As he stood on stage facing an eager audience, Leigh Bowery turned around, pulled down his pants, and gave himself an enema on stage, releasing all of his fecal matter onto the audience. While this one of his most memorable shows, all of Bowery’s performances pushed the boundary of human disgust and perversion. He was a performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer.
Bowery is best known for his outlandish and striking style. He constantly wore avant-garde silhouettes with gimp masks, and once covered his bald head in hot glue. Bowery has left quite a stain on the fashion industry, from his iconic “sex-lips,” featured in Alexander Mcqueen’s catwalks to Rick Owens taking direct inspiration from his performance of “rebirth” where Bowery gives birth to his wife. He was also a prominent muse for Richard Quinn, Gareth Pugh, Martin Margeila and even had a collab with Supreme; the well known streetwear brand.
With his recognizable look, Leigh Bowery was known as one of the original club kids. He often partied at a club he created called Taboo in the UK. He was known for embracing gender fluidity and polysexualism, and implemented these beliefs into his club, creating an atmosphere for people to be themselves and wear whatever they liked. He made a major impact on drag culture as it emerged into the mainstream because of this. To this day Leigh Bowery is known for influencing fashion, modern performance artists, and drag culture.
Creative Direction, Words and Styling By Anna Jara.
Creative Direction Assist and Styling Assist By Hannah Briggs.
Talent By Flora Medina.
Beauty By Ari Young Sang.
Photo by Lulu Hamilton.
Videography By Danna Macias