Last weekend, Julia Fox reached new lows (haha) as she stepped out of the shadows of New York, (almost) exposing her entire reproductive system to the paparazzi. In making the pubic public, Fox proved there are no depths she will not plunder to bait the newsfeed, and no waistband she will not eliminate to get Daily Mail journalists huffing about “her pert posterior”. Yes, the actor has been hacking away at hemlines for the best part of six months, but the great unveiling of her mons pubis has captured the hearts, and imagination, of the internet all over again.
Styled by Briana Andalore, the look first made its debut during CSM designer Liza Keane’s graduate showcase earlier this year, its deep V and bulbous joints inspired by the musculature of centaurian legs. And though pundits have been quick to connect Fox to some kind of turbo-sexed Mr Tumnus, this whole thing is more than mere horseplay – to watch her slice her wardrobe into skanky little shreds is to watch someone realise the power of clothes in real time. It’s all part of the theatre of Julia Fox, whose provocative output has included staging her own funeral and photography books offering candid glimpses into a world of sex, drugs, and doomed romances.
The following day, Fox took her pageantry to the same rooftop where her “son was conceived”, setting fire to a pyrotechnic coat designed by Sam Macer, as if it were some kind of sacrificial act – reminiscent of Thích Quảng Đức’s gruesome 1963 protest of South Vietnam’s oppressive regime. Of course, people are quick to berate Fox as some kind of fame-hungry desperata, but her patronage of weird and wonderful young designers goes beyond engendering headlines and boosting celebrity – it’s actually an act of generosity. Not just for them, but for us. Because who else is doing it like her? What other famous person is making fashion just this... fun?