The fashion business is welcoming this subversive area with open arms, while the French government is criticizing the porn sector for its lack of dedication to safeguarding minors. Amidst a backdrop of fame, money, and redemption, former hardcore porn stars and more controversial ones are now considered legitimate fashion influencers, expanding their brand partnerships.
October of 2015. The French author Christine Angot was commissioned by Numéro Magazine Homme to write a fairly odd piece. In the interview, she analyzes the persona of Rocco Siffredi, the well-known Italian porn performer from Ortona, a beach town in Abruzzo province east of Rome. Angot talked about his wife, the other females, his family, his sex addiction, and the shootings. She probed, analyzed, and deconstructed his tale. Throughout her piece, she never passed judgment on him, even if she didn’t completely get him. The debate was really illustrated by Jean-Baptiste Mondino’s painting, which shows a little tear of sperm slowly draining from the “Stallion’s” left eye.
Rocco Siffredi has managed to avoid embarrassment and criticism off camera throughout his career. Nobody objected when he would kiss female TV presenters on set without getting their permission. The situation was humorous to the audience since they would only follow the warm-up’s instructions. He managed to stay out of the spotlight at the time as he was viewed more as an alpha male stereotype than as a true guy.
Ultimately, Rocco Siffredi continues to be more of a fantasy for men than for women, as though he is the embodiment of all the erotic excitement and annoyance that come with pornography. Christine Angot started her piece in October 2015 with the following statement: “When his son asks him why he became a porn actor, he will tell him that it made him happy.” “You have to do what makes you happy in life, without shame,” he will continue. A year later, Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai’s documentary on the actor was shown in theaters. Its blurb discussed a “living legend,” a “hardcore porn star with an exceptional destiny,” and even “pornography coming out of hiding, invading traditional cinema, fashion, and contemporary art.” Some found it to be a clever feature, while others found it to be a gentle representation. And that’s precisely what interests us.
After that contentious documentary, Rocco Siffredi has been quite quiet. However, in June 2023, he made a dramatic return to the spotlight during Milan Fashion Week. He was invited to the Dsquared2 Spring/Summer 2024 show by the brothers Dean and Dan Caten. The Italian Stallion saw himself as a porn film producer, envisioning offset shooting a scene with actress Julia Fox on a four-poster bed in a condominium overlooking Miami Beach. Then, to an incredibly provocative soundtrack, he strides down the catwalk while chewing gum, defying the audience with his look. In the middle of the runway, the actor undid his pants to show his face printed on a pair of boxer shorts. Low-rise pants were Dsquared2’s choice for that season, a glitzy, sensual homage to the 2000s. The porn celebrity is the ideal person to model these boxer briefs. In only one fashion presentation, Rocco Siffredi saturated Google Images with his persona. Shockvertising has, however, seen its peak.
The purpose of the advertising tactic is to draw in viewers with purposefully vulgar content. But the luxury market has never really been fond of pornography. Although it is politically unacceptable, the world of pornography may still be extremely harmful and provide a means of subsistence for certain people. Examples abound nowadays. For example, Manuel Ferrara, a French actor, started streaming on Twitch. But is it a sincere recovery or simply a small wink for the purpose of the publicity?
Mia Khalifa at the 2024 spring/summer fashion show presented by KNWLS.
2. Mia Khalifa, a former porn actress, became a fashion influencer
30 is Mia Khalifa’s age. Most guys are familiar with her name; she was born in Beirut, Lebanon. Or at least that’s what a social media challenge implies. Many young ladies are attempting to mislead their spouses on camera on Instagram and TikTok. They are asking their partners to put in the last names of various superstars, such as Brad Pitt, as they record themselves taking selfies. Meryl… Winslow. Williams, Pharrell. Minaj, Nicki. However, whenever they say the name Mia, there is radio silence followed by laughs.
Indeed, the majority of men are aware of Mia Khalifa, who, despite her short three-month career, is one of the most well-known porn stars. She made an appearance in a Pornhub movie in 2014 while sporting a hijab, a covering that some Muslim women wear to conceal their heads while exposing their faces. After being made fun of, threatened with murder, and other mistreatment, Mia Khalifa has amassed over 27 million Instagram followers and is now a true fashion influencer. During the most recent London Fashion Week, she even walked for the labels of Alexandre Arsenault, Charlotte Knowles, and KNWLS.
Why, however, are men reticent to claim to have met Mia Khalifa? Is it wrong to be embarrassed of pornography? Either way, KNWLS has called Mia Khalifa “beautiful and magnetic.” American rappers Doja Cat and Ice Spice attended the label’s after show honoring their partnership with Jean Paul Gaultier one week prior at New York Fashion Week. The cameras are drawn in by the seductive positions of the two vocalists. Working along with the porn business entails choosing to subvert the law in order to get media attention.
“Pornhub is happy to assist creative innovators who share its values of originality, diversity, authenticity, consent, and freedom of sexual expression,” the company said. Pornhub Community Manager Alexzandra Kekesi.
Ice Spice and Doja Cat during the Jean Paul Gaultier x KNWLS collection debut in New York The Getty
3. Following in the footsteps of Kanye West, Vald, or Kali Uchis, New York fashion designer Shayne Oliver partners with Pornhub.
It’s no longer a secret that Kim Kardashian’s on-screen puppy act is responsible for her business… She filed a lawsuit against the website Vivid as soon as the sex tape she recorded with musician Ray J appeared there in 2007. It was only a temporary lie because the leak’s unidentified source was her own mother. Once frowned upon, pornography is today a completely acceptable kind of advertisement.
