30 years before Lady Gaga, Grace Jones was making herself known with her striking presence, outrageous fashion sense, distinct singing voice and inventive performance videos.
Born and raised in Jamaica (birth name: Grace Mendoza), she moved with her family to the snowbelt city of Syracuse in New York state when she was in her teens. Before becoming a singer she was a model who became part of Andy Warhol's glam circle. To me she resembled an Amazonian version of Eartha Kitt.
Every year between 1977 and 1982 Grace released an album (and ten overall) but none became big commercial hits. Her highest charting LP, 1981's Nightclubbing, made it to only to #32 on Billboard's album chart. However, songs such as I Need a Man (her first); Do or Die; and Pull up to the Bumper were big club hits. Besides those, favorites of mine include La Vie en Rose;Nipple to the Bottle;Unlimited Capacity for Love; and Slave to the Rhthym. Her music style was hard to categorize - a bit disco, a bit new wave, a bit R&B.
In the 1980's, her Warhol years behind her, she tested her mainstream appeal by appearing in action movies such as Conan the Destroyer and was cast as the villain in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill. She also appeared in TV and print ads for Honda scooters.
March 24 is fashion designer Kenneth Cole's birthday; he was born in Brooklyn in 1954. Although he's not gay (he's married to one of Mario Cuomo's daughters) he's been a true friend of the gay community. Since shortly after starting his company in 1982 Cole has supported gay causes, especially those dealing with AIDS research and prevention. He's done this through fund raising as well as advertising messaging and is presently chairman of amfAR.
I'm familiar with Cole's store at Grand Central Station/42nd St. (pictured, left) because it was in my work neighborhood. Over the years I've bought shoes, ties, a couple of suits and a briefcase there. (His product line reminds me of Banana Republic's.) Earlier this year the company closed two of its Manhattan stores in prime locations, at Rockefeller Center and on Columbus Ave.
Rather than dripping with sex or using high profile celebrities, Cole's ads are better known for their clever wordplay and commentary about world events. And, unlike Calvin Klein, the ads aren't homoerotic in the least (but the pro-same-sex marriage ad to the right is very touching - and powerful).
What gay man doesn't love looking at underwear ads? And it's not just ads for Calvin Klein that can take your breath away (although CK's portfolio has some of the most alluring in the men's fashion industry). I've chosen some favorites to share from my archives (plus a bonus video clip). Believe me, it was a challenge limiting my choices to just five. But since I have so many ads in my collection to choose from I'm making this a regular feature.
Calvin Klein. For all that he's contributed to the men's fashion underwear market it seems fitting to begin with a Calvin Klein ad. It's from this year and features Spanish tennis star Fernando Verdasco (who knew there was another Spanish tennis player other than Rafael Nadal?). It differs from other years for its dash of color and Verdasco's tossled, just-out-of-bed hair.
Abercrombie & Fitch. Although much of this brand's eye candy was on display in its in-house magazine, this is a magazine ad from the late 1990's. Of course, a gaggle of young women surround this young buck, a common Abercrombie device.
Fruit of the Loom. What makes this ad from 1980 of particular interest is that it features a hairy chested model. Nowadays nary a chest hair is seen, the legacy of photographers Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts who depicted their models as Greek and Aryan gods. Also of note are the model's striking, "drag queen" eyes.
Calvin Klein. Antonio Sabato Jr. modeled for Klein in the early to mid-90's, overlapping with Marky Mark (remember their va-va-voom giant billboards in Times Square?). What's interesting about this ad is that I found it on the back cover of the political commentary magazine The New Republic. Perhaps it was due to the presence at the time of its openly gay editor, Andrew Sullivan. An interesting use of plastic water cooler bottles as props. And Sabato's boyish look is sexy as hell.
Jockey. Like the ad above, this is another that proves that bare chests aren't always necessary for conveying sex appeal. Jockey also ran another spread using firemen.
