PH on the Runway
A Conversation about Censorship and Representation with VP of Brand & Community, Alex Kekesi
Packed for Pleasure exhibition, Paris Fashion Week— Photo by Cobrasnake
Censorship and moral policing (and, literal policing) have hit their most alarming peak. As institutions routinely abandon brands and creatives speaking out loudest against sweeping unjust marginalizations, Pornhub (yes, the Pornhub) has stepped up as a primary advocate for their contributors, the sex worker community, and a cadre of designers seeking to fund their collections. From the earliest previews of now-renowned ateliers (Ludovic de Saint Sernin, FW22), Spearmint Rhino-hosted afterparties featuring the platform’s top talent (Vaquera, FW24), and exuberant displays of queerness and encumbered sexuality (Chris Habana, SS26), Pornhub has provided support for this generations most promising designers in a similar fashion to the way they platform their own creators— visibility and funding. By providing labels the platform to create sans the financial burden that encumbers a runway, Pornhub has grown into one of the most prominent incubators of independent fashion labels. The driving force behind this revolution is Alex Kekesi, VP of Brand and Community at Pornhub. The executive is pioneering accessibility efforts in both the sartorial and sex work spaces while integrating the communities into one another to expand opportunity. This fashion month, we had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Kekesi about where Pornhub has been and where they are headed as we wade through the vile tumult of censored sexuality.
As Kekesi and I sit down to chat, Pornhub is amidst a groundbreaking new chapter, ten years into their venture to support independent fashion labels. On a gloomy London Friday between London and Paris Fashion Week, Kekesi is both recovering from Pornhub’s sponsorship of R&M Leathers’ inaugural LFW runway presentation and preparing for the the platform’s support of the Tom of Finland Foundation’s ‘Packed for Pleasure’ gallery curation, featuring archival imagery and relics of the Tom of Finland universe— kinkwear, erotic visuals, and immersive installations. Premiering on the Left Bank during Paris Fashion Week, the exhibition trumpets the timely and necessary conversation around eroticism and expression under the thumb of surveillance.
R&M Leathers “Miss Leather” Runway, Photo by Cobrasnake
Delaney Willet: Talk to me about how you got involved with R&M Leathers. Is this the first time PornHub has sponsored a designer for London Fashion Week?
Alex Kekesi: It is, so that was really exciting. R&M entitled the presentation Miss Leathers. We had our first interaction with them almost a year ago, around Halloween. We threw a party in LA around to celebrate the launch of Richardson Magazine at Jumbo’s Clown Room in LA. Ruby from R&M Leathers made custom outfits for the dancers, so that was the first partnership between us. R&M had never presented at Fashion Week before, this one. There certainly not newcomers. They’ve been dressing everyone from Lily Allen to Charlie XCX, to Miley Cyrus’ in her music video. It was really exciting to be able to support this first.
DW: Pornhub has now been sponsoring presentations within the fashion sphere for ten years. How did this initiative begin?
AK: It is one of my favorite things that we get to do at Pornhub—- support a worthy brand. The first was Hood by Air in 2016. It was the first time I ever saw the Pornhub logo in Vogue. It was like ‘Whoa, I didn’t even know that this could be a thing.’ But, it makes perfect sense. A lot of people still don’t know this, but Pornhub today is a platform that helps people monetize their content. So this is a platform that tons of independent creators use not only to monetize their views on the platform, but most importantly, to direct viewers to their paid sites. It’s a great conversion tool to help them grow their audiences and, most importantly, make money. We took that same ethos in how we partner with the fashion space. Almost every time that we do something like this, we get this influx of people to the site.
R&M Leather “Miss Leather” Runway, Photo by Cobrasnake
DW: What was the draw to supporting fashion specifically?
AK: These shows are really expensive, and there ARE not a lot of people out there that are able or willing to support them other than brands that sometimes can look kind of clunky, understandably so. They’re sponsoring it, so they need some visibility, or some kind of integration. I understand that we’re not the easiest brand to partner with for a number of reasons. For us, we’re really fortunate that there are so many obvious intersections between the fashion world and the sex work world. After [R&M Leathers], I heard from so many creators and so many sex workers saying, ‘It’s really nice to see that for once, it’s not just our aesthetic that’s being co-opted.’
We had three of our talent walking in the show, which to me was really important, because if we’re going to fund something like this, um, it’s important that the brand really be about it, you know what I mean? That they’re pro-sex work, at the very least. We get approached by people who are like ‘We’ll do it.’ Then I’m like, ‘Okay, are you willing to put sex workers on your runway? Are you willing to put them in your campaign? Are you cool with the fact that we’re an adult brand, or are you going to try to obscure all of that?’ We’ve had to let go of a couple of partnerships over the years because of that, which is fine.
