF I EVER GET THE CHANCE TO DO THIS AGAIN, MAYBE IT WOULD BE NICE TO DO SOMETHING THAT’S QUIETER, A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT CRAFTMANSHIP, A LITTLE BIT MORE NUANCED, A LITTLE BIT MORE SOFT. I DON’T KNOW IF THAT HAPPENED. I DON’T KNOW IF I DID THAT. THIS ONE SEEMED KIND OF BOMBASTIC TO ME AGAIN, BUT MAYBE I JUST CAN’T HELP IT. BUT IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL, A LOT OF IT, AND I BROUGHT IN MORE REFERENCES. I BROUGHT IN IMPORTANT PIECES FROM GUSTAV MOREAU AND STEVEN PARRINO AND JOSEPH BEUYS, JUST TO GIVE IT SOME GRAVITAS AND TO EXPRESS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF MY REVERENCE FOR HISTORICAL AESTHETICS. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT ME SHOWING MY DICK. IT’S ABOUT MY RESPECT FOR CULTURAL REFERENCES BEFORE THAT HAVE MEANT SOMETHING TO ME, AND THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.



HOW DID IT FEEL WHEN YOU WALKED THROUGH THE EXHIBITION FOR THE FIRST TIME?

I MEAN, WE’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE IMAGERY FOR TWO YEARS. IT’S LIKE A COLLECTION. BY THE TIME THE RUNWAY SHOW IS THERE, YOU’VE DRAINED ALL THE EMOTION OUT OF IT. BUT THERE IS THE THRILL OF SEEING IT ACTUALLY IN LIFE BECAUSE YOU’VE IMAGINED IT, YOU’VE PLANNED FOR IT, YOU’VE EDITED IT, YOU HAVE PLANNED ON EVERY PLAN B. BUT OF COURSE, WHEN IT HAPPENS IN FULL LIFE, IT IS THRILLING BECAUSE IT’S NOT EXACTLY HOW YOU PICTURED IT. A LOT OF TIMES, MOST OF THE TIME, IT’S BETTER.



HOW DID IT FEEL WHEN YOU WALKED THROUGH THE EXHIBITION FOR THE FIRST TIME?

I MEAN, WE’VE BEEN LOOKING AT THE IMAGERY FOR TWO YEARS. IT’S LIKE A COLLECTION. BY THE TIME THE RUNWAY SHOW IS THERE, YOU’VE DRAINED ALL THE EMOTION OUT OF IT. BUT THERE IS THE THRILL OF SEEING IT ACTUALLY IN LIFE BECAUSE YOU’VE IMAGINED IT, YOU’VE PLANNED FOR IT, YOU’VE EDITED IT, YOU HAVE PLANNED ON EVERY PLAN B. BUT OF COURSE, WHEN IT HAPPENS IN FULL LIFE, IT IS THRILLING BECAUSE IT’S NOT EXACTLY HOW YOU PICTURED IT. A LOT OF TIMES, MOST OF THE TIME, IT’S BETTER.



IS THAT WHY YOU DESIGN THESE INCREDIBLY INTENSE SHOW PERFORMANCES, LIKE WITH THE MODELS CLIMBING THE TOWER? TO UP THE STAKES FOR YOU PERSONALLY?

IF YOU’RE GOING TO DO A SHOW, DO A SHOW! I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING CHALLENGING AND BOLD. IF I’M GOING TO LEAVE MY HOUSE, I WANT TO SEE SOMETHING THAT’S KIND OF A LITTLE EXCITING. AND ALSO THAT CHANGES THE FORMAT OF A RUNWAY SHOW A LITTLE BIT, OR THAT PUSHES OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE RUNWAY BOX. AND WHEN I STARTED BECOMING MORE COMFORTABLE WITH MY RESOURCES, LIKE THE FABRIC AND THE CONSTRUCTION AND THE CLOTHES, I WAS ABLE TO GET MORE PLAYFUL. I WAS ABLE TO RELAX A LITTLE BIT AND START PLAYING. AND THAT’S WHAT THESE SHOWS ARE. THEY’RE PLAYING, AND I’M INVITING EVERYBODY ELSE TO PLAY TOO.



IS THERE A SHOW YOU’RE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF THAT CAME TO MIND AS YOU WERE LOOKING BACK?

