Radical Vertical

Slava Mogutin
Fashion
Interview by Holger Homann
Photos by Slava Mogutin
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HH When limited edition sneakers are
released, people camp in line for days to
get their hands on a pair. It can even turn to
violence: In 2015, a Brooklyn teenager was
shot in his foot(!) for cutting in line. Can you
enlighten us on how the desire for a pair of
sneakers can turn into an obsession?
SM To each their own, as they say. Some
people are obsessed with expensive cars,
gadgets or pets, some with designer sneakers.
Everyone has a fetish for something—unless
they lack any fantasy or imagination. I wouldn’t
call myself a sneaker fetishist but I do use lots
of sneakers and athletic gear in my pictures.
I actually get all my sneakers for free and I’d
never wait online for any fetish items—there
are so many fetishes to choose from!
HH Pornhub—the world’s biggest porn
site—found Pornhub Gay users to be more
likely to search for sneaker-related porn. 1,124
percent more likely, in fact—with men more
likely to search for sneaker-porn than women
overall. Feet make their first appearance in 6th
with “heels”, followed closely by “socks” in
7th. “Boots” walk in at 13th, and “sneakers”
sneak into the top 20 at 19th. Overall, the
most popular sneaker-related search term
is “sneaker worship,”—does any of this
surprise you?
SM Thanks for the fascinating insights!
I’m not a big porn consumer; I’d much rather
take my own pictures and let others analyze
them once they’re published. I use porn as a
reference in my work but I do it in an ironic
way because most of porn is so serious.
HH You mentioned having been
engaged in the porn industry as a
photographer for magazines like Honcho,
Inches, and Playgirl. In terms of that genesis
of your career as a photographer and in terms
of aesthetics and chosen subjects of your
current work, do you consider that this still
gains influence?
SM It’s up to critics to discuss the
genesis of my career. Working in porn was
an interesting experience and I got to meet
and photograph lots of beautiful and talented
people, some of whom remain my friends
to this day. Human form and emotion are
central to my work. Unfortunately, there’s a
common misconception that nudity equals
sex and sex equals porn. Those are three
SNEAKER PIG & SOCK MONKEY