Rick Genest has an extremely recognisable face, which you may have seen in Lady Gaga’s song Born This Way – he also bears a striking resemblance to Mad Dog Deano and the disturbing zombie faces we already featured. Rick Genest is actually a model and the new muse for Lady Gaga’s stylist and designer Nicola Formichetti. Recently debuting his collection as creative director for Terry Mugler at Paris Fashion Week, Formichetti based his show around the heavily tattooed 25 year old Rick Genest. (Check out what Rick Genest looks like without his face and body full of tattoos here: Rick Genest Without Tattoos).
Rick Genest, the Montreal native has 20,000 fans on facebook (where Formichetti discovered him) and over 7,000 twitter followers – all fascinated by his macabre body artwork which resembles a decomposing body (he doesn’t exactly sound like the dream-pin). Rick has become quite the figurehead for the tattoo community, and his recent foray into modelling is a massive achievement considering poor Mad Dog Deano is likely to never get a job again! After spending 7k on his tattoos, Rick was destined for a life of debt and persecution, but lucky for him the fashion world absolutely love him. It’s no surprise really when fashion is all about being innovative and ability to shock, just look at the Louis Vuitton collection also at Paris Fashion Week where Kate Moss lit up a fag on the catwalk – on National No Smoking Day no less, tut tut!
The enormous rise of Lady Gaga with her wacky and completely bonkers style has brought the weird and freaky way of life to the mainstream, so I think Zombie Boy only has her to thank for his sudden notoriety. If a man with a full-body tattoo (normally found in your worst nightmare) can make a load of money by modelling, then Gaga and her team can probably make a load of money from playing up the fact that she is a hermaphrodite too.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCoxH60Ygb4&feature=player_embedded#at=118
Terry Mugler campaign:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GpEyQ78CHo&feature=related
As Formichetti is also the fashion direction for Vogue Hommes Japan, he recently modelled the new Mugler collection shot by Mariano Vivanco.
And if you wanna find out more about Rick Genest check out RickGenest.com.