Man Candy Day: Baptiste Giabiconi, Jamie Dornan & Arthur Daniyarov

Sometime I wonder what makes a pretty boy a trendy model... Beauty of course, but maybe you need something more, or the right moment, or the photographer / stylist who sees in you the difference. Or maybe all above. This week I would like to feature three of the 10 Top Models of the moment. Baptiste is actually ranked n° 1 and someone could wonder why stylists want to dress him as a women...; Jamie has a bit the "bad boy" style and other than that, maybe he is famous also to have been Keira Knightley's boyfriend; finally as I'm doing lately, a new face, Arthur, definitely an unusual face, also a bit scaring...

French model Baptiste Giabiconi is Karl Lagerfeld’s new muse. After posing with only a cardigan and a pair of heels in French Vogue, Lagerfeld got his eyes on for him. You’ve seen him as Jerry Hall’s younger lover-boy in the new Chanel ad campaign but also as Barbie’s Ken during the 50th anniversary. And he really got the best of approval from Lagerfeld himself “He looks like me-well, maybe a better-looking version of me from a long time ago”. Not bad marks when coming from mr K.



( Baptiste Giabiconi )

Baptiste also appeared on French magazine TETU, photographer Steeve Beckouet

( Baptiste Giabiconi for TETU Magazine by Steeve Beckouet  )

Baptiste Giabiconi worked brands such as: Chanel Cruise F/W 09, Chanel Handbags F/W 09, Armani Jeans S/S 09, Chanel S/S 09, Fendi S/S 09, K for Karl Lagerfeld S/S 09, Frankie Morello S/S 08. He appeared in the following editorials: Into the Light, Vogue Nippon (Japan); Master of Venice, V Magazine; Legends Of The Fall, V Man; Dynasty, Numero Homme; Sweet Decadence, V Magazine; Sa libre attitude, Vogue Paris; What's Next, Harper's Bazaar; Space Odyssey, Numero Homme.

His agencies are New York DNA, Hamburg Mega Agency, Milan d'management, Copenhagen Scoop. Mother agency: MGM (Paris)

@Models.com - Baptiste

Jamie Dornan (born 4 June 1982, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish fashion model turned musician and occasional actor. In 2006 he appeared in the Sofia Coppola film, Marie-Antoinette playing the Swedish aristocrat Axel von Fersen and in the upcoming film Shadows in the Sun, starring veteran actress Jean Simmons. He also performs in the folk band Sons of Jim. He has modelled for Calvin Klein (with both Kate Moss and Eva Mendes), Dior, Aquascutum, Dolce and Gabbana, Levi and Armani, among many other brands.


Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans F/W 09, Fall/Winter 2009, by Steven Klein

( Jamie Dornan )

His father, Jim Dornan, is an obstetrician. He was a teenager when his mother died. He attended and boarded at Methodist College, where he met David Alexander, who would become his songwriting partner in 2002, when they founded their two-piece Irish folk outfit, Sons of Jim. Their record label, Doorstep Records, was named after a sandwich shop in Belfast. Dornan attended the University of Teesside, but dropped out to pursue a modelling career, after being approached by the Select agency.

On the set of an Asprey photoshoot in 2003, Dornan met English actress Keira Knightley, who introduced him to her agent at PFD. From 2003 to late 2005, Dornan dated Keira Knightley. In March 2007, he was reportedly briefly linked with actress Mischa Barton.

Jamie Dornan worked brands such as: Calvin Klein Underwear F/W 09, Calvin Klein Jeans F/W 09, Calvin Klein White Label F/W 09, Giorgio Armani S/S 09, CK Free Fragrance S/S 09, Aquascutum Pre Collection S/S 09, Armani Jeans F/W 08, Aquascutum F/W 08.

His Agency is Select in London.

