How Male Models Get Rich in a Female-Dominated Industry
Male model Chris Collins has supplemented his modeling career by becoming an entrepreneur. (Photo: Instagram)
In a world where women make 22 percent less than men in almost every profession, the one industry that consistently bucks this trend is modeling. For years, female supermodels have not only become household names, but have raked in the cash at a rate far higher than their male counterparts. In 2013, Gisele Bundchen earned $42 million. This was not only double digits more than her husband, quarterback Tom Brady, but a huge gap from the highest paid male model, who earned about $1.5 million. With the list of well-known male models few and far between, it’s no wonder that two of the most celebrated men in the field have started looking outside of modeling to keep their careers propelling forward. Chris Collins and David Gandy, two industry veterans, are among the new breed of models that are becoming entrepreneurs and businessmen.
A native of Harlem, Chris Collins grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where the entrepreneurial spirit kicked in early. “I would offer basketball lessons on park playgrounds in exchange for quarters,“ says Collins. That drive brought him to the University of Maine, where he majored in pre-med and earned Biology and Psychology degrees. Post graduation, he was scouted on the streets of New York. After meeting Ralph Lauren at a casting in his corporate headquarters on Madison Avenue, Collins immediately began shooting for the brand. Since 1997, he has served as the face of Polo Ralph Lauren and assumed duties as both a spokesperson and brand ambassador.
Working with some of the world’s most iconic photographers like Bruce Weber, Steven Klein, and Terry Richardson, as well as traveling the world, Collins began to see a life beyond modeling and that entrepreneurial spirit kicked in yet again. Now, he is capitalizing on his branding potential, branching out globally as a lifestyle expert and brand advisor. He now serves as brand ambassador of Duggal Energy Solutions, a leader in green technologies and renewable energy products, lifestyle expert and style guide contributor for Stylecaster.com and RL Magazine, and is working on a lifestyle TV show.
Product-wise, Collins recently collaborated with famed French perfumist Kilian Hennessy to create a bespoke fragrance with an eye-popping retail of $30,000, promoting it on CNBC’s ‘Secret Lives of the Super Rich.’ Recognizing an opportunity, Collins is developing his own line of men’s fragrances and grooming products. "Men are starting to care about how they look, how they smell, and how they feel,” he says. “This brand looks to provide a very manly, elegant experience for this customer.” His background in fashion as led to a collaboration with a French company Lareymondie on men’s shoes and boots. The collection will be released during the CFDA|New York Fashion Week: Men’s, a standalone showcase for American men’s fashion setting off the Spring/Summer 2016 collections in July. Collins also sees the power of branding within the philanthropic world — he has partnered with high profile men from around the globe to found The League of Gentlemen, an organization that promotes and enacts global awareness of sustainable change. “I’ve learned that it’s not about the things you own, but more about the way you feel,” he says. “I want people to be inspired by my work, so that drives me to continue to create”.
David Gandy has leveraged his modeling career to become a businessman. (Photo: Instagram)
Similarly, British model David Gandy, who is currently #2 on Forbes list of male models, is looking for career longevity. In 2001, before graduating from the University of Gloucestershire with a degree in marketing, Gandy’s roommate entered him in a modeling competition, which he won and earned a contract with a top agency. He spent several years working for brands like Hugo Boss and H&M before becoming the face of Dolce & Gabbana in 2006. After several very successful fragrance campaigns with the Italian fashion house, it released a coffee table book, 'David Gandy by Dolce & Gabbana,’ chronicling the collaboration. Gandy has posed for other big campaigns like W Hotels, Banana Republic, and Marks & Spencer, and Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
Since 2011, Gandy began to branch out from modeling, taking on the job of blogger for British Vogue, with a focus on fashion, cars, antiques and the London lifestyle. His passion for cars led him to be an official car reviewer for British GQ, as well as a contributing columnist for The Daily Telegraph. It wasn’t until 2014 that Gandy dipped his toe in the water of designing, partnering with Marks & Spencer on a line of underwear and sleepwear — and soon, swimear — for the brand’s high end line, Autograph. Handy has also become an avid investor, supporting such diverse interests as a health-focused ice cream company in Britain called Wheyhey, and this year purchasing a major stake in David Preston Shoes, a London-based label. “It was always my aim — which sounds really strange as a model — not to always be in front of the camera but to turn the other way and have an input,“ he recently told WWD. Gandy also founded two websites with accompanying apps —DavidGandyFitness and DavidGandyStyleGuide.
These two men, both at the top of their game, know that the key to longevity in the modeling industry is to look beyond their typical realm of work to a world of entrepreneurship in order to close the wage gap.
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