DW: What clicked with Ruby and with R&M this London Fashion Week?
AK: We had something authentic with Ruby [of R&M]. Women in this space have such an ability to make incredibly beautiful pieces that are very sexual in nature, but, not designed to offend or not to be crass. What I really saw in this presentation was a celebration of women’s sexuality and the power of that celebration. It was one of my favorite partnerships that we’ve ever done. The fact that it was in London is really significant, because of what’s going on with pornography and sex work there.
R&M Leather “Miss Leather” Runway, Photo by Cobrasnake
DW: Tell me more.
AK: Right now, the UK is increasing censorship. Sex workers are getting deplatformed in different capacities. Pornhub is, for the most part, inaccessible in the UK in response to the legislation they’re enacting regarding age verification laws. We don’t believe in the way that the government there is trying to go about age verification, which is very topical globally right now. It’s being framed as an effort to protect kids, but it’s really about increased surveillance and censorship.
Therefore, this show and supporting it hit all those same notes of rebellion against this injustice. There’s such a negative association right now with sex workers of all genders. It’s a very gendered trade that does primarily involve women, so there’s this huge backlash right now against women, monetizing their sexuality. We’re seeing an effort to repress and control that in such harmful and violent ways. This show was our response in many ways, showcasing the stunning pieces and how confident the women were in this embodiment.
“Packed for Pleasure” exhibition– Paris Fashion Week, Photo by Cobrasnake
DW: Leather sent down the runway as art, rather than— to use your word— a co-opt of fetishwear is a significant step in representation on the world’s stage. Pornhub offers these designers the safe space to create, under a partnership that supports their values. Most often, you align with queer, POC, and women-owned brands that otherwise wouldn’t have the funding to stage a presentation. In turn, those brands bolstering your talent, creating a crucial net of advocacy for one another. How does that search go— finding the right brand to back and joining their ideals with Pornhub’s?
AK: We’ve been lucky that there are people paying attention to what we’re doing, and that have reached out proactively. Years ago, we did one of Ludovic de Saint-Sernin’s first shows. He’s humongous now, you know? I’m super proud that we were able to support that show. I saw that he recently dressed Kim Kardashian for the opening of the Skims shop. What he creates, that is all fetishware. She’s wearing mesh, corsetry, and straps. You can certainly make comments about someone like Kim Kardashian potentially co-opting sex work aesthetics while doing little to nothing to actually supporting that community. However, representation, even if problematic, also matters. It’s a double-edged sword. We are selective about the brands and the people that we choose to work with. I’m not interested in just putting my brand’s name on the invitation for a show, and being like, ‘We threw some money at this.’ It’s really important that there is integration, storytelling, and platforming. I can’t remember the last time that we did a show that didn’t have a sex worker walking in it.
R&M Leather “Miss Leather” Runway, Photo by Cobrasnake
DW: Last year, I attended the Chris Habana SS26 presentation at New York Fashion Week, which was such a perfect blend of design, queerness, and sex work advocacy.
AK: Exactly! We had a number of our brand ambassadors walk the same runway as Vivian Wilson, putting all of these people on a level playing field. If we want to talk institutionally, there’s so much harm that’s being done to sex workers. The numbers don’t lie: we have 130 million people visiting our platform every day. OnlyFans is valued at billions and billions of dollars. As much as they would like to make-believe that it’s yoga instructors and chefs that are driving that, we all know it’s sex workers. It’s very meaningful to me as someone who’s been welcomed by that community and actively worked within it for 13 years to see them have that kind of platforming
DW: There is a certain brand of moral bankruptcy rampant right now, tied to morality policing, politically tied but also because certain brands need money and corporations with less than savory associations will give them that money. Pornhub. I remember when you guys sponsored Vaquera, with afters at the Spearmint Rhino— so fun, by the way. Now they’re showing at Paris Fashion Week. That platform can then become financial freedom. Your partnership is also such a great way to state values for a brand and for Pornhub, communicating ‘We stand by these designers. We stand by the queer community, BIPOC communities. We stand by sex workers,’ in an explicit way we don’t often see from household name brands.
AK: No, you’re seeing fucking robots at Vogue World instead.
“Packed for Pleasure” exhibition– Paris Fashion Week, Photo by Cobrasnake
DW: Exactly. It’s a direct confirmation of ethics— one that Pornhub has now achieved with so many labels. What’s next?
AK: As a result of R&M, I had some very exciting brands reach out. I’ll have more to tell you in a year, which is always a good sign. We’re going to stick to sponsoring at least one show, and hopefully grow from there. For now, we cannot wait to see what Paris brings.
Written by Delaney Willet
Photos by Cobrasnake