@Models.com - Jamie

With his dramatic features and natural intensity Arthur is fast becoming the go to boy for clients in search of the atypical. Is it any wonder then that he was among the busiest boys in Paris this season - or that he has become the face of Jil Sander's eerie minimalist campaigns? From his debut in Dazed to his novel turns in Arena Homme Plus, Arthur has come to represent individuality at its most fashionable.

 

( Arthur Daniyarov )

 

Arthur Daniyarov is in Jil Sander Campaign Preview F/W 09 campaign and appeared in the following editorials:
After a Hard Day in the City, Dazed & Confused and When All Relationships Reach Equilibrium, Arena Homme +.

His agencies are: agencies Milan Elite Milan, New York DNA, Paris Ford Europe, London FM Agency. Mother agency: LMA (St. Petersburg)

@Models.com - Arthur

Man Candy Day: Baptiste Giabiconi, Jamie Dornan & Arthur Daniyarov

Sometime I wonder what makes a pretty boy a trendy model... Beauty of course, but maybe you need something more, or the right moment, or the photographer / stylist who sees in you the difference. Or maybe all above. This week I would like to feature three of the 10 Top Models of the moment. Baptiste is actually ranked n° 1 and someone could wonder why stylists want to dress him as a women...; Jamie has a bit the "bad boy" style and other than that, maybe he is famous also to have been Keira Knightley's boyfriend; finally as I'm doing lately, a new face, Arthur, definitely an unusual face, also a bit scaring...

French model Baptiste Giabiconi is Karl Lagerfeld’s new muse. After posing with only a cardigan and a pair of heels in French Vogue, Lagerfeld got his eyes on for him. You’ve seen him as Jerry Hall’s younger lover-boy in the new Chanel ad campaign but also as Barbie’s Ken during the 50th anniversary. And he really got the best of approval from Lagerfeld himself “He looks like me-well, maybe a better-looking version of me from a long time ago”. Not bad marks when coming from mr K.



( Baptiste Giabiconi )

Baptiste also appeared on French magazine TETU, photographer Steeve Beckouet

( Baptiste Giabiconi for TETU Magazine by Steeve Beckouet  )

Baptiste Giabiconi worked brands such as: Chanel Cruise F/W 09, Chanel Handbags F/W 09, Armani Jeans S/S 09, Chanel S/S 09, Fendi S/S 09, K for Karl Lagerfeld S/S 09, Frankie Morello S/S 08. He appeared in the following editorials: Into the Light, Vogue Nippon (Japan); Master of Venice, V Magazine; Legends Of The Fall, V Man; Dynasty, Numero Homme; Sweet Decadence, V Magazine; Sa libre attitude, Vogue Paris; What's Next, Harper's Bazaar; Space Odyssey, Numero Homme.

His agencies are New York DNA, Hamburg Mega Agency, Milan d'management, Copenhagen Scoop. Mother agency: MGM (Paris)

@Models.com - Baptiste

Jamie Dornan (born 4 June 1982, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish fashion model turned musician and occasional actor. In 2006 he appeared in the Sofia Coppola film, Marie-Antoinette playing the Swedish aristocrat Axel von Fersen and in the upcoming film Shadows in the Sun, starring veteran actress Jean Simmons. He also performs in the folk band Sons of Jim. He has modelled for Calvin Klein (with both Kate Moss and Eva Mendes), Dior, Aquascutum, Dolce and Gabbana, Levi and Armani, among many other brands.


Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans F/W 09, Fall/Winter 2009, by Steven Klein

( Jamie Dornan )

His father, Jim Dornan, is an obstetrician. He was a teenager when his mother died. He attended and boarded at Methodist College, where he met David Alexander, who would become his songwriting partner in 2002, when they founded their two-piece Irish folk outfit, Sons of Jim. Their record label, Doorstep Records, was named after a sandwich shop in Belfast. Dornan attended the University of Teesside, but dropped out to pursue a modelling career, after being approached by the Select agency.

