About Time! This Designer Is Using Grimace as a Model to Celebrate Inclusivity

It finally happened: Grimace, the legendary and mysterious purple thing from the twisted minds at McDonald’s, will appear in Paris Fashion Week. Grimace will clomp down the runway as a celebration of inclusivity, uniqueness, and being purple. Parisian designer Marie Pierrot, known for her avante garde designs and provocative use of models, gives us the scoop on that voluptuous bastard. We met with Marie and Grimace in their shared studio apartment. 

“I suppose he is my muse. He inspires me. What he’s been through, it comes out in his eyes. Grimace’s eyes are the windows to his big purple soul, no?”

At this point, Grimace swallowed Marie’s cat whole. I wanted to ask about it, but I was scared to. Marie didn’t say anything, so I assumed it was fine. Marie continued to tell me about her connection to our favorite purple thing.

“When I first thought about using Grimace, I thought, ‘that is the most provocative element I could add to my show.’ He represents the 99 percent. The undervalued laborer of American society. The purple beast who takes the blame, never to be respected. I wish to change this.”

I questioned what Marie meant by inclusivity, and she laughed. “Anyone who is not the Ronald McDonald is the Grimace. Do you see? We are all united against the Ronald.”

Marie explains that she feels such a personal connection to Grimace because, in her childhood spent in a Parisian orphanage, she felt his struggle mirrored hers.

“It is the deep desire to be known, yet the fear to let someone close to you. Rejection. Feeling scorned. The pain of love lost. These are all things that Grimace shows me with his eyes.”

While Grimace is unable to verbally confirm or deny this, he made a garbled sound that I could not interpret, his expression unreadable. 

“I hope that by putting Grimace in my designs, the world will see that he is not a beast. He is not Grendel, and I am not Beowulf. We are all Grendel. We are all Beowful. You see what I am saying?”

I did not, but Grimace started sniffing the air as predatory animals do, so I said yes. 

“What I want the world to know is that being an outsider, scorned and mocked by Ronald McDonald, a harlequin fool with hair like fire… does not make you a bad man. Or whatever Grimace is. Our relationship is not confined to such labels, he is my muse and I am his.”

Grimace, at this point, purple and so large, left the apartment. I asked where he might be going. Marie just laughed at me.

“He is going into the hearts of the people around the world. That is where my sweet aubergine goes.”

Okay!

Image: Medium

Callie Webb
Author: Callie Webb
Callie is a comedian, human being, and woman. She has a fondness for George Michael and videos of unlikely animal friendships.