You should be so average looking
By
RAY A. SMITH
There's a new look in men's fashion, and it doesn't have anything to do with the clothes. Some menswear designers and fashion magazines are starting to choose male models who look more like "regular" guys.
It's all part of an attempt by the men's fashion industry to broaden its appeal. For years, the runways and fashion magazines have been dominated by male models who are either super-thin and boyish-looking, overly muscular or immaculately groomed metrosexuals. These looks were intended to appeal to the fashion press, trend-setting gay men and, sometimes, women who were buying clothes for the men in their lives. For many guys, however, the reaction was "that's not me."
Now, with more men than ever before doing their own clothes shopping, some designers see an opportunity. "We're not just designing for a small specialty audience, we're designing for guys in Illinois," says John Crocco, creative director for menswear at Perry Ellis, a division of Perry Ellis International
l Inc., which holds its fall 2007 runway show today at New York fashion week. "We have to be realistic. This is a business."
Of course, the fashion world's idea of "average" is far removed from the real world's.
At a recent casting call for today's show of Duckie Brown menswear, the search for a more natural look meant guys who looked too manicured, too heroin-chic thin or too buff and tanned were shown the door. John Bartlett, another designer whose show kicks off New York's fashion week today, says he deliberately sought "clean-cut dudes but with a more rugged feel than normal."
It was the same story at Milan's men's fashion week in January, where observers say some trend-setting designers also changed their looks. Dolce & Gabbana sent fit, classically good-looking male models down the runways instead of the intimidating muscular hunks and impossibly thin young things of shows past. Ultra-trendy Dsquared and Versace also went for a similar role model.
Some in the industry note the emerging attitude on male models parallels the debate over dangerously thin female models and is tied into a fashion cycle that's starting to emphasize healthy beauty. "Fashion over the next two years is going to have to move on, since what was cutting edge in the '90s has now become very dull," says David Wolfe, creative director at New York-based fashion consultancy Doneger Group.
But there are business reasons as well. "Designers are clearly more conscious
that their consumer is a very, very broad spectrum of male," says Sean Patterson, president of the Wilhelmina Models agency, who notes that more heterosexual men, in particular, are taking an interest in dressing well. More regular-looking models can help tone down edgier styles and make them more appealing to these guys, he adds.
"It's about being more in touch with men, having models that look interesting and not too perfect," says Jason Kanner, director of the men's division at the Major Model Management agency.
That said, some labels such as Dior Homme and Prada continue to employ the androgynous, thin male models that are practically a trademark for them.
And the fashion industry's take on "regular" guys is still a striking look. The models are still mostly in their 20s. And, while perhaps fit and toned like any regular gym-goers, their faces stand out in a crowd.
Terron Wood, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound model, who is held up as an example of the new-style male model by his agency, Major Model Management, says he has been told he looks like a cross between Richard Gere and Tom Cruise. The 20-year-old began modeling last year. In January, he won coveted spots in the Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino and Bottega Veneta shows in Milan. In New York, he's appearing in shows for Perry Ellis and John Varvatos.
Tom Julian, director of trends at ad agency McCann Erickson, credits celebrities like actor Ashton Kutcher -- a former model himself -- and TV shows like "Entourage" and "Grey's Anatomy" with showing men that guys can be stylish without being too muscular, too thin or too manicured. "Chiseled without being too pretty" is how Mr. Julian describes the new look.
That suits men like Richard Frank, a 34-year-old advertising executive in Baltimore, who says he's interested in what actors like George Clooney are wearing but ignores runway shows and fashion ads because the models are "alien to me." Designers, he says, should use "more normal-looking men as models, not overweight, or unattractive men exactly, but guys who are more representative of the look I think most men are all going for."
The shift comes as men are buying more designer clothes for themselves. Retailers have been actively trying to lure in male shoppers, bringing in new styles more frequently and holding events such as men-only shopping evenings. At the same time, a shift away from women doing the shopping for men has helped drive the trend. Last year, 75% of men bought their own clothes, compared with 52% in 1995, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst with market researcher NPD Group. At middle-of-the-road J.C. Penney, men now make 70% of the purchases of men's clothes, a reversal from about five years ago when women made 70% of the purchases.
That means nowadays the model can make or break a buying decision for male shoppers.
"If you have a model that looks more normal, it can bring fashion closer to the average guy," says Tommaso De Nardo, a 26-year-old stockbroker in New York. "That would probably encourage me to get that product over another product
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I went to see if his page on Major Models got updated and it was...YAY!!!!
