British Hipster Model Admits He Gets His Style Tips from Homeless People

Scruffy, heavily tattooed model Ricki Hall, 28, is known for being featured in ad campaigns for Diesel and Lyle & Scott and also for dating Kelly Osbourne. Now he’s famous for the insensitive remarks he made in an interview in this weekend’s The Sunday Times.

In the interview, Hall said he uses the time doing his morning run “to think about my day, maybe my next fashion statement.” He then said:

The comment went viral on Twitter, and Hall was mocked for being a real-life version of the fictitious fashion mogul character Jacobim Mugatu in the male model movie spoof “Zoolander.” In the film, Mugatu, played by Will Ferrell, creates a fashion line called Derelicte, which he says is “a fashion, a way of life inspired by the very homeless, the vagrants, the crack whores that make this wonderful city so unique.”

That clothing line in “Zoolander” is a parody of designer John Galliano’s line, who, in 2000, made a haute couture collection inspired by the clothing worn by the destitute. Models at Galliano’s show were covered in newspapers and had tin cups hanging from their asses.

The interview in The Sunday Times was supposed to be about a day in the life of Hall. But instead, Hall’s comment about his style inspiration drew heavy criticism and mockery on Twitter.

Twitter user Declan Smith said:

Beyond Food said:

“:#Homelessness isn’t an ‘aesthetic. . . .It’s a devastating crisis that shouldn’t happen to anyone.”

Hall took to his Twitter to defend himself, tweeting:

Hall’s explanation fails to say in what ways he was misquoted, leaving many to point out that the model wouldn’t even apologize for his callous remarks.