Supermodel Eva Herzigova and former porn actress Chloe Cherry made an appearance on Blumarine’s catwalk in February 2022. Chloe Cherry is the star of the third season of the popular television series Euphoria. Music is becoming a new outlet for porn actresses like Liza Monet and Clara Morgane. Rappers, on the other hand, have always asked porn stars to appear in their music videos since popularity was more important than skill. French rapper Vald delivers weary lyrics in his 2015 song Selfie#2, inches from Ian Scott and Nikita Belluci’s sex party: “We even hold hands when we walk through town.” Even in public, she gives me embraces. Eventually, the video—which was half joke, half marketing ploy—was posted on Pornhub.
“At first, I just wanted to see a music video on YouTube,” or “unbearable, impossible to jerk off on the little blond guy with sunglasses hanging around near the couple!” were among the indignant remarks made by others who couldn’t express their feelings. Across the Atlantic, a pornographic website goes even farther and extends an invitation to soul icon Kali Uchis to attend their outrageous Pornhub Awards, which are held in Los Angeles. The event was hosted by none other than Kanye West a year prior. A sneak peek of his song I Love It was released by the porn junkie.
In just five years, the number of kids using pornographic websites has increased by 36%. Fifteen URLs have been identified as being significantly too accessible for kids.
Demi Lovato, Christina Aguilera, and Lindsay Lohan… Stars who are insatiably thirsty for fake transgression have long been content to merely toy with pornography. Madonna created a sensation in 1992 with her book Sex, which featured seductive photos from her fifth album Erotica. The cover’s statement, “I’ll teach you how to fuck,” could not be clearer. Rapper Brooke Candy is producing a pornographic short film instead of being satisfied with only writing a book, 26 years later. For forty minutes, I Love You transports audiences to a surreal world that celebrates gay sexuality. Discovered within a beautiful backdrop evoking memories of ancient Greece, are the sexual antics of porn performers. The producer’s website invites you to learn more about the most popular extracts, which are trending heavily on YouTube. Go Porn.
Recently, one Shayne Oliver has adopted the style. As a genuine streetwear alchemist and the creator of the Hood By Hair label, the New Yorker collaborated with Pornhub on his Spring/Summer 2017 collection, creating the website’s logo to be splattered all over his clothing. This year, he debuts “REC,” a new line inspired by a popular online category. As of right now, the designer’s teaser, which was filmed in Berlin’s Schinkel Pavilion, is the only one accessible. Pornhub Community Manager Alexzandra Kekesi says, “This collection is a beautiful and poetic reflection of fashion and adult entertainment.” “We take great pride in our ongoing support of creative innovators who share our mission and fundamental principles of diversity, originality, authenticity, consent, and freedom of sexual expression.”
Shayne Oliver’s Hood By Air spring-summer 2017 fashion presentation. © Getty
4. The porn sector gives the authorities the chills but draws in celebrities and the fashion industry.
Punctuation mark-based pixelated drawings of breasts were the earliest examples of obscene imagery uploaded online. Back then, computers were still bulky, noisy devices, and the Internet had not yet taken over our homes. Aiming for maximum traffic, two nerds founded YouPorn in 2006… The French Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication, or ARCOM, released its most recent report on the amount of kids using pornographic websites in May 2023, which is 17 years later. Over two million children use these kinds of websites each month… In fact, the number of kids accessing pornographic websites has climbed by 36% in the last five years, and 15 URLs have been identified as being far too accessible to minors.
The documentary Money Shot: The Pornhub Story, which is currently streaming on Netflix, opens amid fits of laughing. These are from a porn star who is disturbed by the question “Do you remember the first porn you ever saw?” posed by American journalist Suzanne Hillinger, who is behind the movie. The answer is actually not that important. The documentary explores scandals, taboos, and allegations against a massive conglomerate. The pornographic industry is a billion-dollar business, with about 90% of productions coming from the US alone. Annual revenue from this sector is estimated to be approximately $10 billion. However, the industry is trying to make up for its negative reputation.
Pornhub recorded 200,000 videos seen every minute in 2018 and over 900 requests per second globally. The leaders of the sex business are being forced to respond to charges made against them due to the company’s significant market share. Their main points are that young people start discovering pornography at the age of eleven, that many women find the content to be too misogynistic, and most importantly, that the website’s moderation policies fail to stop child porn and revenge porn, which is the illegal practice of taking revenge on someone by posting sexually suggestive content online.
Conclusion
- Former hardcore porn stars, like Rocco Siffredi, are gaining legitimacy as fashion influencers, participating in runway shows and brand partnerships, despite criticism from the French government regarding the porn sector’s commitment to protecting minors.
- Mia Khalifa, a former porn actress, has successfully transitioned into a fashion influencer with millions of followers, walking for labels during London Fashion Week and challenging societal perceptions about embracing past involvement in pornography.
- The fashion industry is increasingly collaborating with the porn sector, as seen in partnerships with designers like Shayne Oliver, who worked with Pornhub on fashion collections, reflecting a shift in societal acceptance of pornography as a form of advertisement.
- The rise of pornographic content online raises concerns about its accessibility to minors, with a significant increase in underage users and debates about the industry’s responsibility, as highlighted in the documentary “Money Shot: The Pornhub Story” and the ongoing challenges faced by platforms like Pornhub.
