When you think of male models, what springs to mind? Rippling six-packs, hairless chests, all-over tans and Blue Steel Zoolander stares? If your taste doesn’t run to billboard fodder like David Gandy in his tighty whities, Beckham, with that signature cock (of the brow), or Ronaldo, oiled and ready for action, then perhaps Burberry’s winsome skinny teens might fit the bill. Indeed, Emma Watson is rumoured to be dating the hottie George Craig, whom she met on the last Burberry campaign.
The parameters for male physical perfection are as rigidly defined as they are for women. You’ve got the ones with the perfect bodies and the young skinny fashion brigade. There’s not a hairy fatty in sight.
It’s hardly a reflection of reality. ‘Tis the season of the beer belly. Pop into any pub during a World Cup match and you’ll see a wall of abundant man-flesh, unselfconsciously straining at the seams of a Superdry top or resting gently on the waistband of a pair of slacks. Women’s mags such as V and French Vogue have responded to the criticism that the models and celebrities they use look nothing like ordinary women by putting plus-size girls such as Crystal Renn on their pages. The men’s fashion industry has shown no signs of embracing the cuddly male physique, despite the fact that the average British man, with his 38in waist, is hardly giving Zac Efron anything to worry about.
Pop into any pub during a World Cup match and you’ll see a wall of abundant man-flesh unselfconsciously straining at the seams of a Superdry top However, the latest issue of the renegade Dutch glossy Fantastic Man has broken ranks with the style pack and produced this marvellous fashion shoot featuring plus-size men in all their portly glory. “We have always featured real people and used street casting,” says Jop van Bennekom, the magazine’s creative director.
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“When we started the magazine in 2005, men’s fashion was all about Dior Homme and very skinny boys who were 14 and 15 years old. We were men in our thirties and couldn’t relate to that at all.
"We have been thinking about doing this for a couple of years, and it has taken a long time to find the right men, and get clothes, because they are not sample size”.
Fashion is the last frontier for the fat man. In every other sphere except professional sport (discounting darts), being lardy is no particular hindrance to getting on or getting laid. Morbid obesity aside, women won’t discount a man because of his paunch, as long as he has something else to offer in lieu of abs and a chiselled chin.
So the chart-topping comedian James Corden shows how to be fat, fanciable and funny (the movie star Jack Black is also in the “laugh your knickers off” category). Ray Winstone and James Gandolfini make being fat and macho look sexy. Jamie Oliver does a nice line in chubby and cheeky. Flab can even work in a heart-throb context. Javier Bardem (currently dating Penelope Cruz) and Chris Noth (Mr Big in Sex and the City) flaunt torsos that have seen better days. Working a paunch to your advantage is much easier for the older man to pull off, as Alec Baldwin’s surprisingly appealing topless turn in It’s Complicated proved.
Even among the younger generation, though, a less than perfect physique can have its advantages. Look at Plan B. He’s not technically fat, but he’s definitely gym shy and out of condition, which only adds to his brooding vulnerability. A pillowy midriff speaks of comfort and an appealing lack of vanity (you are unlikely to find yourself fighting over the mirror with a man with a tum).
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What it doesn’t speak of any more is style. And it’s a shame. Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles (before he got too big) all carried their weight with great panache. Back then, when every gent had his tailor, dressing a larger figure was much easier. These days, the rotund tend to shroud themselves in unflattering sportswear. Even van Bennekom finds it difficult to dress his modest spread in style. “I am a 36in waist and it makes it much harder to find good, fashionable clothes,” he says.
Julian Ganio, who styled these pictures, advises going to designers who understand real men (as opposed to skinny models) and offer generous sizes. “The Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck and the American brands Adam Kimmel and Ralph Lauren have roomy, generous shapes and large sizes. Pendleton, the US workwear brand, is good for casual shirts, and Gitman Bros is another good shirt brand for larger men.” He also advises the belly brigade to get smart shirts tailor-made, as off-the-peg plus sizes tend to look like tents. Big men often have good strong legs, so shouldn’t be shy about getting them out in shorts. And forget about trying to compensate for your size with vertical stripes. It doesn’t make any difference. As for the squat but wide Bob Hoskins types? Try Japanese designers such as Junya Watanabe and Comme des Garçons, which offer square-cut shapes that are shorter in the torso.
Whether you are a fashion fattie or more of a Marks & Sparks man gone to seed, there is one golden rule that applies to all. Always belt under the belly, not over it. Christopher Biggins, you have been warned.