On the set of an Asprey photoshoot in 2003, Dornan met English actress Keira Knightley, who introduced him to her agent at PFD. From 2003 to late 2005, Dornan dated Keira Knightley. In March 2007, he was reportedly briefly linked with actress Mischa Barton.

Jamie Dornan worked brands such as: Calvin Klein Underwear F/W 09, Calvin Klein Jeans F/W 09, Calvin Klein White Label F/W 09, Giorgio Armani S/S 09, CK Free Fragrance S/S 09, Aquascutum Pre Collection S/S 09, Armani Jeans F/W 08, Aquascutum F/W 08.

His Agency is Select in London.

@Models.com - Jamie

With his dramatic features and natural intensity Arthur is fast becoming the go to boy for clients in search of the atypical. Is it any wonder then that he was among the busiest boys in Paris this season - or that he has become the face of Jil Sander's eerie minimalist campaigns? From his debut in Dazed to his novel turns in Arena Homme Plus, Arthur has come to represent individuality at its most fashionable.

 

( Arthur Daniyarov )

 

Arthur Daniyarov is in Jil Sander Campaign Preview F/W 09 campaign and appeared in the following editorials:
After a Hard Day in the City, Dazed & Confused and When All Relationships Reach Equilibrium, Arena Homme +.

His agencies are: agencies Milan Elite Milan, New York DNA, Paris Ford Europe, London FM Agency. Mother agency: LMA (St. Petersburg)

@Models.com - Arthur

The Preacher’s Son, A Southern Coming-Out Story by Kevin L. Backer

I was first drawn by this book for the topic of the son of a minister who finds out he is gay. Someone who has always heard that being gay is a sin, that is not natural, how terrible it could be for him to realize that he is gay? And how a negative figure has to be the father, the preacher, who is not kind enough to love his own son, how he could be a "father" for a community?

And so, starting to read the book I was pretty surprised to see that Joseph, Paul's father, was not at all a negative character. A recent widower, he didn't let his pain close his heart, and he is still ready to be a supporting father and a good reverend. He moves to a big church in Dallas, bigger than the one he was used to, but the change is necessary for him and also for his son. He is also very happy when his son finds a friend in Jeremy, a same-age guy of the parish. More, Joseph also starts to date Janet, a divorced mother of two little girls who serves as secretary for the church. If you wonder why I spend so much time talking of Joseph, it's since Joseph is the perfect example of a man who has had no chance to see the "truth": basically Joseph is a good man, a good father and a good reverend, but he is stuck with the old teachings, the ones saying that being gay is a sin, that it's not acceptable. When Joseph learns that depending on the church there is also a "correctional" center, a place where supposed "doctors" teach to young men to not being gay, he only worries that they are not using violence, but medicine and brainwashing are all right. Not even when a young man kills himself, a boy he talked with and said he wanted only to arrive to the day he could leave the "center" to be free, not even then the good reverend questioned his beliefs.

In a way, being Joseph a good man is even worst for his son, since Paul can't reconcile his feelings for Jeremy with the teachings of his father; his father is a good man, Paul loves him, and if his father tells him that being gay is bad, young Paul can only believe it. And then there is also the fact that Paul is an only son, that he is the only family his father has, and if he leaves his father, he will leave him all alone. When Paul meets Jeremy, he is the perfect good son of a reverend: at 18 years old he is a perfect virgin, he has not even masturbated himself. But if Paul's mind doesn't know, his body well does, and being near Jeremy awakens all the forbidden desires. There is not much struggle on Paul's side, as soon as he realizes that Jeremy is gay, and that he is interested in him, Paul throws himself in the relationship, without second thoughts. It's quite easy, also Jeremy has to hide from his parents, and they can hide together.

At first I found a bit disconcerting all the sex between the two boys; it seemed to me reckless and odd that they were trying to hide from their respective parents, and in the meantime they were spending all possible time together in bed. But then it struck me: they are two teenagers, they don't think as adults, they are not adults at all! They are two boys in love and in that moment, the most important thing is to find a way to consume that love. I don't know if it was an author's choice, or maybe the fact that probably the author is not an erotic, and not even a romance writer, but also the sex scenes were very "bare" and basic, almost clinical; there was not foreplaying, not knowledge how to do "things" to easy and heighten each other pleasure, the main purpose was to get off as soon and as much as possible.

