Milan mens fashion is not only about style. The guys give at the presentation give good face. It will be a pleasure to cover the menswear event again this winter.
Milan Fashion Week starts January 17th.
Hot Faces from Milan Fashion Week Men, at the presentations we made some pictures of models working. It’s a hard job but someone has to do it.
I have a saying “You Never Know Where People Will Be In The Future. I meet all kinds all the time. Some are starting their career. A few months or years later they are on the upswing. I met Patrick at a presentation in Milan. I grabbed a pic for my Hot Face Collection.
Enjoy a few faces from the archives.
Part 1 of The Black and Paper interview with photographer Brice Hardelin at the W Hotel Paris.
What is the L’Homme Couture Exhibition?
The ideal started with an editorial I did 4 years ago men with women’s accessories and jewelry. I was approached to an editorial for Mellerio, the oldest jewelry house in Paris. The brand was celebrating its 400th anniversary. I had this idea to take a picture of a girl and a guy in their jewelry. They were a bit of surprised because the jewels are normally worn by a woman. The results were fantastic. I liked the images a lot so I decided to continue the story. That is what inspired my exhibition L’Homme Couture.
Is this a gender free exhibition?
We should be beyond labels. If you think about fashion history, men were extravagant. During the Greek and Roman empires, the Renaissance, and the 17th century men wore jewelry and make up. Now everyone wears suits and sports clothes. It is boring! I am a fashion photographer. Except some details, it is all the same. I wanted to show something different, something to make people react. There is no label on this. I am a man born in the 1980’s. There were all these pop groups from David Bowie and Duran Duran who wore make up and stylish clothes. Suddenly in the 21st century, all is conservative.
What attracts you to the male form?
I like muscled guys but thin. Fashion models are quite long. I was fashion photographer for women at first. When I came back from living in Montreal for a time, an agency contacted me to shoot a girl and guy for a test. The agent liked the images of the guys. After that I was getting booked to shoot male models. Other agencies in the city started sending me only male models. I was boxed into the reputation of working well with men. I have been doing it for 10 years. I do editorials with female models but with men time is not constrained. I can shoot fast and explore other elements. With female models there is more time needed to set ups on the hair and make-up.
What style of photographer are you?
Portraitist first then I am a fashion photographer. For me the person is more important than the clothes. I like character and attitude in front of the camera.
L’Homme Couture is on display at the W Hotel Paris until January 3, 2018.
Part 2 of the Brice Hardelin interview will be online soon.
For more information go:Brice Hardelin
Images by Vldimir Sichov for Black and Paper.com
Backstage at the Odeur Fashion Show from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Berlin.
Images by Vladimir Sichov for Black and Paper.com
Visiting one of Milan’s leading modeling agencies is always special because it gives me an opportunity to scout the latest trends in the modeling world. Joy Models is a world class agency founded 30 years ago specializing in high fashion male models with a client roaster including Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Stone Island, and Gucci to name a few.
During Fashion Week Milan Menswear I witnessed the high energy octane atmosphere of the office with the bookers preparing for the runway shows and presentations. I can honestly say, it is not for the weak. The phones were ringing, conversations were zinging across desks, and models were walking in an out of the office. It was a beehive of activity.
Booker Ilaria has been in the business since a high school internship gave her an introduction to the world of modeling which lead to jobs in New Delhi and Mumbai before back to Milan.
Is Fashion Week a tough time?
Oh Yes! I have no a life outside the office the week before fashion week. Casting directors are under a lot of pressure to get the right models for the shows. The late night request calls for models to come to fittings at hotels and ateliers. Everyone has deadline pressures, schedules.
Any late Night Calls?
Once, it was really late, 11 or 12, I was going to bed, suddenly, I got a call from a casting director who desperately needed a model for a fitting. I do not know how this person got my number, no clue! It is still a mystery.
Is the “Fashion Week Rush” like this every season?
Every Season!
Are you developing new faces at the moment?
We are not taking new models now. We want guys with experience. We developed models only to have them leave once their books are strong. It is a thankless business. Models call about jobs all the time. We put them forward for castings but the final decision is not ours. When they do not get the job they are upset. It is a Thankless Job!
What are the current trends in the modeling world?
A number of Asian Guys are on the runway. Koreans are strong now. Older guys are and gender free looks are popular. Diversity has become important.
But there are challenges in the field. Models have to compete with celebrity kids and Instagram influencers for jobs. Budgets have gotten tighter.
India has a lot of potential. I worked there for 4 years. There are many good publications. The market for modeling is growing.
Joy Models is a Milan based modeling agency representing many well-known faces in the fashion business. For more information go to: Joymodels.com
Our second time behind the scenes witnessing the team put the runway show together. Models practicing on the runway, make and hair teams preparing faces, dressers getting the looks together.
Music by Subset and Jon Luc Hefferman