And here's the bonus courtesy of Dolce & Gabanna:
For underwear aficionados here are three blogs devoted to the subject (and I'm sure there are plenty more): Men's Underwear Blog, Underwear Newsbriefs and Jockboy Locker. Also, there's a men's underwear store in the West Village called Wonderwear located at 33 Greenwich Ave. It has a great Diesel selection. Universal Gear in Chelsea (140 8th Ave) also has a good selection but only Wonderwear is devoted solely to briefs. Macy's and Bloomingdale's also have extensive inventories.
Originally I was going to title this post "The Divas of Vogue" but I decided against it since the women I chose transcend divadom. Being selected to grace the cover of Vogue is testimony to a woman's elevated status - and signals to the world that the diva of all divas, Anna Wintour, approves. So, through the covers of the world's preeminent fashion magazine, here's a tribute to some of the most revered women in the eyes of gay men.
Let's start with the ladies with one name: Rihanna (April 2011), Beyonce (April 2009) and Cher (from 1972!)
Paying tribute to royalty, i.e. Princess Diana (Dec. 1991), Hillary Clinton (Dec. 1998) and Michelle Obama (March 2009)
In addition to the song Vogue, Madonna has graced the cover of the magazine three times (Oct. 1992, Oct. 1995 and May 1989).
Lady Gaga (March 2011), Jennifer Hudson (March 2007) and Sarah Jessica Parker (May 2010)
Curiously, while so many actresses and singers have appeared on the magazine's cover, for some reason Bette Midler has never had a Vogue cover. The closest she came was having her her name on the cover of the December 1991 issue. (She's also never been on the cover of Harper's Bazzar or Elle.)
Finally, here's a selection of classic covers chosen purely for aesthetic considerations.
Politics - The two biggest stories of 2011 were New York state's legalization of same-sex marriage(coinciding with Gay Pride weekend) and the ending of the U.S. military's shameful "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. But we could still count on continued intolerance by Republicans as they booed a gay soldier during one of the Republican debates.
Fashion - Critically acclaimed documentaires were released about New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham (left) and designer Yves St. Laurent; an exhibit of late fashion designer Alexander McQueen's work was a huge draw at the Met; John Galliano, head designer at Christian Dior was fired after making drunken anti-Semitic remarks to patrons at a restaurant in Paris.
Gay-themed Movies of Note - Weekend; Heartbeats; Beginners; and the documetary Making the Boys.
Bodies Beautiful - Ryan Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love; Chris Hemsworth in Thor (near right); Taylor Lautner in the latest Twilight sequel; and supposedly straight, rightwing Illinois congressman Aaron Schock on the cover of Men's Health. Finally, after performances of his acclaimed one-man show Hugh Jackman occasionally auctioned off his sweat soaked t-shirt.
NYC Nightlife - The cowboy bar Flaming Saddles opened in Hell's Kitchen; Boxers joined Gym Bar as Chelsea's second sports bar; Splash celebrated its 20th anniversary; Viceroy and Vinyl restaurants in Chelsea closed. Meanwhile, Next Magazine's page size continued to shrink.
Music - Erasure's Then I Go Twisting and Kelly Rowland's What a Feeling; in February Lady Gaga's single Born This Way became the 1,000th song to hit #1 in the history of Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
RIP - Pioneering gay civil rights activist Frank Kameny; AIDS angel Elizabeth Taylor; John Geddes Lawrence, plaintiff in landmark Lawrence v Texas anti-sodomy Supreme Court case; disco diva Loleatta Hollaway.
Chaz Bono - A documentary and book about Chaz's female-to-male transition received considerable attention as did his appearance as a male contestant on Dancing with the Stars. (Carson Kressley also competed).
Milestones - Crisco turned 100 and Ricky Martin hit the big 4-0.
A fire in November in the harbor of Fire Island Pines destroyed the Pavilion dance club and Sip-n Twirl bar (and a number of other businesses).
Actor Zachary Quinto came out (not to be confused with actor Jeremy Sisto). Still not out: Olympic gold medal figure skaters Evan Lysacek and Brian Boitano; singer/actress/Cover Girl spokesperson Queen Latifah; Emmy Award winning actor Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory).