Nor Paul or Jeremy behave as adult men, nor during sex or in the choice they take. Without the help of elder people around, they will not even reach an healthy choice; again someone could question if it was a good behavior, and again I answered myself, it was probably the right behavior for a 18 years old guy in that same situation. Paul and Jeremy are not good "example", they are not two role models for gay teenagers, they are two boys who are in love but are still too young to help that love to grow. They are lucky enough to have other people around wiser than them, and ready to help.

The novel has maybe a simple perspective on the issue, for Paul and Jeremy it's not easy, but all in all it goes better than many other boys in their same situation; Paul's father, Joseph, maybe takes a little too late the right decision, but at least he did. In a perfect world, he should have reached that decision not since he realized that his son was in danger, but since it was the right thing to do, and so neither him proves to be a "perfect" character, but again, maybe it was not the idea of the author to write perfect and unbelievable characters. Paul and Jeremy are 18 years old boy, born and raised in a privileged society, and so they are not ready to face the big bad world alone. Joseph is a good man who believes in certain preachment, and till the moment the bad side of those beliefs don't hurt him, he doesn't realize they are wrongs. Maybe Paul, Jeremy and Joseph are not perfect, but I believe they are right for the society where they live.

The Preacher's Son is not a perfect novel, I still feel like the sex scene where a bit too rough and the ending a bit too fairy-tale and sugary, but all in all, it was a sweet coming of age story (with a scene that remembers both An Affair to Remember or Sleepless in Seattle, an appointment on a skydeck), and if you like to read of young boys in love, with the big bad world just outside but not too threatening, this is the right novel.

Amazon: The Preacher's Son: A Southern Coming-Out Story

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

The Preacher’s Son, A Southern Coming-Out Story by Kevin L. Backer

I was first drawn by this book for the topic of the son of a minister who finds out he is gay. Someone who has always heard that being gay is a sin, that is not natural, how terrible it could be for him to realize that he is gay? And how a negative figure has to be the father, the preacher, who is not kind enough to love his own son, how he could be a "father" for a community?

And so, starting to read the book I was pretty surprised to see that Joseph, Paul's father, was not at all a negative character. A recent widower, he didn't let his pain close his heart, and he is still ready to be a supporting father and a good reverend. He moves to a big church in Dallas, bigger than the one he was used to, but the change is necessary for him and also for his son. He is also very happy when his son finds a friend in Jeremy, a same-age guy of the parish. More, Joseph also starts to date Janet, a divorced mother of two little girls who serves as secretary for the church. If you wonder why I spend so much time talking of Joseph, it's since Joseph is the perfect example of a man who has had no chance to see the "truth": basically Joseph is a good man, a good father and a good reverend, but he is stuck with the old teachings, the ones saying that being gay is a sin, that it's not acceptable. When Joseph learns that depending on the church there is also a "correctional" center, a place where supposed "doctors" teach to young men to not being gay, he only worries that they are not using violence, but medicine and brainwashing are all right. Not even when a young man kills himself, a boy he talked with and said he wanted only to arrive to the day he could leave the "center" to be free, not even then the good reverend questioned his beliefs.

In a way, being Joseph a good man is even worst for his son, since Paul can't reconcile his feelings for Jeremy with the teachings of his father; his father is a good man, Paul loves him, and if his father tells him that being gay is bad, young Paul can only believe it. And then there is also the fact that Paul is an only son, that he is the only family his father has, and if he leaves his father, he will leave him all alone. When Paul meets Jeremy, he is the perfect good son of a reverend: at 18 years old he is a perfect virgin, he has not even masturbated himself. But if Paul's mind doesn't know, his body well does, and being near Jeremy awakens all the forbidden desires. There is not much struggle on Paul's side, as soon as he realizes that Jeremy is gay, and that he is interested in him, Paul throws himself in the relationship, without second thoughts. It's quite easy, also Jeremy has to hide from his parents, and they can hide together.

