Michèle Lamy

Michèle Lamy (born 1944) is a French

culture and fashion figure. She has been a
clothing designer, performer, film producer,
and restaurateur, and is the life partner of
Rick Owens. She is the co founding
partner of Owenscorp and functions as the
Executive Manager Art/Furniture.[1][2]
Early life and Michèle Lamy
education

Lamy was born in

1944 in Jura,
France. Her
grandfather made
accessories for one Lamy at Paris
Fashion Week 2019
of France's most
famous couturiers, Born 1944

Paul Poiret.[3][4] (age 79–

80)
She studied law, and Jura,
during the 60s and France

70s, worked as a Occupations Designe

defense lawyer, ·
while studying with perform
the postmodern Years active 1990–
philosopher Gilles present
Deleuze.[5] She was Spouses Richard New
​
involved in the May ​(m. 1990; d
1968 protests in Rick Owens
​
Paris. She then ​(m. 2006)​

worked as a cabaret Children 1

dancer and toured
France before moving to the United States
in 1979.[6]

Career

In 1979, Lamy moved to New York and

then settled in Los Angeles, where she set
up a fashion line and ran two cult
restaurants/nightclubs – Café des Artistes
and Les Deux Cafés in 1996 with her first
husband, experimental filmmaker Richard
Newton.[7][8][9] With her tattooed fingers
and gold-plated teeth, she was an
emblematic figure of nightlife in Los
Angeles in the middle of 90s.[10] Her
tattoos were inspired by the Berbers,
during her first trip to North Africa when
she was around 17 or 18 years old.[11]

In 1990, Lamy created a clothing line

called Lamy. She hired Rick Owens, who
later became her business partner and,
then, her companion and husband. In
2003, Lamy and Owens left Los Angeles to
settle in Paris and got married in
2006.[12][13] In 2004, the couple
established their own fashion company
Owenscorp, describing their business
partnership as "asking a gypsy to organise
a war with a fascist."[14][15]

Lamy produces the furniture that bears the

Owens brand. She also designs jewelry
with Loree Rodkin and has appeared in
FKA twigs and Black Asteroid music
videos.[16][17] She formed the band
LAVASCAR with the artist Nico Vascellari
and her daughter Scarlett Rouge.[18]
In November 2010, Lamy posed for a
shoot for Vogue Paris with the
photographer Steven Klein.[19][20] In 2013,
Lamy was featured in Forbes with her
daughter from her first marriage, artist
Scarlett Rouge.[21] In 2015, she was
featured in one of the videos for the EP
M3LL155X by FKA Twigs.[22] Lamy
appeared in the first clip; Figure 8, wearing
a headpiece with a luminous bulb imitating
an anglerfish.[23]

At the 2016 Venice Biennale, Lamy

transformed an old container ship into a
floating saloon. The same year, she
recorded songs with her good friend,
rapper A$AP Rocky. Rocky said about
Lamy, "Hardly anyone knows how
important you have been behind the
scenes for my career. You did not just
design my album covers, you took me to
art fairs and showed me the art world."[24]

In 2017, Lamy and Rick Owens were

featured in Lou Stoppard's book about
fashion's most important and iconic duos,
titled Fashion Together: Fashion's Most
Extraordinary Duos on the Art of
Collaboration. In the book, Owens said that
Lamy was more his "mate" than "muse."
And, "I don't think anyone would ever think
of Michèle as a passive muse. I think that's
why she sparks people's interest—because
she doesn't fit the typical role of a
muse."[25]

Lamy has practiced boxing for 35 years.[26]

In 2018, she set up her own boxing gym
"Lamyland" in Selfridges, London. The
space previously was home to A$AP
Rocky's AWGE Bodega. It is now
reinvented every few months.[27] In
October 2018, Lamy curated a
performance series featuring a tour of
"Outsider Art Fair Paris" by British
performance artist David Hoyle.[28]
In January 2019, Lamy held an installation
art "Genius You" in collaboration with
Dutch photographer Paul Kooiker, taking
place all around Selfridges, London.[29]
From May to November 2019, her boxing
installation: "What Are We Fighting For?",
had been shown in Venice Biennale.[30]

