Homme is where the heart is

Francisco Lachowski

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 22:30:35 +0000

After having won a modelling contest in São Paolo, Lachowski was signed to Ford Models. The Polish-Brazilian’s career blossomed from here with runway shows in Milan and Paris in the same year of 2009. The now 20-year old has walked for many major fashion companies including Dolce & Gabanna, Versace, Mugler and amongst others Gucci.

As well as these amazing feats at such a young age, Lachowski is the highest ranking Brazilian model on 50 Top Male Models, coming in at 16^th. The future looks bright for this young model; with so many years ahead of him, he is sure to continue to be a strong player in the world of male models.

Ambrose Olsen

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:32:00 +0100

The beautiful Alaskan: Ambrose Olsen had a great career spanning from 2002 in NY to its end in 2010, when he was found after he committed suicide in the same city which gave him his fame. He was 24 years old when his body was found hanging by one of his colleagues.

Throughout his great career he shot many editorials and campaigns with companies such as YSL, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Armani. It’s a shame to see such a great looking guy’s life just end like this.

Noma Han

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:32:00 +0100

Noma Han hails from South Korea and is one of the more known Asian models in the industry; having worked for Benetton & Tommy Hilfiger, and with shoots in such magazines as Vogue Hommes Japan, he’s been sure-footed in the beginnings of his career.

Han is said to have arrived in New York a couple of years ago, with little to nothing apart from his want to be a model in this vibrant city. After he sent out portfolios and attended castings, he managed to land 8 fashion shows and 5 editorials.

Currently residing in NY, the future seems bright for this edgy model.

Alexander Beck

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:08:00 +0100

Beck used to have a job in an Essex chip shop until he got spotted by scout Cesar Perin, in a Cambridge bookshop whilst with friends. He went from earning around £6 per hour, to having an exclusive contract with Prada.

It was a case of early bird catches the worm due to the fact that so many clients were after him. Aged 17 at the time, he was in a similar situation to that of British supermodel/celebrity Kate Moss.

Having already appeared for YSL, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Vogue, he has the foundations surrounding him that enable him to be one of the best new faces of the year for Great Britain.

Keep an eye out for this all-English star-to-be in the next couple of seasons - he is definitely reaching for the stars.

Tom Nicon

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 17:24:04 +0100

Nicon was born in Montpellier, France in 1988 to French parents; he was raised in this beautiful area and was set to become one of the models of the ‘noughties’ due to his charming face and boy-like features.

He was the face of Burberry which became the highlight in his short lived career. Alongside this job, he also modelled for Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Hugo Boss & Jean Paul Gaultier amongst many other famous lines.

Despite his reputation as an all round model for a variety of the best names of the decade, it seems that life had become too much for him as he was found dead just hours before he was meant to be walking in Milan Fashion week in June last year. It is reported that he leapt from the 4th floor out the window of the room in which he was.

A saddening post but, one that definitely needed to be covered to show that the fashion world isn’t all glamour, fame and cocaine. There are real people beneath the clothes that we love to admire.

David Gandy

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:04:00 +0000

An Essex man from birth, Gandy was born in Billericay in 1980 to wealthy parents. After having graduated from the University of Gloucestershire in 2001, his friends decided to secretly enter him into a modelling competition organised by Richard & Judy (a famous TV duo in England).

Much to his surprise he won the competition with the prize being a contract with Select Model Management. This winning saw a pretty dismal 5 years as a model trying to break into the industry. He went to many castings and got rejected time and time again; finally, Dolce & Gabbana saw that he had that certain flair and took him on…

Multiple campaigns and catwalks with D&G meant that he was destined for success, this became real once he got the chance to be the face of their new fragrance, Light Blue which led to him being named ‘White-pant boy’ which he admitted in an interview with Johnathon Ross. In Times Square there was a 50ft poster of Gandy modelling for Light Blue.

Gandy stands at 6ft 3 and weighs in at approximately 15 stone meaning he’s a lot more hefty than many of the androgynous ill looking models of the moment. He’s a sure sign that the modelling world isn’t so rigid when the right person comes along.