WELL, THE [SPRING 2014] STEP TEAM SHOW ALWAYS MAKES ME A LITTLE MISTY, AND THAT WAS RISKY. AND I DON’T KNOW IF I WOULD EVER DO THAT SHOW NOW. IT WOULD BE TOO PROVOCATIVE. AND EVEN THEN THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT STILL THINK I SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE IT. AND I GET THAT. I TOTALLY GET IT. IT WAS A SENSITIVE THING TO DO. BUT WHEN I SEE IT, I AM SO PROUD AND I FIND IT SO MOVING AND SO STIRRING. THAT MIGHT BE ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS, BUT I LIKE A LOT OF ’EM.

[OWENS AND I WALK INTO THE MUSEUM. IN THE FIRST GALLERY, TWO MANNEQUINS HANG FROM THE CEILING ABOVE LIGHT BOXES CONTAINING EPHEMERA FROM OWENS’S UPBRINGING IN PORTERVILLE, CALIFORNIA.]

THAT IS AN ASTROLOGICAL CHART MY DAD MADE WHEN I WAS BORN. AND I JUST HAD IT ANALYZED AND IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.



WHAT DID YOU LEARN?

APPARENTLY I’M OBSESSED WITH SEX AND DEATH, BINGO. AND JUST A LOT OF SCORPIO STUFF. I NEVER THINK ABOUT ASTROLOGY. I NEVER TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, BUT I SEEM LIKE KIND OF A CLASSIC SCORPIO—PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE.



SO THIS IS THE ROOM WITH THE DISCLAIMER.

BUT THE DISCLAIMER IS REALLY GOOD. I WAS ABLE TO REDUCE IT TO THAT TEXT, AND I FEEL LIKE IT REALLY DESCRIBES WHAT I’M DOING.

[UNDER A WARNING STATING THAT THE SPACE IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MINORS IS A RICK OWENS QUOTE: “THE WORLD CAN BE A VERY JUDGEMENTALLY CONDEMNING AND OVERLY MORALISTIC PLACE. I FEEL A RESPONSIBILITY TO COUNTERBALANCE THAT WITH CHEERFUL DEPRAVITY.”]



WHY DID YOU MAKE THIS PISSING SCULPTURE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

FOR THAT. EXACTLY THE REASON IN THE DISCLAIMER. IT TOOK ME A LONG TIME TO ACTUALLY COME UP WITH THAT PHRASE THAT JUST KIND OF CONDENSED THE WHOLE THING TO A SUCCINCT IDEA WITHOUT OVEREXPLAINING IT OR SOUNDING APOLOGETIC. WHAT I LOVE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH THE VIDEO THROUGH THE PISS. ISN’T THAT POETIC?

BUT I ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY WAS DOING IT ON MY OWN FOR MY OWN HOUSE, BECAUSE IT WAS GOING TO BE MY MASTER OF THE HOUSE PAINTING OVER THE MANTELPIECE. BUT THEN PITTI ASKED ME TO DO A PROJECT AND I THOUGHT, OH, I CAN MAKE THEM PAY FOR IT. I CAN DO THIS AND THEN IT’LL BE PART OF THAT PROJECT.

[WE START WATCHING A VIDEO DEPICTING OWENS’S FEET STROKING A HUMAN SKULL. YOU CAN TELL IT’S HIS FEET BECAUSE OWENS HAS “SO” TATTOOED ON TOP OF HIS LEFT FOOT AND “CUNT” ON HIS RIGHT.]



TELL ME ABOUT THIS FOOT VIDEO.

THAT’S [FROM] MY ONLYFANS ACCOUNT. I OPENED AN ONLYFANS BECAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOT FETISHISM, AND I DID THAT BECAUSE IT WAS PART OF THE WHOLE DECLINE, THE WHOLE ADDRESSING AGING AND DECLINE. IT’S BASED ON THE CONTESSA DE CASTIGLIONE, WHO WAS A FAMOUS BEAUTY. SHE WAS THE MISTRESS OF NAPOLEON, AND WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY WAS INVENTED, SHE COMMISSIONED A LOT OF PORTRAITS OF HERSELF, AND THEY WERE ALL ABOUT HER BEAUTY AND HER. BUT THEN GRADUALLY AS HER BEAUTY FADED, SHE WITHDREW TO AN APARTMENT ON PLACE VENDÔME, CLOSED THE CURTAINS, GOT RID OF THE MIRRORS, AND SHE JUST DID PORTRAITS OF HER FEET. AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS SUCH AN EERIE, POIGNANT VERSION OF SOMEBODY NEGOTIATING THEIR AGING. SO THAT WAS KIND OF WHY I DID THAT ONLYFANS THING. AND YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE AND THE MONEY GOES TO ALLANAH STARR, THE GREAT TRANS PERSONALITY OF PARIS. SHE OPENED A HOME FOR AT-RISK AND IN-DANGER TRANS YOUTH AND REFUGEES. SO THAT’S WHERE THE MONEY FOR THAT GOES.



