O'Pry became known on the world stage when he was chosen by Taylor Swift to play the role of her love interest for her 2014 Blank Space video. Originally from a small town in Georgia, US, he arrived in New York at the age of 17 with only $150 in his pocket – and went on to secure exclusive contracts from big brands. Model Sean O'Pry, meanwhile, has carved out a career lasting more than 15 years, making him among the richest male supermodels in the world. US model Tyson Beckford was recruited by Ralph Lauren to be the face of the brand, and has since become the most famous black male supermodel of all time.

With a large population of high-net-worth individuals in Asia, brands want to make models like Dae the face of their campaigns, to create a connection with consumers.Īnd male supermodels are, it seems, gradually catching up with their female counterparts' success and earning power in recent years. Exponentially, it just kind of grew as the industry geared more towards Asian buyers or Asian market'.

US-Korean model Dae Na says: 'When I first started there was a handful of Asian models but now you see multiples. This type of beauty would be deemed unorthodox by traditional Western standards – but is now widely sought after and highly influential in mainstream media.Īnd as with every ethnicity, East Asian beauty standards are also diverse. In South Korea, the ideal has become more feminine, with the rise of K-Pop bands such as BTS, known for their vibrant hair and make-up. This is happening a lot in East Asia, especially in South Korean pop culture'. 'They're no longer the ideal for younger people, Generation Z champion androgyny. 'Stereotypical male aesthetics and behaviours are changing,' says Edmonds. Black supermodels like Tyson Beckford and Alton Mason regularly grace the covers of GQ and other magazines, and the fashion world is gradually becoming more diverse, perhaps in part because global social changes such as the Black Lives Matter movement have made brands recognise the need for diversity. Professor of anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, Alexander Edmonds, tells BBC Culture: 'Due to the legacy of slavery and colonialism images of the beautiful man have always been very white, and in the past, there were fewer barriers for this to change but this may be happening now'. James tells BBC Cuture that his work 'gives comfort and confidence to boys and men alike, it tells them that they are wanted and they are worthy'. In 2019, as a plus-sized model, he took part in an advertising campaign for clothing brand Simply Be, appearing alongside other diverse models, and has worked with Ted Baker and Asos. British model, body-positive activist and TikTok star Ben James is changing the way we view larger men. However, social-media apps like TikTok are helping to change male beauty standards by showcasing men who previously would not have had a platform. But the idea of what the 'perfect' male looks like is evolving as the film and fashion worlds embrace greater diversity, and the importance of representation is understood by global brands.Īll over the world, the idealised standard of the sculpted male shape has rarely reflected the average man's body. Below, check see the top 25 who epitomized the more-is-more mindset of the ’80s and left their mark on fashion, forever.What makes a man handsome – or beautiful? In past decades, the most famous icons of Western male beauty have been a rather narrow cohort – blue-eyed stars of the screen like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio come to mind. They commanded sizable checks, were stalwarts on billboards and commercials, and attracted headlines for their jet-setting lifestyles. Indeed, these names and more prove that supermodels existed well before the era of elegance. These veritable icons paved the way for the It girls of the ’90s, the perceived heyday of the modeling industry when Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell reigned supreme. Even to this day, decades later, Iman, Brooke, and Cindy could easily be recognized by just their first name. And who could forget the supers of the time? They were the ideal, a representation of the unattainable but aspirational embodiment of glamour, the muses of not just the designers but also of the people. It was a time when flaunting excess was extremely in, when designers like Christian Lacroix, Claude Montana, Carolyne Roehm, Yves Saint Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, and Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld ushered in an era of status accessories and clothing. If you're having trouble visualizing, just think of the looks in Heathers or Scarface. Fashion in the ’80s was characterized by big shoulders, big hair, and a whole lot of bling.

Blue eyed teenage female models