At first I found a bit disconcerting all the sex between the two boys; it seemed to me reckless and odd that they were trying to hide from their respective parents, and in the meantime they were spending all possible time together in bed. But then it struck me: they are two teenagers, they don't think as adults, they are not adults at all! They are two boys in love and in that moment, the most important thing is to find a way to consume that love. I don't know if it was an author's choice, or maybe the fact that probably the author is not an erotic, and not even a romance writer, but also the sex scenes were very "bare" and basic, almost clinical; there was not foreplaying, not knowledge how to do "things" to easy and heighten each other pleasure, the main purpose was to get off as soon and as much as possible.

Nor Paul or Jeremy behave as adult men, nor during sex or in the choice they take. Without the help of elder people around, they will not even reach an healthy choice; again someone could question if it was a good behavior, and again I answered myself, it was probably the right behavior for a 18 years old guy in that same situation. Paul and Jeremy are not good "example", they are not two role models for gay teenagers, they are two boys who are in love but are still too young to help that love to grow. They are lucky enough to have other people around wiser than them, and ready to help.

The novel has maybe a simple perspective on the issue, for Paul and Jeremy it's not easy, but all in all it goes better than many other boys in their same situation; Paul's father, Joseph, maybe takes a little too late the right decision, but at least he did. In a perfect world, he should have reached that decision not since he realized that his son was in danger, but since it was the right thing to do, and so neither him proves to be a "perfect" character, but again, maybe it was not the idea of the author to write perfect and unbelievable characters. Paul and Jeremy are 18 years old boy, born and raised in a privileged society, and so they are not ready to face the big bad world alone. Joseph is a good man who believes in certain preachment, and till the moment the bad side of those beliefs don't hurt him, he doesn't realize they are wrongs. Maybe Paul, Jeremy and Joseph are not perfect, but I believe they are right for the society where they live.

The Preacher's Son is not a perfect novel, I still feel like the sex scene where a bit too rough and the ending a bit too fairy-tale and sugary, but all in all, it was a sweet coming of age story (with a scene that remembers both An Affair to Remember or Sleepless in Seattle, an appointment on a skydeck), and if you like to read of young boys in love, with the big bad world just outside but not too threatening, this is the right novel.

Amazon: The Preacher's Son: A Southern Coming-Out Story

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Beautiful Boys by Anne Cain

Beautiful Boys is exactly what the title promises, a collection of short stories on young and cute beautiful boys whose main trouble in life is find someone to have a fling with, and obviously hot and naughty sex. Even better if after the sex there is also the romance, and a forever love story, it is always nice to see the pretty boys being happy together.

The first story is about Dean, just dumped by his lover, who stubbornly decides to go with the ex on the previously planned holiday in Greece; more than an broken heart, Dean is nursing a frustrating lack of sex, and when he finds on a desert island an handsome, young and naked boy, there is only time enough to ask him the name and they start to have sex right away.

At home, Dean's brother, Neil, has a chronically fear of fate and destiny, and for this reason he doesn't like birthday parties: having someone wish you the best is like calling bad luck. But his co-workers have other idea, and during an impromptu party at Neil's house, they hire a quite clumsy stripper, Jinx, who, accident after accident, causes Neil to break a mirror: seven years of bad luck! but if Jinx is near him to help spending the time, and if they manage to not kill each other with stupid accident, well maybe Neil has found is better luck with the worst lucky man ever.

Jinx's childhood friend and former boyfriend Nathan is happy for his friend, but he is also a bit envious: also him would like to find his dream man, or better he would like for his dream man to realize he is there. Nathan has a crush on his roommate Gage, but the man is straight... or not?

