The talented, high-energy and creative whisper of darkness, pop, rock and dance, Ricky Rebel invades New York City live with a vengeance. On September 17 he will debut at Industry Bar, located at 355 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019 on Thursday at 10:30pm. This will happen in the midst of Fashion Week, a fitting and appropriate time for this glam rock star, who has been compared fashion-wise to Ziggy Stardust, to appear live in New York City.
Ricky is a fashion contributor to U.S. Weekly and has joined other models such as Kendall Jenner to walk for Tumbler and Tipsy during Fashion Week.
Ricky, I am so excited that you are coming to New York.
I am too.
Down Low Thursdays is a really good party.
It’s free for everybody, right?
Yes, there is no cover.
Oh, awesome. We’re getting the dancers ready for the show. We are hiring New York dancers. We are also scheduled to do several red carpet events for Fashion Week.
Tell me a little bit about your take on Fashion Week.
Well, we’re going to the red carpet event for Tumbler and Tipsy. Michael Kuluva is a really good friend of mine, and we collaborated on some of his collections. He invited me to be a model in his shows. He’s such a great guy. He’s an ex-professional ice skater. He’s an excellent athlete, so in that way we get along very well. We’re both go-getters. He is very supportive of me, and he lets me be me. So he invited me out to do the red carpet event.
And what can people expect from your live performance?
Well, I’ll be doing the remix that I did with Hector Fonseca. I am auditioning New York dancers for the song, because I am sure they are unique to New York. I’m really actually curious to work with New York dancers. Literally, this is going to be my first show in New York as Ricky Rebel. It’s a pretty monumental event for me. Last time I was there it was when I was in the boy band No Authority. I remember the energy of New York, and I’m excited to get back and immerse myself in the culture. I kind of feel like L.A. is a little more laid-back, and with my energy I think I would thrive in New York.
What inspires your fashion?
I like BOLD fashion. I like to wear things that most people really couldn’t pull off. I like to stand out with those people that are like avant garde. I like things that are just a little bit unique and creative. I like being creative. I don’t like to play it safe. People think it’s the other way around. They think I’m trying to get attention, and it’s like no, honey, I’m just creative! It’s like a painting. I like my painting to be bold. That’s just my style; it’s not a weakness. A lot of artists out there just play it safe fashion wise.
I know with you it’s not a gimmick, it’s just you!
It’s just me. It stems from being creative. It’s not an ego thing. For me it’s just a creative expression, and I’m committed to being bold. I’m more in the Ziggy Stardust, the Madonna world. She never played it safe, and she wore bras and panties on the outside, and that’s more my style. I’m always going to be that type of performer. I’m not going to ever sell out or play it safe. I also use makeup to kind of tell the story and create the look. Again, it’s in the vein of being creative. I want to inspire boys to be the empowered man, to be both feminine and masculine. I don’t think makeup should be gender specific.
Neither do I. I think men look fabulous with makeup.
I think that it’s cool when I see guys express themselves with makeup. I think that having nice skin is a big part of the new alpha. I think that men are getting into makeup to create that healthy-looking skin.
