Fashion shows have been raging on since January with the men's shows in Milan and Paris and the just-wrapped New York Fashion Week. While we love the clothes that comes down the runway, we also love those boys the clothes come down on. But, beyond those 30 seconds we get to gaze upon them in all their chiseled-cheek-bone-glory, what actually goes in the day in life of a male model as he bounces from show to show, party to party, strutting it like he does (and should)?
In the Out.com feature A Model's Journey, photographer Andrew Burmeister followed international male model Blaine C. (pictured) through his daily routine back during the Spring 08 shows in Milan and Paris to give us mere mortals a glimpse into what it really takes to walk the catwalk. It's not all glitz and glamour, but let's just say -- much to our content -- it involves being shirtless and in underwear a lot.
We at Out fancy ourselves a bunch of keen, ahead-of-game taste, style and art makers, so it comes as no surprise to any of us that our February 2007 cover (pictured top) shot by Matthias Vriens is being included in the International Center of Photography's exhibit "Weird Beauty," which presents the most innovative fashion photography of the past few years.
No -- we're more modest than that. We're super surprised! And totally excited that our own contribution to fashion -- queer or otherwise -- is being recognized on such a grand scale. Of course, it's all due in no small part to Vriens himself who, beyond the cover being shown in Weird Beauty, also snapped a shot for this month's Out feature Physique Pictorial (pictured bottom). With the help of a few others of photography's finest, the portfolio recreates the erotic aesthetic established by the iconic magazine. With any luck, we'll hopefully be seeing a lot more of Vriens' work (and boys) not only in Out, but in future exhibitions.
Three weeks into the new year and we're still pitching a photo review? Yes. Yes we are. So don't act like you're all put out by it. Who doesn't love beautiful pictures of stylish and good looking men?
Thus we bring you Out.com's 2008: A Year in Pictures, a collection of our favorite photos featured in Out during the last year. Included is gay-fave Neil Patrick Harris as the all-American heartthrob; the trio of male hotness from Gossip Girl (pictured), and some of our sexiest fashion spreads showcasing the labels we're always lusting after.
So start clicking to refresh your memories of the past year and, in the meantime, get yourself excited for the load of fresh new content on Out.com right now. We promise -- it's only going to get better from here.
While we don't normally find ourselves jet-setting around the world for fashion shows, comedy gigs or press appearances, we can still glean a few helpful hints from those that are afforded such a glamorous life.
For the Out.com feature Great Escape, we questioned some of our favorite personalities for the bags (Tommy Fazio's Goyard Trolly PM), books (Nate Berkus' David Sedaris) and booze (Jackie Warner's Patron) that make a long trip to wherever almost as blissful as being there. Perhaps the best suggestion for keeping things pleasurable? Margaret Cho reminds us to always pack a vibrator. Duly noted.
The bleary days of early January are no match for smokin' models in skimpy swimsuits. Luckily, Out's February issue is chock full of them including Andres Velencoso Segura who traveled -- along with photographer Xevi Muntane and Out's Fashion Director Grant Woolhead -- to the Evergaldes for our Buffalo Stance shoot inspired by the late style icon Ray Petri.
Segura may look familiar as his beautiful mug and body have graced the ad campaigns and runways of almost every major label from Louis Vuitton to H&M. And you're guaranteed to see a lot more of him in the near future as just yesterday he was identified by Hello! magazine as Kylie Minogue's new beau.
We're pretty confident in our shopping skills around the island of the Manhattan, but sometimes it takes a fresh eye to find new gems. Enter Victorinox Creative Director Pierre-Henri Mattout, who, despite having only lived in Manhattan for less than a year (he's a native Parisian), has carved out his own trail of downtown NY hot spots.
For Out.com's feature, Homo Plus, we tagged along with the tres sexy Mattout for a stroll through SoHo to glean his downtown picks. Among them? Everyone's favorite Swedish clothier, Acne, and vintage mecca What Comes Around Goes Around. Clearly, the man has taste. As if we'd ever doubt him.