Josh Beech

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:01:00 +0000

London born Josh Beech has a grungy-indie look to his style that echos his lifestyle. His semi-sleeve tattoo and knuckle tattoos bring out his true British essence within each and every one of the photos he has taken of him.

With Beech being a full-time singer in his band called ‘Snish’, he finds the time (thankfully) to fit in a great load of campaigns and deals with some of the top fashion magazines such as Levi, i-D, Velvet, Vogue, V Man, Arena Homme+, Futureclaw and finally Dazed & Confused.

For Beech 2010 was a monumental year due to the fact he covered so many projects and runways that his face is becoming ever so much more familiar. He has also made a record in his career with 3 consecutive campaigns with Levi 501.

2011 has seen him become the face of Moschino; a title that isn’t given to many.

Lea T

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:37:00 +0000

The world’s first transsexual model, Lea T, hails from Brazil and was born male, and named ’Leandro Cerezo’ in 1981. I’m blogging about this model because I believe it’s interesting how someone can look so female yet still have the workings of a male body.

Hauntingly beautiful, Lea T has a cool anecdote as to how the then he became one of the most talked about females of this decade. After being invited to a party with friend Riccardo Tisci, he was asked if he would wear heels to the event.

Going on to work for Givenchy and Vanity Fair have to be some of her greatest achievements at the moment, with many sure to be in the pipelines of the near future.

Despite being on hormone therapy and having a scheduled full gender reassignment surgery this month (March, 2011), she is still classed as being a man. This photo below taken from French Vogue shows her current stage as of July 2010.

Andre Ziehe

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:25:00 +0000

Brazilian André Ziehe is the mystifying model that is used on primarily on the front cover of Dolce & Gabbana’s: Uomini by Mariana Vivanco; a book dedicated to the male side of D&G, with photography of the finest specimens the fashion world has to offer from over the past 20 years.

Another big achievement of his is that he walked alongside 9 other fellow Brazilians on the D&G Fall/Winter 2011 runway in Milan. Now that his career has taken off, he decided to move to the United States and live his life playing sports and working out.

John Paul 'J.P.' Calderon

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 20:16:00 +0000

One of my all-time favourite models, John-Paul ‘J.P.’ Calderon is of Costa-Rican descent and was raised in California for the majority of his childhood. Born in 1975, he came into modelling at a somewhat older age than most.

Calderon first came into stardom when he was a contestant on America’s 13th season of ‘Survivor’ in which he was the fourth member to be sent back home. Following that short burst in the spotlight he joined Janice Dickinson’s Modelling Agency after an open casting in the first episode of season 2.

One of the most notable times for Calderon must have been his coming out episode on Janice Dickson’s, when he came out as gay when asked if he wanted to do a photoshoot for Instinct Magazine.

In the finale of the 4th season, Janice announced that J.P. would be the head of the men’s division to her agency once they relocated to New York City.

Corey Baptiste

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:28:00 +0000

Half Trinidadian, Half Grenadian, entirely gorgeous Corey Baptiste is a relatively recent face in the world of male modelling. With his work starting out in early 2010, he has been shot into the limelight with campaigns such as Benetton and has had numerous shoots and runway events with DKNY over the past year and a half.

Baptiste’s perfect matte skin and his liquid dark chocolate eyes give him a certain edge for 2011’s white-dominated runways.

Rick Genest

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:02:00 +0000

Montréal’s very own Rick Genest, affectionately known as ‘Zombie Boy’, hit the headlines in the past few years when he became one of the very few people in his home city to have their entire body tattooed.

Having previously worked in a freak show/circus just out of Montréal, he’s was as prepared as he could’ve been for what was about to happen. Following Thierry Mugler’s revamp by Nicola Formichetti, Genest was set to look the part in Mugler’s revolutionarily gloomy, gothic catwalks.

Pictured above with Lady Gaga herself, Genest is included in an entire scene in the video to Gaga’s phenomenal anthem ’Born this way’. Throughout he’s seen being intimate and caressing Mother Monster.

