Rick Genest
Encyclopedia
Rick Genest is a Canadian artist and fashion model born in Montreal
. He is also known as Zombie Boy for being tattooed like a corpse across the majority of his body. From October 2011, Rick is in a relationship with Kasiia Fik.
as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver
.", and "also a tribute to horror movies", a favourite genre of his.
fan page was created about Rick's unusual choice of tattoos. This page reached 1,526,292 members (as of November 19, 2011) and ultimately led to his discovery by Lady Gaga
's Fashion Director Nicola Formichetti
.
On January 19, 2011, Rick was featured in the new MUGLER Autumn/Winter mens collection, headlining the collection on the brand's website, after his discovery by Creative Director Nicola Formichetti. In fact it was Genest's discovery by Formichetti and then Gaga's urging which actually resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned. His discovery also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself. The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco
. He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women's 2011 Autumn/Winter line.
On February 27, 2011, Rick was featured in Lady Gaga's video for "Born This Way
", with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest's tattoos.
Genest can be seen styled in MUGLER by Formichetti and shot by Mariano Vivanco in the sixth volume of Vogue Hommes Japan
, the editorial being titled "Hard To Be Passive". In the Spring/Summer issue of GQ Style (UK) Formichetti and he are interviewed, with Genest shot in MUGLER by Karim Sadli for the editorial.
In late 2011, Genest became part of a campaign entited "Go Beyond the Cover," promoting Dermablend professional makeup products, appearing in a video wherein a makeup team covered all the tattoos on his head, torso, arms, and part of his back in its concealer product, with the cover-up process video documentation played in reverse to show the concealer's effectiveness.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. He is also known as Zombie Boy for being tattooed like a corpse across the majority of his body. From October 2011, Rick is in a relationship with Kasiia Fik.
Early life
Genest grew up in Châteauguay, a suburb of Montreal. As a child, Rick developed a brain tumor which was surgically removed when he was 15 years old. According to his mother he waited, out of respect for her and his father, until the age of 16 to get his first tattoo. He then left home at 17 after graduating from high school, but it was not until the age of 21 that he would first come to Montreal tattoo artist Frank Lewis, since then responsible for inking the majority of the designs on his body, which they create together. This has taken over six years, Genest spending thousands of dollars on the artwork, conceived by him to be "about the human bodyHuman body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
as a decomposing corpse – the art of a rotting cadaver
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
.", and "also a tribute to horror movies", a favourite genre of his.
Rise to fame
On March 5, 2010, a FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
fan page was created about Rick's unusual choice of tattoos. This page reached 1,526,292 members (as of November 19, 2011) and ultimately led to his discovery by Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's Fashion Director Nicola Formichetti
Nicola Formichetti
Nicola Formichetti is an internationally prolific fashion director and fashion editor of mixed Italian and Japanese heritage. He is most widely known as the new creative director for the French fashion house MUGLER, and for being a frequent collaborator with singer-songwriter and performance...
.
On January 19, 2011, Rick was featured in the new MUGLER Autumn/Winter mens collection, headlining the collection on the brand's website, after his discovery by Creative Director Nicola Formichetti. In fact it was Genest's discovery by Formichetti and then Gaga's urging which actually resulted in the menswear show, something not originally planned. His discovery also influenced Formichetti on the collection itself. The show was accompanied by a video featuring Genest shot by fashion photographer Mariano Vivanco
Mariano Vivanco
Mariano Vivanco is an internationally renowned fashion photographer. Vivanco regularly shoots for many internationally recognized magazines, including Vogue Hommes Nippon, Numéro, Numéro Homme, i-D, Dazed & Confused, Hercules, Electric Youth, Details, GQ Italy, GQ Spain, Man About Town,...
. He later featured alongside Lady Gaga in the fashion show for the women's 2011 Autumn/Winter line.
On February 27, 2011, Rick was featured in Lady Gaga's video for "Born This Way
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
", with Lady Gaga wearing makeup to replicate Genest's tattoos.
Genest can be seen styled in MUGLER by Formichetti and shot by Mariano Vivanco in the sixth volume of Vogue Hommes Japan
Men's Vogue
Men's Vogue was a monthly men's magazine that covered fashion, design, art, culture, sports and technology. On October 30, 2008 Condé Nast announced that they intended to fold the magazine into Vogue proper as a bi-annual subscriber's supplement...
, the editorial being titled "Hard To Be Passive". In the Spring/Summer issue of GQ Style (UK) Formichetti and he are interviewed, with Genest shot in MUGLER by Karim Sadli for the editorial.
In late 2011, Genest became part of a campaign entited "Go Beyond the Cover," promoting Dermablend professional makeup products, appearing in a video wherein a makeup team covered all the tattoos on his head, torso, arms, and part of his back in its concealer product, with the cover-up process video documentation played in reverse to show the concealer's effectiveness.