You've seen Milk (haven't you?); and you've pined over not only Sean Penn and James Franco, but also the above mentioned Castro clone look. You know the one: "Levi’s 501 jeans. Skin tight. Sanded down at the knees and crotch for
that perfectly worn-in look. Third button unbuttoned to create a bit of
allure. T-shirt, also skin tight. A Levi’s snap-front plaid," as described by Out contributor Eddie Shapiro in his interview with Milk's costume designer, Danny Glicker.
“When I started reading about what people wore, I thought, What was that Levi’s clone look about?" [Milk] screenwriter Dustin Lance Black told Shapiro. "It didn't take much to realize that it was about a group of people who
had been called ‘pansies’ and ‘fags’ reclaiming their masculinity and
being ‘men.’”
It's a uniform that many San Franciscans still wear today, and we of the younger generation look to it for inspiration as a style that didn't just say something about our fashion, but our existence. Strong and sexy, stylish men, gay or straight, are wise to acknowledge perfect vintage when they see it. Especially when it has a purpose.
To read more of Eddie Shapiro's article, click here, or head to Out.com.
Creative director of the Calvin Klein collection for men, Italo
Zucchelli was nominated in 2007 by the Council of Fashion Designers of
America for menswear designer of the year. Raised in La Spezia, Italy,
he graciously gave Out a glimpse at a few of his favorite things including his preferred cocktail (vodka tonic), guilty TV pleasure (Desperate Housewives), and the star he's always wanted to dress (Hugh Jackman).
From fashion phenoms to trendy restaurateurs to dance company directors, these men's impeccable taste and sensibility make our lives simpler, prettier, happier, and richer. We'll feature a new Tastemaker each day, beginning with Ducati's creative director David Gross:
When the iconic Italian motorcycle company Ducati came under new management just over a decade ago it needed a creative director who could reinvent the brand without losing any of its sense of history. Enter David Gross, a Harvard-educated corporate lawyer and marketing whiz who left New York for Bologna in 1997 to tackle the task and “to escape [his] dull NYC life.” His strategy was to change the manufacturing company (which made only a few motorcycle models and little else) into a cross-marketing machine.
A startling ad campaign featuring the rugged-looking employees of actual Ducati factories brought a new relevance to the brand. “I was in awe of the historic factory in Bologna right from the beginning. The brute gigantism of the machinery, the whirring of the paint plant, and, last but not least, the star quality of our factory workers with their dark tans and designer stubble,” he explains. “I bought a cheap camera and started taking Polaroids.” New products soon began to blossom: T-shirts with vintage Ducati logos (worn by the likes of Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom) promoted the motorcycles, which in turn promoted the designer gear necessary to complete the look -- and high-gloss boutiques brought all the elements together.
Under the guidance of designer Christopher Bailey, Burberry is becoming a label less known for the print, and more for the product. In Out's new fashion spread, The Last of England, found in our November issue, fashion director Grant Woolhead and photographer Xevi Muntane infuse the melancholic sentiment of Burberry's simplistically beautiful Spring/Summer '09 collection -- inspired by late gay auteur Derek Jarman -- into a stunning, yet lonely photo narrative.
The story itself was also conceptualized with Jarman in mind and shot in his hometown of Dungeness, England. "I was really blown away by the beauty of the location," Muntane told Out. "It is such a strange place, almost desert-like, but with a power station, lighthouses, a beach, and a freaky tourist train." Muntane's photos and Woolhead's styling showcase Burberry's edgy but relaxed outerwear and disheveled layers in a way that feels true to Bailey's own description of the collection: crumpled classic.
In addition to the exclusive spread, iconic fashion journalist Tim Blanks sat down with Bailey to discuss the new collection and the sometimes despondent notions behind not only the S/S '09 Burberry line, but also Bailey himself. "There's a U.K. show called Mastermind, where contestants are grilled on their pet subjects, and I feel like Christopher Bailey is one of mine," Blanks told Out. As for his one wish for Bailey's design future? "Lately there are elements of romance, worn luxury, and a hint of paganism in his work. He's been letting loose a little -- but I want him to let loose a lot."
Gay men love fashion, and fashion loves gay men. Is it something in our jeans? Celebrating this long tradition, Truman Says exists to offer advice, tips, and the occasional catty observation on celebrity style coups and faux pas.
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