Mr. Beanbag

Things have changed a lot for you since then. 

It's funny, I always just wanted to have a modest company, and to be independent and comfortable. I just wanted to keep doing what I thought was right. But I would be disingenuous if I said I wasn't ambitious. In the beginning, I remember seeking out the best stores I could find while protecting my identity press-wise. I didn't do many fashion spreads. So I worked with just one store in L.A., Charles Gallay. He doesn't do clothes anymore, but he was a fashion pioneer back then. He was the first to carry Versace, Montana, Mugler—all the really extreme stuff. He was the biggest buyer in the world of Margiela's first season. I showed my clothes to him first. He bought them. And he prepaid.

Was that a happier time? 

Fuck no, but it was very nice and I thought it would stay that way. I was operating on a real fringe back then. In those days, I was a part of the wicked Hollywood Boulevard hustler bar world. I hung around people like Goddess Bunny, a dwarf friend of mine, and Mr. Beanbag in super sleazy, crystal, tranny hustler bars just off Hollywood Boulevard, a couple of blocks from my studio. It fit into my aesthetic of broken idealism. That was my milieu, they were my friends. I call them my "baroque pearls."

i've always wondered who wore rick owens.  i thought this gave some interesting insight into his philosophy.  after reading this, it's hard not to think of it as "clothes for tranny hustlers."  but that kind of brings me back to my original confusion.

full interview here.