The Male Models Of Men's Fashion Week: An Appreciation

Our intrepid photographer, Nilina Mason-Campbell, has been stalking the fashion venues of Paris to bring you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse of the just-ended men’s shows. This way for hunky male models reading, getting made up, drinking and wearing ridiculous outfits!

Here, models watch from backstage at Petar Petrov.

The Dior venue.

A cleaner sweeping up the catwalk. Fashion houses try to keep the runway as pristine as possible until the show begins, a goal which is often incompatible with seating a large and rambunctious crowd of editors and buyers in unusual outfits. So they employ dedicated cleaners and sometimes cover the runway up entirely with a sheet of plastic, whipping it away as the lights go down.

Dior’s Kris Van Assche showed his collection on models styled with enormous, Amish-style hats.

Ethan James here sure looks ready for rumspringa.

Karl Lagerfeld took in the show.

And Purple fashion editor/Terry Richardson BFF/Booger from Revenge of the Nerds lookalike contest winner Olivier Zahm made sure to insert himself into the proceedings.

Backstage, a Dior ~~model~~ staffer pours Moët into plastic cups.

Models Christian Vilselius, Niklas K, and Daniel Kling are dressed and ready to head to their next shows.

A model who gave his name as Alex reads on the Paris Métro.

A row of casting polaroids pinned to a board backstage at John Lawrence Sullivan.

John Lawrence Sullivan had makeup artists paint some of his models’ nails bright green.

Sarah Lerfel of the boutique Colette, texting. Fashion shows are all hurry up and wait.

An elaborately costumed guest outside Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Julia Sarr-Jamois is the fashion editor of Wonderland magazine. (And the owner of a fabulous coat.)

Male models looking deathly bored backstage at Patar Petrov.

This is what they face coming down the catwalk. The photographers’ pit, at Kenzo.

Adrien Sahores enjoys a smoke after the Kenzo show.

A model double-fists champagne with his cigarette nearby. Kenzo’s private-investigator-themed invitation, by the way, is totally worth a look. (Show invites are a field where designers really unleash all that pent-up creativity. Sometimes invitations are even better than the shows they advertise.)

Meanwhile, the Sartorialist lies in wait for his prey.

Fashion writer Diane Pernet popped up outside the Juun J show. She always dresses like this.

A model changes clothes at Ehud.

Brazilian model Thiago Santos pulls on his socks.

Henrik Vibskov’s show had a conceit involving these guys in union suits. The long table is covered with hairdryers and plates of ~~pudding~~ popsicles. The models, who each wore crazy steampunk goggles, carried the plates of ~~pudding~~ popsicles as they walked down the runway.

Laitinien held a presentation in the cellar of a Paris bar. Male models dance awkwardly: They’re just like us.