Extreme Style

Rico with Lady Gaga

Body modification is one of the most heavily discussed, and most controversial trends in the world of fashion. The thing is, unlike most fashion trends, body modification is usually pretty permanent. We can't just get a tattoo for a season and then get rid of it! Well, we could go fake, but that's not really the point! In the fashion industry is renowned for setting up one form of beauty and shunning all others. However, I think in recent times this has begun to change. I give credit to this change to one lady! I'm talking about Stefani Germanotta aka Lady Gaga! She has almost single handedly made it acceptable to have an alternative form of beauty. She has championed the fact that all forms of beauty are acceptable and love her or hate her you have to respect her for that! One of the ways in which she brought this ethos to the forefront recently was in the music video for her hit song Born This Way'. Not only did she appear in the video with sub-dermal implants in her head and shoulders, (although there is debate over whether they are real or simply prosthetics) but she features Rico the Zombie Boy aka tattooed model and artist Rick Genest who is famous for his almost entire body tattoo transforming him into a rotting corpse!

Some of the most extreme forms of body modification such as tongue cleaving, scarification and elfin ear modification are not for everyone. To many they are ugly, but to others they are beautiful. There is a huge amount of stigma attached to extreme body modification. For many it is likened to using cosmetic surgery to make yourself fit a certain beauty ideal, but I have to disagree. Body modification is more about expressing your own creativity. I do think that as a permanent choice it is important not to place emphasis on it as a trend. It's a lifestyle choice. But, I do think that the inclusion of Rico in the Mulger menswear catwalk shows last Fall was a genius move. It sent the message that it's ok to be different. We are all beautiful in our own way. Personally? I think Rico is hot both with and without his body art (Check out his Dermablend Commercial).