Genest has a bright future ahead of him with his extremely unique look that is destined to capture the eye of even the most traditional fashionista.

Tyson Ballou

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:01:00 +0000

Born in ‘76, the slightly older than usual Tyson Ballou has become one of the world’s most sought after male models since his supremely early start in modelling at the age of 15, where he appeared in shows and magazines in Texas, America.

Ballou began his career with Ford Modelling Agency where he worked in New York which is said to have began the shaping of him into becoming one of the world’s most successful models. His latest shoot saw him alongside a horse in some editorial shots for GQ 日本.

Having worked for Armani, Versace, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana and other worldwide names he has carved his way into becoming an influential model with a broad future for him to delve in to.

Noah Mills

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Canadian-born Noah Mills has become one of the models to sign after his late start in modelling at the age of twenty. Famously part of Willhellmina models, he has received considerable exposure to the fashion world after having been an asset to this company.

For those looking for a more exposed version of Mr Mills, head to the Sex and the City 2 film for an all access view of his naughtiness; not only reknowned for as a model, he played the part of Samantha Jones’ love interest throughout the film.

For more nude shots of this to-die-for model head to the D&G fragrance catalogue and have a peek at his ‘Anthology Campaign’ of 2009. A now 28 year-old Noah heads Lacoste’s ‘Unconventional Chic’ campaign in which he wears the iconic white tee.

Andrej Pejic

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:48:00 +0000

Andrej Pejic was working as a till assistant at a McDonalds in Australia whilst he was 16, when he was spotted by a model agency looking for new and upcoming talent. He wasn’t sure at first whether the agent thought he was a woman or not.

Since his discovery in Melbourne in 2010, Andrej Pejic has demanded a crowd of the insanely different, androgyny loving fashionistas looking for that edge on their catwalk. With a Serbian Mother and a Croatian Father, 19 year old Andrej has experimented around his race through his gender since and early age, looking to blend the barriers between each sex.

One of his most notable acheivements must be the fact that he walked for both the male and female catwalks in 2011 for Jean-Paul Gaultier and also just the mens department for Marc, by Marc Jacobs.

This fantastic new model has been a breakthrough for the fashion world having been the only man in history to have worn male and female inclined clothing down the catwalk. He is definitely recommended as a model to keep up with.

Sean O'Pry

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:23:00 +0000

American Sean O’Pry is one of the world’s hottest models of the moment; he was scouted in 2006 luckily through his high school prom photos over myspace. With his unique blue eyes that are covered by his hooded eyelids he has dominated a revolutionary market since the mid-2000s.

Having worked for such editorials and campaigns such as Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana, he is nothing but a famous face in this day and age’s male modelling world.

Within the past few years he has walked for Versace, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, adequately giving him a highly respectable prize of The World’s Most Famous Male Model of 2009. In the year previously, he was ranked as The World’s 8th Most Famous Male Model.

Jon Kortajarena

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Originally from Bilbao, a then 17 year old Jon Kortajarena was spotted whilst on holiday in Barcelona, Spain with a friend. He’s well known for his thick, iconic hair, full lips, chiselled face and deep green eyes. With him standing at 1.88m (6ft 2), having size 12 feet and a 40” suit size, he’s the paradigm of a male model.

At the tender age of 18, he became the face of Roberto Cavalli’s ‘Just Cavalli’ in 2004. Soon after that his working life bloomed, as in the Autumn of that same year he walked for Emporio Armani in Milan and John Galliano in Paris Fashion Week. New York became his next stop a couple of months later where he was photographed for Versace.

After 7 years in the Fashion world and now at 25 years old, he’s become one of the best male models in the world with his 8th place in Forbes’ The World’s 10 Most Successful Male Models in 2009 proving this. Other great achievements include winning Marie Claire’s ’Best Spanish Model’ in 2009 and being named as German GQ’s ‘Model of the Year’ that same year.

This absolutely gorgeous man has been sculpted to perfection over his working career and has sold millions of pounds worth of clothing for some of the world’s top designers. He is definitely a model to keep an eye on.