Lamy said about her approach to fashion

and design, "I like to really be with a lot of
people and exchange ideas and the best
way to be is to do something together, so
I'm easily seduced… And when it's the idea
or I want to lead a bunch of people
somewhere and do something together, I
think that's generous."[31]
In 2020, Lamy will collaborate with director
Katya Bankowsky for Battle Royale, a
series of short films that feature
Bankowsky and Lamy preparing for a
fight.[32]

Personal life

Lamy has one daughter, artist Scarlett

Rouge.[33] She is married to fashion
designer Rick Owens.[34]

References

1. Fisher, Alice (11 February 2018). "Michèle

Lamy, the style queen who packs a punch"
(https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/201
 8/feb/11/michele-lamy-the-style-queen-wh
o-packs-a-punch) . the Guardian. Retrieved
16 October 2018.

2. "Michèle Lamy: Inside The Modern

Polymath's Extraordinary Universe" (https://
www.highsnobiety.com/p/michele-lamy/) .
Highsnobiety. 16 October 2018. Retrieved
16 October 2018.

3. Rabkin, Eugene (9 October 2018). "Inside

the Extraordinary Universe of Michèle
Lamy" (https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mi
chele-lamy/) . Highsnobiety.
4. Kaprièlian, Nelly (18 August 2014). "Les
égéries de la mode : Michèle Lamy, muse
du créateur Rick Owens" (https://www.lesin
rocks.com/2014/08/18/style/les-egeries-d
e-la-mode-michele-lamy-muse-du-createur-r
ick-owens-11839889/) . Les Inrockuptibles
(in French).

5. Fisher, Alice (11 February 2018). "Michèle

Lamy, the style queen who packs a punch"
(https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/201
8/feb/11/michele-lamy-the-style-queen-wh
o-packs-a-punch) . The Guardian.

6. Annalisa P. Cignitti (23 May 2012). "Michèle

Lamy" (https://www.rocaille.it/michele-lam
y/) . Rocaille.
 7. Virbilla, S. Irene (26 April 1998). "Les Deux
Cafes'Inside Story" (http://articles.latimes.c
om/1998/apr/26/magazine/tm-43032) .
Los Angeles Times.

8. Robinson, Gayle (16 May 1990). "FASHION :

Michele Lamy Somehow Knits It All
Together" (http://articles.latimes.com/1990
-05-16/news/vw-240_1_michele-lamy) .
Los Angeles Times.

9. "How to Live Beautifully With Michele

Lamy" (https://www.dazeddigital.com/beau
ty/soul/article/42034/1/how-to-live-beautif
ully-with-michele-lamy) . Dazed Digital. 26
November 2018.

10. P. Cignitti, Annalisa (23 May 2012).

"Michèle Lamy" (https://www.rocaille.it/mic
hele-lamy) . Rocaille.
11. Motwary, Filep (2018). "THEOREM[A]:
MICHELE LAMY: An interview with the wife
and business partner to Rick Owens" (http
s://www.polimoda.com/theorema-interview
-michele-lamy/) . Polimoda.

12. Maria Cappelletti, Gloria (21 November

2018). "open-hearted (and underwater) with
michèle lamy" (https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/a
rticle/43ebkw/open-hearted-and-underwate
r-with-michele-lamy) . i-D.

13. "Michèle Lamy" (https://interviewmagazin

e.com/fashion/michele-lamy-1) . Interview
Magazine. 8 December 2015. Retrieved
17 December 2019.
14. Wallace, Christopher (30 April 2014).
"Constructing Rick Owens' Creative Bubble"
(https://www.businessoffashion.com/articl
es/intelligence/constructing-rick-owens-cre
ative-bubble) . Business Of Fashion.
Retrieved 18 August 2019.

15. Lang, Cady (26 January 2016). "Five

Reasons Why Michèle Lamy Is The Coolest
Sexagenerian Ever" (https://stylecaster.co
m/michele-lamy-cool-moments/) . Style
Caster.

16. Rabkin, Eugene (9 October 2018). "Inside

the Extraordinary Universe of Michèle
Lamy" (https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mi
chele-lamy/) . Highsnobiety.
17. Osei, Sarah (3 May 2019). "PEOPLE:
MICHÈLE LAMY" (https://interview.de/peopl
e/michele-lamy/) . Interview Germany.
Retrieved 10 May 2019.

