David Gandy, the fashion phenomenon, picked from obscurity and presented to us as the god like face of one of the world leading luxury fashion power houses this year celebrates 11 years in the making as a model, an icon and a fairy tale story of epic menswear proportions.
The fairy tale began as a boy, when ironically he was bullied at school for not being fashion forward, or one of the In Crowd and for having a bit of a speech impediment. It wasn’t until he graduated from university in 2001 that his life changed from Essex boy ugly duckling to international heart throb and iconic mega star. While David was busy enjoying himself in his dream summer job at car mag Auto Express (he’s a huge car geek for those of you who don’t read his Vogue Blog) his friends secretly entered him into a male modelling competition on Richard & Judy’s This Morning show. Not surprisingly David won and landed a contract with Select Model Management.
His first few years were not a shinning success, but eventually someone (that clever Italian duo) saw in David Gandy what we all thankfully do and a star was born. Dolce & Gabbana selected Gandy to front their ad campaign for their new fragrance Light Blue Pour Homme and subsequently he has become a brand name in his own right.
He’s had rapid success within the brand becoming the international face of menswear as well as working with some of the world most notorious super models like Naomi Campbell. He also worked on many other campaigns from Ermeregldo Zegna, Zara, Harpers Bazaar, Glamour, GQ Style and worked with some of the worlds top photographers like Mario Testino. Forbes Magazines even ranked Gandy as the third most successful male model in the world – quite an achievement for an unfashionable high school kid from Essex.
But what of Gandy’s own style? Well, his handsome smouldering good looks and perfectly tuned and sculpted body certainly help, but he also has a calming masculine confidence and charm which mirrors a style that is simple, elegant and impeccable.
His wardrobe has a strong emphasis on strong correctly tailored clothing, be it a jacket, suit or casual shirt and jeans.
His reliance on tailored clothing to accentuate his superhero-esque physique with it’s clean lines and silhouette is most apparent in his favoured staple, the two piece suit. However, for Gandy and any gentleman of good taste and a sense of style the attention is in the detail. He always adds something to give his outfit a signature David Gandy stamp of approval, whether it be a waistcoat or a scarf layered into the jacket. He also isn’t afraid to blur the edges of conventional menswear mixing formal separates with jeans or a simple (fitted) white T’s.
He’s also a man who values the importance of layering in his casual wear too, be it tweeds, woollen sweaters or leather bomber jackets it’s all done with an impeccable edit.
After an accolade like that, what’s not to love? Home grown, handsome, Grecian proportions and a personal style fit to challenge the best style icons history has to offer.
By Sam Outing
