In an industry which capitalizes on
and idolizes the unique, Michele Lamy exists
as one of the last purely individual and eccentric personalities possessed by
the fashion world. Best known as the gold-toothed and heavily inked (both
through the numerous tattoos covering her body as well as her signature
ink-dipped fingers) muse, wife, and creative partner of fashion designer Rick
Owens, Lamy manages to stand alone in her own right through a barrage of
projects and titles undertaken during the past years. These varied titles
include that of clothing designer, performer, film producer, restaurateur,
stripper, and defense lawyer, and showcase not only an appetite for
experiencing the unique facets and frameworks of life, but also illustrate the
enormous breadth of her interests and experiences within multiple realms. When
asked about her life and the beginnings of the journey which led her to where
she is today, Lamy replied: “In my twenties, I wanted to escape my rich
provincial upbringing, so I abandoned studies as a defense attorney to
striptease. I was involved in the May, 1968 protests in Paris, and in the early
seventies I wanted to be Bob Dylan. My thirties were spent living the
Californian Dream surrounded by artists, and giving birth to my daughter Scarlett
Rouge. My forties were an entrepreneurial era in Los Angeles where I met my
honey, Rick Owens, and I will spend my fifties enjoying life with him.”
From a conventional standpoint, Lamy
and Owens seem quite the eccentric pair, yet in reality, compliment each other
surprisingly well both professionally as well as privately. With Owens running
the business from a design and creation standpoint, Lamy has worked feverishly
behind the scenes of the company in what she termed the role of "Head
Honcho", performing a broad range of duties and roles. "I'm in the
kitchen, and loving it. I don't have a specific hat," states Lamy.
"Or I do have a bunch of hats." These “hats” that Lamy refers to encompass
her active and administrative role in Owens’ recently launched furniture line,
as well as her role in charge of construction of their first fur atelier,
affectionately and appropriately referred to as "Lamyland", a term
coined by Rick.
With such a close and symbiotic connection, it should
appear that the two work and exist in a sublimely united cohesive bond, yet
rumors still abound regarding the nature of their relationship, as well as
whispers of Owens bisexuality, which interestingly enough, led to the pairs
first meeting as facilitated through a past boyfriend of Owens and mutual
friend of the pair. When asked about these rumors and statements, Owens replied
“Frankly, in the beginning, I made a point of bringing up my sexuality just
because I wanted it before anyone else could. I was with Michele and hated the
idea of someone whispering to her “you know, I think your husband’s gay”. I was
going to say it first. I didn’t want anyone to think they could embarrass me or
Michele. We met through my boyfriend, one of her best
friends. So it's true I'm bisexual. It's supposed to be the other way around,
isn't it? People are against bisexuality. It's either shit or get off the pot.
It would be great if things were that black and white, but life is all about
ambiguities, and sometimes you have to make up the rules as you go along. It
would have been easy for me to be completely gay. There was nothing holding me
back. In fact, I started out assuming I would be a gay guy who didn't really
have relationships, but who would have sex anytime, then it just kind of
happened, and I really can't imagine having a relationship with anyone else.
It's been almost fifteen years. God, who knows what that would be in fag
years?”
When asked how they themselves see
their relationship interactions, and the way that they complement as well as
even each other personally, privately, and professionally, Owens is quick to
reply: “It’s kind of like asking a fascist and a gypsy to organize a war
together, she’s just so generous and so flexible with deadlines and I’m not.
She likes the complexity and eccentricity of working with artisans and I don’t
always have the patience for that. The furniture is customized, esoteric,
involves rare materials. She loves that.”
Gold teeth, furniture,
sexuality, and business roles aside, one thing seems to stand out about the two
above all else, that being the love that each has for the other and the way
that their eccentricities and quirky personalities seem to strengthen that
bond. When asked about his wife, Owens affectionately replies that he sees Lamy
as “a mesmerizing sphinx” endearingly going on to add “ I’m so
fascinated by someone who acts completely on instinct and feelings, where I’m
so pragmatic and sensible and kind of, compared to her, boring and
conservative.”
Conservative and boring,
Rick? Those are two words that one would
never ascribe to you. -- Stephen Fisher--