Talk Show Roulet - Without Oprah's presence housewives apparently weren't interested in an entire hour of Nate Berkus (left) as his home design show was cancelled after just one season. The same fate may await Anderson Cooper's snoozer of an afternoon talk show which debuted in the fall (housewives may not be as enamored with him as gay men at the David Barton Gym are). And Rosie O'Donnell tried for a comeback with a talk show on Oprah's OWN cable network.
Neil Patrick Harris continued to dazzle as host of the Tony Awards. The theme for this year's teleast was: "It's not for gays anymore!" Larry Kramer'sThe Normal Heart won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play, out actor John Benjamin Hickey won for Best Featured Actor and Ellen Barkin for Best Featured Actress.
A fun new website was launched in June named "Subway Crush"whichgives riders an opportunity to share pics of cute guys they've admired riding the subway.
The new ABC sitcom, Happy Endings, (following Modern Family) features a slovenly gay character, Max, who has few stereotypical gay traits. And speaking of Modern Family, who do you love more, Sofia Vergara or gay daddies Cam and Mitchell?
On Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry David coined the term "pre-gay" to describe his girlfriend's delightfully precocious young son who showed all the obvious traits of being gay (he was a big fan of Project Runway). The little boy is the spitting image of Kurt from Glee.
Saturday Night Live aired a music video titled "It's OK If It's In a Threeway", featuring Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga and Adam Samberg. The show also had a hysterical skit about a game show called "Who's on Top?" in which non-gay male celebrities were paired up and constestants had to choose which one would be the "top" if the celebs were engaged in gay sex.
Still MIA: Rupert Everett
Finally, as the year came to a close a sexy billboard for Manhunt Mobile went up, overlooking Sheridan Square, bringing back fond memories of the gay West Village of the 70's and 80's.
The thought of Katharine Hepburn singing seemed as preposterous as Liberace playing the banjo - and yet somehow it came to pass (but just the Hepburn part). She starred in the Broadway show Coco, a musical about the life of famed fashion designer Coco Chanel. It opened on December 18, 1969 and ran for nine-and-a-half months. Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Hepburn for Best Actress, the show won two (Rene Auberjonois for Best Featured Actor and Cecil Beaton for Costume Design). Tickets for this show surely must have been in the Christmas stockings of many gay men that holiday season.
Hepburn was 62 at the time and this was the only musical production of her career. Legend has it that Chanel was miffed when she realized it was Katharine and not Audrey Hepburn, twenty-one years younger than Kate, who would be portraying her. Chanel died a few months after the show closed (at the age of 87.)
Nearly forty years later, in September 2008, Shirley MacLaine portrayed Chanel in a made-for-cable movie on Lifetime (a non-musical version). She played the older Chanel while another actress played the younger Coco. (It was jarring that while the younger actress affected a French accent MacLaine didn't bother with one.)
The number from Coco that was performed at the 1970 Tony Awards was the lengthiest in Tony history - 16 minutes! Here is a portion of it:
This show is also noteworthy because Michael Bennett, just 26 years old at the time, was its choreographer. He received a Tony nomination for his efforts just as he did for Promises, Promises the year before. Then almost thirteen years to the date of Coco he directed and choreographed Dreamgirls which opened on December 20, 1981. This time he won the Tony for choreography. (And in between those two shows he directed and choreographed A Chorus Line.)
Here's the 5th installment of enthralling men's underwear ads from my personal collection. Let the drolling begin ...
Nautica - What purpose does the woman in the background of this ad serve? To draw in straight men, giving them permission to furtively glance at the hot man in the foreground? Whatever the reason, her inclusion is puzzling, even comical. Reminds me how every International Male catalog has a token woman on one of its pages.
Nautica - Another beautiful Nautica ad, but in this execution the model's lady friend is out of the picture. The ad evokes a feeling of being away at some balmy beach paradise.
Perry Ellis - A number of things in this ad draw in the reader. First, it's kinda sexy how his slightly damp briefs slightly cling to his butt. Second, the glimpse of his face and pecs in the mirror indicate he's a sexy fellow. And what's on his mind? Work issues? Relationship troubles? Contact lense just fell down the drain?
Emporio Armani - No need for his name to appear on the ad because he's the world's most recognizable metrosexual (i.e., David Beckham).