And in the end, Nathan's friend and also Neil's coworker, Andy, is still daily fighting with his colleague Luke: they are both young and talented, and obviously attracted to each other, but instead of steaming off the desire through sex, they feed it with job's competitiveness. They have only to find the right occasion out of a job contest to realize that it's better to use that fire during sex instead.

Dean and Neil's stories are the two with a bit of plot, even if I wouldn't have minded to read something more on Dean and Nico after their first encounter, while I have some info on Dean and his past, Nico seems really to come out from nowhere, he has no past history and I had the feeling he was like a some magical creature born from the sea foam (but don't get me wrong, there is nothing paranormal in the story). Neil's story main focus instead is the bad luck of Neil and the even badder luck of Jink, like a mathematical theory, two negative give a positive and so maybe the two together are perfect. Both Dean and Neil are around thirty years old, and their lover barely twenty, so there is also a bit of may / december feelings in their stories.

The other two couples, Nathan and Gage, and Andy and Luke, are nothing more than a nice sex scene. All four couples together work just fine to give an idea of a bunch of beautiful boys with very few trouble in life, a supporting and happy family environment, where they can continue to live like in a forever beach party.

http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Beautiful_Boys-994.aspx

Amazon Kindle: Beautiful Boys

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain

Beautiful Boys by Anne Cain

Beautiful Boys is exactly what the title promises, a collection of short stories on young and cute beautiful boys whose main trouble in life is find someone to have a fling with, and obviously hot and naughty sex. Even better if after the sex there is also the romance, and a forever love story, it is always nice to see the pretty boys being happy together.

The first story is about Dean, just dumped by his lover, who stubbornly decides to go with the ex on the previously planned holiday in Greece; more than an broken heart, Dean is nursing a frustrating lack of sex, and when he finds on a desert island an handsome, young and naked boy, there is only time enough to ask him the name and they start to have sex right away.

At home, Dean's brother, Neil, has a chronically fear of fate and destiny, and for this reason he doesn't like birthday parties: having someone wish you the best is like calling bad luck. But his co-workers have other idea, and during an impromptu party at Neil's house, they hire a quite clumsy stripper, Jinx, who, accident after accident, causes Neil to break a mirror: seven years of bad luck! but if Jinx is near him to help spending the time, and if they manage to not kill each other with stupid accident, well maybe Neil has found is better luck with the worst lucky man ever.

Jinx's childhood friend and former boyfriend Nathan is happy for his friend, but he is also a bit envious: also him would like to find his dream man, or better he would like for his dream man to realize he is there. Nathan has a crush on his roommate Gage, but the man is straight... or not?

And in the end, Nathan's friend and also Neil's coworker, Andy, is still daily fighting with his colleague Luke: they are both young and talented, and obviously attracted to each other, but instead of steaming off the desire through sex, they feed it with job's competitiveness. They have only to find the right occasion out of a job contest to realize that it's better to use that fire during sex instead.

Dean and Neil's stories are the two with a bit of plot, even if I wouldn't have minded to read something more on Dean and Nico after their first encounter, while I have some info on Dean and his past, Nico seems really to come out from nowhere, he has no past history and I had the feeling he was like a some magical creature born from the sea foam (but don't get me wrong, there is nothing paranormal in the story). Neil's story main focus instead is the bad luck of Neil and the even badder luck of Jink, like a mathematical theory, two negative give a positive and so maybe the two together are perfect. Both Dean and Neil are around thirty years old, and their lover barely twenty, so there is also a bit of may / december feelings in their stories.

The other two couples, Nathan and Gage, and Andy and Luke, are nothing more than a nice sex scene. All four couples together work just fine to give an idea of a bunch of beautiful boys with very few trouble in life, a supporting and happy family environment, where they can continue to live like in a forever beach party.

http://www.loose-id.com/prod-Beautiful_Boys-994.aspx

Amazon Kindle: Beautiful Boys

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle


Cover Art by Anne Cain