Clark Bockelman for Details Magazine.

Clark Bockelman x Calvin Klein.

Bockelmania

My recent endeavours at Conde Nast have brought me back into familiar territory and I have returned to my roots working on Menswear. For my last project I shot a look book on behalf of Turkish brand, Neri Karra (Check out the shoot at www.MossProctor.com) looking at the potential for the brand coming to the UK. 

For this project I got to research and explore the market of men's fashion through clothing, magazine, lifestyle etc. A reoccurring question arose during my research - "Who is the modern man?"

And the answer... The modern man is the new generation of male around you, as Tony Parson's put it in an article discussing the history of GQ Magazine -

"This was not - and is not - really an alternative vision of masculinity but a thousand different visions that took for granted one self-evident truth about men. We are sons, brothers, friends, lovers, ex-boyfriends, consumers, voters, readers, amateur sportsmen and working men who have to get up tomorrow morning and do it all over again."

That's why when I saw this latest editorial for details magazine featuring the American wonder, Clark Bockelman, I thought we really have achieved modern-man-maturity. Shaking off the shackles of the fixation of stereotypical gentleman, such as 'tall, dark and handsome', I think models such as Clark Bockelman explore the ideas of the modern man. Admittedly, not all men stand at 6'2ft and are the face of international brand such as Calvin Klein but this baby-faced-blond is breaking his own stereotypes. For me personally it reminds me of a few years back when an argument had resonated about Daniel Craig becoming the favourite to play James Bond. I'm pretty much assuming the whole world has now seen Skyfall and wouldn't argue with Craig's appearance as Bond.

Away from the argument though I really like the work of Shaun Hartas in this shoot. To me, I love the feel of the imagery - Dark, masculine and moody. My favourite images are the ones against the cloudy back ground, the colours create a strong contrast between Clark and the back drop. When I see the components of the Chevrolet, Clark and Calvin Klein I think to many it will depict the 'All American Dream' but for me I see it more simply - Just a blond guy doing in thing, in a great brand with a classic car. 

Photographer: Shaun Hartas

Model: Clark Bockelman ( Wilhelmina - NY/ Select model London)

Publication: Details Magazine

Image credit to Ftape.