Calvin Klein - This ad for the X-line of briefs features Japanese soccer superstar Hidetoshi Nakata (now retired at the age of 34). Everything about this ad is pleasing - Nakata's sweat glistening body, the splash of color, the brief's pouch, even the giant 'X' splayed across his torso.
Fruit of the Loom - This ad is from the 1970's. The white towel and aqua briefs contrast nicely with the model's skin color.
If you missed any of the other four installments on underwear ads, here are their links:
The old trope about a picture being worth a thousand words is especially true when it comes to fashion advertising. In fact, the six ads I've chosen here rely entirely on photographs - there's not one line of copy. And upon looking at the selection of ads below the first word of each readers' thousand is likely to be "wow".
Miguel Cruz - Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe snapped this breathtaking photo for this short-lived (and not very highly regarded) apparel company which flamed out in the late 1980's. It hit the skids when its financial backer, a notorious personal banker, art connoisseur & social climber named Roberto Polo, was jailed in Italy for misaapropriation of client funds.
Rockport - If you didn't know that Rockport sold shoes you'd be hard pressed to figure out what this ad was selling. But it's a pleasure gazing upon the ad and trying to figure it out. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, Rockport is based in Massachusetts and is now a subsidiary of Reebok International.
Levi's - Sex appeal conveyed in a gritty, blue collar setting. Part of this ad's appeal is guessing what the model looks like from the front. (And why is he looking down?)
Versace - Ladies & gentleman, introducing the Versace iron. Wait, I think it's the shirt that has the Versace label! This ad is a classic from some 20 years ago.
Bottega Venata - Most likely the carefree model is skipping off to some oh-so-fabulous destination. BV is a luxury 50-year old brand best known for its leather accessories. The company is a subsidiary of Gucci and is headquartered in Italy.
Alex Cannon - Nothing brings attention to a shirt than unbuttoning it and opening it wide so the model's beautiful chest can be gazed upon. (However, a warning label should be at the bottom of the ad that reads: your results may differ.) Alex Cannon is a menswear company that's been in business since 2003. The label is sold at Lord & Taylor and a number of specialty stores across the U.S.
In addition to the Oscars, Hollywood also has the Razzies, which honor the worst movies and performances of the year. Perhaps a similar award can be handed out to ad agencies that create magazine ads that try to exude sex appeal but don't pull it off.
What brought this to mind is and ad I've seen a number of times in the New Yorker for Dolce & Gabbana's men's fragrance, "The One Gentleman" . It features actor Matthew McConaughey and drew my attention for all the wrong reasons. He's shown reclining with his shirt wide open, exposing an oddly smooth, airbrushed chest that has little definition. It appears more like the flat chest of a young girl than that of a lothario.
This execution is particularly surprising coming from D&G, which has a reputation for some of the hottest campaigns around, particularly those using Italian soccer and rugby players. (To be fair the other ads in the McConaughey campaign aren't quite as cringeworthy.)
When I see this ad I think of guys who pour on their cologne so thickly you can smell them many feet away. They're probably the same guys who are in the market for a Donald Trump suit. Who knows, perhaps this is who D&G is trying to attract. If it is they're not going to reach them by advertising in the New Yorker.
The right shoes, wristwatch, pocket square or necktie can certainly draw attention to a man when he enters a room, but I'm of the opinion that eyeglasses are the only accessory that has the ability to add sex appeal. And sunglasses add an aura of mystery and celebrity.
However, when it comes to the advertising of eyeglasses there's not a lot of creative ways to show them. For the most part such ads are simply a close-up of a sexy face where jawline, stubble, lips, the coif all come into play (in addition to appealing frames). But these ads demonstrate how sex appeal can be communicated without the need to show off pecs, washboard abs or bare butt cheeks.
It appears Armani dominates the fashion frames category, or it could be that it dominates ads that appeal to me.
Here are what a few other labels have to offer.
This ad for Arnold Brant is a case where eyeglasses are used as an effective prop.
Tom Ford (2000's), Guess (1990's) and Notorio (1980's) labels went beyond the face in an attempt to break the monotony of the category.
Finally, some of the best advertisements are celebs photographed wearing glasses.