WHEN DID YOU GET THE TATTOOS?

WELL, I’VE BEEN DOING A “SO CUNT” ON THE SHOES AND ON SOCKS FOR YEARS AND YEARS. SO THEN A COUPLE OF SEASONS AGO I THOUGHT TATTOOS WOULD BE GOOD, AND THEY’RE REALLY GOOD FOR THE ONLY FANS. AND THEN I DYE MY HAIR IN THESE VIDEOS. I GET FUCKED BY A HORSE. THERE’S FIST FUCKING, THERE’S PISSING. IT’S ALL VERY CHEAP AND LURID ATTENTION SEEKING. BUT IT’S SO PRETTY WITH THIS MUSIC, ISN’T IT?

[OWENS IS DANCING IN A VIDEO.]

AND THEN THERE’S ME DANCING—WHO CAN RESIST ME JUST DANCING?

WHAT’S THAT FROM?

THAT’S THE HORSE VIDEO. I’M WAITING FOR THE HORSE TO SHOW UP. THERE WAS A PART WHERE THE HORSE IS DECAPITATED AND I’M HOLDING THE SEVERED HEAD, BUT I LEFT THAT PART OUT FOR THE MUSEUM.



REMIND ME WHY YOU MADE THE VIDEO ORIGINALLY?

THERE WAS NO REASON. ABSOLUTELY NO REASON. AND LOOK AT IT NOW, IT’S IN A MUSEUM!

[A PHOTOGRAPH OF A PANTSLESS RICK OWENS MODEL FLASHES ON SCREEN.]



WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW OF THE RUNWAY SHOW [FOR FALL 2015] WHERE THE MODELS HAD THEIR DICKS OUT?

IT WAS SUCH A SIMPLE PHYSICAL GESTURE. AND I REALLY LIKED THAT IT WAS A SPECTACLE WITHOUT WASTE. IT WAS PITHY AND IT HAD A MORAL BASE. IT WAS ABOUT MOCKING TOXIC MASCULINITY AND PRIDE AND ARROGANCE AND PRECIOUSNESS. I KNEW THAT IT WOULD’VE MADE MY FATHER CRAZY. IT WOULD’VE MADE A CERTAIN KIND OF MAN VERY ANGRY. AND I DIDN’T EXPECT ONE OF THOSE MEN TO BE KARL LAGERFELD. HE WAS ON TV AND THEY WERE ASKING HIM, WHAT DID HE THINK? AND HE GOT VERY HUFFY ABOUT IT. HE SAID IT WAS DISGUSTING. AND THIS IS A MAN WHO’S TAKING PICTURES OF BOYS IN THE MOST COQUETTISH, HOMOEROTIC MANNER. AND I JUST GO, HERE’S A DICK. AND THAT BOTHERED HIM, AND I LOVED THAT.

AND THEN SOMEBODY IN CASTING DID A CONVERSATION SOMEWHERE AND THEY SAID, IF WE’D HAVE THOUGHT MORE, WE WOULD HAVE AUDITIONED THE BOYS A LITTLE BIT BETTER, BECAUSE SOME OF THE DISPLAYS WERE NOT VERY IMPRESSIVE. AND I’M THINKING, OH MY GOD, THEY TOTALLY DIDN’T GET IT. IT WAS EVEN BETTER THAT THEY WEREN’T BIG DICKS! THEY WERE JUST NORMAL, EVERYDAY, AVERAGE DICKS. AND I LOVED IT THAT THEY WERE AVERAGE. IF I HAD ONLY AUDITIONED FOR BIG DICKS, THAT WOULD’VE BEEN EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT I WANTED TO DO.