When Donatella Versace presented her AW14-15 men’s collection during Milan fashion Week, the theme was easily felt. Models were dressed in tightly cut leather and denim decorated with rivets and different badges. With a clear hint to American cowboy and biker culture culture, the collection was mainly inspired by Kenneth Anger’s 1963 underground classic Scorpio Rising.
The documentary-style short film portrays the lives of a biker gang focusing especially on Scorpio, a leather-wearing, crystal methamphetamine-snorting bad boy who is alternately compared to Jesus Christ, Adolf Hitler and the Devil, depending on his activities. The donning of clothing in Scorpio Rising is a key ritual that transforms the bikers and gives them power, just like the AW14-15 Versace man.