A new zombie craze has hit the scene just in time for Halloween.
Lady Gaga, known for her creative innovation in the music and fashion world, has expanded her freakiness. Her song “Born This Way” introduced a new character to the world: Rico the Zombie or even Zombie Boy. He is the guy in her music video tatted up head to toe, with a face like a skeleton and sporting a very chic tuxedo — but what looked like makeup, is actually permanent ink.
Twenty-six-year-old Rico the Zombie — real name Rick Genest — posed as Lady Gaga’s muse for “Born This Way” and was recently featured in Issue 4 of WeTheUrban Magazine and said, “I’ve met some very interesting and creative people … I feel very welcomed by the industry.”
I know that Genest is being very sincere, but I wonder if those specific words rolled off the tongue as an indirect plug for himself because he is obviously interesting and creative.
Because his tattoos are so weird, Genest is gaining fame. When I Googled Genest and stumbled upon his website, RickGenest.com, I found his features in various magazines, such as his feature in Inked magazine, and his promotional work for the tattoo concealing makeup Dermablend. Appropriate for this brand is the old adage, “How do you judge a book? Go beyond the cover.” But what about in today’s world where it’s all about the cover? Check out Dermablend’s website campaign and you’re head will spin.
When Rick first walks into the camera, sans tattoo, you think, “Oh wait, maybe the ink was just makeup”. But just wait. The surprise is that that his tattoo-less face is the makeup!
While Zombie Boy may be scary at first glance, there is something about him that is, dare I say, so hot.
Seeing him covered up, I see a normal person but once the body tattoos are revealed he is completely changed. Since the tattoos cover his entire face, I feel like I can’t see him; I am constantly searching for the man behind the ink. What’s his story? Is he as scary as his zombie costume makes him out to be? It’s the mystery that’s the attraction.
Zombie Boy is taking the world by dark-force, everyone wants a piece of him, he’s even been cast in Keanu Reeves upcoming movie “47 Ronin.” Movie producers, musicians and clothing designers want more Rick and let me just say, he makes a sequin jacket look good; not something one would expect from someone so ghoulish looking.
Recently Rick was featured in Nicola Formichetti’s Thierry Mugler Fall/Autumn/Winter 2011/2012 fashion show. Dark lighting and a haunted-house runway was the prefect place for Rick to show off. He walked down the walk in a black sports jacket sans shirt and black leather pants.
He also worked backstage on another fashion show with Lady Gaga. This show, I can say, was literally the freakiest show I had ever seen. To put it simply, it scared me to death. Lady Gaga ceases to amaze me with her different looks. Gaga’s profile provided the backdrop to the show and as she spoke, with her voice mixing with eerie sound effects, it looked like her profile was seizing.
The models were wearing neutral tones: black, white, beige and tan. The threads, while very cool looking, were cutout in ways that showed the defined features of a woman’s hip bone, shoulder and other skeletal attributes. In addition, the tattered and cut-up look reminded me of the shredded clothing zombies have on when rising out of the ground. The hair and makeup were coiffed and fixed in a way that was sharp and somber. The whole fashion show looked like it took place in the underworld: dark, mysterious, but so entertaining, I couldn’t stop watching regardless of how creeped out I might have been. If Genest has taught me anything it’s that maybe the living dead really do exist, and that they make dead look good.
Alexa Wilansky is a Collgian columnist. She can be reached at [email protected].
