Showgirls
Given that, the expensive decision to show wasn’t an obvious one. That is, until Pornhub approached her with a proposal in April. Fast forward to now, and Pornhub is funding the show, investing in casting, set design — by the esteemed Patience Harding — and production. (Pornhub declined to disclose the investment figure, but as Vogue Business reported in 2024, show costs for independent brands start at the higher end of five figures, often reaching $400,000.) In recent history, Pornhub has collaborated with several designers, including Shayne Oliver in 2017, Ludovic de Saint Sernin in 2022, and Vaquera in 2024, working on merchandise as well as NSFW films available on pornhub.com. Through the partnerships, Pornhub can ingratiate itself with a new audience, while also removing the stigma around sex and adult industries, Mariani explains.
Some of the R&M team, from left to right: Jasmine Bryant (leather craft), Lilly Doherty (studio management and seamstress), Oliver Jeanes (art direction and design), Willow Selby-Willis (seamstress), and Ruby Mariani.
Thematically, Mariani’s a neat fit. The partnership involves a series of limited-edition pieces: a jeweled, big-buckle belt, a jacket, a bikini, and hosiery. Notably, Pornhub performers and ambassadors Asa Akira, Elly Clutch, and Frances Bentley — who all have a major online presence — will walk the show. For context, Akira has 2.1 million Instagram followers and 569,600 likes on OnlyFans; Clutch has 334,000 and 1.16 million; and Bentley has 675,000 and 332,400.
Pornhub vouches for the crossover, too. “Any pearl-clutching brand that is sleeping on the tremendous reach, cultural relevance, and tastemaking power of adult content creators is missing out immeasurably, leaving money on the table,” says Alex Kekesi, Pornhub’s VP for brand and community. “These are smart and business-savvy people who understand visual language as well as its commodification better than anyone else doing business online, I’d say. Sex always sells, and this is true more than ever now that creators are in the driver’s seat.”
Scaling pleasure
While Mariani’s work is largely made-to-order, she has worked with a handful of stockists dotted across Melbourne, Tbilisi, Seoul, New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Marc Jacobs’s buzzy Gen Z-focused diffusion line, Heaven, had been one of its prized partners in London and LA since 2022 up until the stores shuttered this year. (In October 2024, R&M hosted a pop-up at the New York Heaven store, in collaboration with Gabbriette.)