18. "Michèle Lamy Profile: Rick Owens'

Greatest Muse Casts a Fabulous Spell" (htt
ps://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/michele
-lamy-boxing-rick-owens-fashion) .
www.lofficielusa.com. Retrieved 7 April
2020.

19. "Nils Butle and Michele Lamy for Vogue" (ht

tp://fuckingyoung.es/nils-butler-and-michel
e-lamy-by-steven-klein/) . F.Y!. 12
November 2010.
20. "Michèle Lamy: è lei la musa ispiratrice di
Rick Owens" (https://www.mam-e.it/moda/
michele-lamy-inaugura-lamyland) . MAM-e
(in French). 12 November 2010.

21. Elliot, Hannah (18 December 2013). "At

Home With Michele Lamy: The Woman
Behind Rick Owens" (https://www.forbes.co
m/sites/hannahelliott/2013/12/18/at-home
-with-michele-lamy-the-woman-behind-rick-
owens/#65a7a65a2267) . Forbes.

22. "Michele Lamy spills on working with FKA

twigs" (https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashi
on/article/28401/1/michele-lamy-spills-on-
working-with-fka-twigs) . Dazed Digital. 13
November 2015.
23. Hyland, Veronique (10 November 2015).
"The Jeweler With a Shaman Dentist and a
Boxing Habit" (https://www.thecut.com/201
5/10/michele-lamy-fka-twigs-hunrod.htm
l) . The Cut.

24. Fentloh, Fray (18 September 2018).

"MICHÈLE LAMY AND ASAP ROCKY" (http
s://interview.de/people/michele-lamy-and-a
sap-rocky/) . Interview Germany (in
German).

25. Stanley, Jack (5 October 2017). "Rick

Owens and Michèle Lamy Discuss
Collaboration & Their Relationship" (https://
hypebeast.com/2017/10/rick-owens-miche
le-lamy-interview-fashion-together-rizzoli) .
Hypebeast.
26. Cappelletti, Gloria Maria (21 November
2018). "open-hearted (and underwater) with
michèle lamy" (https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/a
rticle/43ebkw/open-hearted-and-underwate
r-with-michele-lamy) . i-D.

27. "Michele Lamy is setting up her own boxing

gym in Selfridges" (https://www.dazeddigit
al.com/fashion/article/38509/1/michele-la
my-setting-up-own-boxing-gym-in-selfridges
-lamyland-rick-owens-nike) . Dazed Digital.
4 January 2018.

28. Sayej, Nadja (23 October 2018). "Michèle

Lamy resurrects the zine in the name of
outsider art" (http://www.documentjournal.
com/2018/10/michele-lamy-resurrects-the-
zine-in-the-name-of-outsider-art/) .
Document Journal.
29. Diallo, Habi (10 January 2019). "Michele
Lamy wants to cast you in her new project"
(https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/arti
cle/42848/1/michele-lamy-selfridges-londo
n-paul-kooiker-rick-owens-photography-art-
project) . Dazed Digital. Retrieved 12 March
2019.

30. Seth, Radhika (8 May 2019). "Artist Michèle

Lamy's Boxing Installation Packs A Visual
Punch In Venice" (https://www.vogue.co.u
k/article/michele-lamy-venice-biennale-201
9) . Vogue UK. Retrieved 10 May 2019.

31. HB Team (31 January 2019). "Michele

Lamy wants to cast you in her new project"
(https://hypebeast.com/2019/1/michele-la
my-rick-owens-birkenstock-hong-kong-inter
view) . Hypebeast. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
32. Rossen, Miss (4 December 2019). "Katya
Bankowsky and Michèle Lamy wage a
boxing 'Battle Royale' in the Bronx" (https://
www.documentjournal.com/2019/12/katya
-bankowsky-and-michele-lamy-wage-a-boxi
ng-battle-royale-in-the-bronx/) . Document
Journal. Retrieved 14 January 2020.

33. "Michèle Lamy" (https://www.interviewmag

azine.com/fashion/michele-lamy-1) .
Interview Magazine. 8 December 2015.
Retrieved 17 December 2019.

34. Fury, Alexander (2 March 2017). "The

Lighter Side of Rick Owens" (https://www.n
ytimes.com/2017/03/02/t-magazine/rick-o
wens-fashion-designer.html) . The New
York Times.
 Portal: fashion

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