Essay: Is Fashion Late To The Muscle Men Renaissance?

by Joshua Graham on 25 December 2022

From the action hero figures in television cartoons through to the boyish waifs on the catwalk, SHOWstudio's Joshua Graham muses on changing beauty standards and speaks to David Epstein - bodybuilder and model for SHOWstudio's Mugler Design Download.

From the action hero figures in television cartoons through to the boyish waifs on the catwalk, SHOWstudio's Joshua Graham muses on changing beauty standards and speaks to David Epstein - bodybuilder and model for SHOWstudio's Mugler Design Download.

As a kid of the 90s, I was bombarded with superhero cartoons and the 80s action films that frequently ran on television as my introduction to masculinity. Images of behemoths like Arnold Schwarzenegger with his hulking pecs in Terminator, or Mr. T’s bulging biceps in Rocky III set the standard for what manhood was supposed to look like for my feeble child brain. Of course, this would all change once I entered teendom as an effeminate fashion loving queer who was allergic to physical activity.

Escaping into the lean and languid world of men’s fashion at the turn of the millennium, shaped by the youth obsessed Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane, with their penchant for boyish waifs who looked as if the slightest breeze could sweep them off their feet. Even the beefcakes reserved for the catwalks of Dolce & Gabbana were nothing in comparison to the herculean proportions of those action heroes that dominated my formative years.

Photograph Nick Knight, model David Epstein

While that's not to say men’s fashion in the last twenty years has set a diverse (or healthy) standard for the male form, it’s clear the industry has picked its players, and they are skinny. This, of course, has trickled into popular culture culminating in that infamous New York Times article proclaiming ‘Welcome To The Age of the Twink’ in 2018. Suddenly heartthrobs were the sensitive and stick-thin Timothée Chalamet and Troye Sivan who set the standard for what it means to be a man today. Continuing to reflect this obsession in fashion are Saint Laurent’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello with his rock’n’roll wannabes, and emerging talent Ludovic de Saint Sernin who has become a favourite for twinks around the world with his lace-up briefs and chain vests.

Still, the muscle men of yore haven’t disappeared. Oh no, they’re back and bigger than their predecessors. It seems the crown jewel for many Hollywood actors’ IMDB pages these days is a starring role in a Marvel film. But earning that sizable Disney-backed paycheck (Robert Downey journey made $75 million in Avengers: End Game) is no easy feat. To get into superhero shape, actors and actresses have famously undergone extreme diets and workout routines with celebrity trainers in order to archive the otherworldly physiques of their inhuman characters. Chris Pratt famously went from loveable himbo in Parks & Recreation to the superhuman Celestial Starlord in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Photograph Nick Knight, model David Epstein

This extreme health kick has trickled down into the lives of everyday individuals, like yours truly. When scrolling through social media it's clear there is no escaping the gravitational pull towards this reemerged standard of masculinity. If you’re lucky enough to avoid the algorithm of gym bros telling their followers they aren't getting enough protein, let me set the scene. A quick search on Instagram reveals 127 million posts tagged with #bodybuilding, and 51.9 billion views on TikTok. Putting that in fashion terms, #burberry has less than a tenth of that with 8.2 million posts, and 1.6 billion views on TikTok. Even writers that I have long admired for their wit were suddenly posting daily progress pics on Instagram with their personal trainers. While I pass no judgement on anyone choosing to better themselves with increased physical activity – I, myself am the proud payer of a monthly gym membership – it isn’t difficult to see just how extreme the grind to get bigger has become.

‘I would hate to be a young person now because everything is about image’, explains bodybuilder David Epstein. ‘But it's kind of fake’. A long time collaborator of Nick Knight, the personal trainer and model has appeared in numerous editorials for the master image-maker over the years. Now he’s been chosen to showcase SHOWstudio’s latest Design Download - our on-going series where we offer designer garment patterns to the public for free - donning a pair of spiral jeans from creative director Casey Cadwallader’s denim lineup. Epstein was an appropriate choice when considering founder Thierry Mugler’s own bodybuilding transformation into Manfred Mugler. Still, if there’s any indication of fashion’s lateness to the rise of the muscle man, it’s Epstein being tailored into his jeans before the shoot to fit his husky hamstrings. Of course, the point of Design Download is that anyone with the pattern is able to effortlessly alter the first of their creation, personalising it to their own dimensions.

Still from 3D film for Mugler SHOWstudio Design Download by Michael Gossage

Epstein tells me his fitness journey began at an early age as a means to manage his ADHD. ‘The human body is a machine. It’s supposed to move’, he says. Helping others achieve their fitness goals, its an emphasis on movement that’s at the core of his practice, prioritising callisthenics and gymnastics. It’s from his personal experiences that revealed to him the negative effects of bodybuilding. ‘When I was training for bodybuilding competitions, I couldn’t move. I was out of breath’, he tells me of his experience becoming uncomfortably big. ‘Functionally I was horrendous, but I would get more likes being that big than I do now’.

The modern day Adonis tells me he believes this influx in the extreme health craze is rooted in traditional notions of hyper-masculinity not dissimilar to those represented in the 80s action films of my youth. ‘They want to be the alpha male. Having muscles is intimidating.’ Building muscle is also addictive, as explained in a 2019 study which found 22% of male participants from the age of 18-24 reported ‘muscularity-oriented disordered eating behaviour’. This rise in muscle-dysmorphia isn’t helped by the influx of bodybuilding influencers, making it easier than ever to share often unrealistic body standards.

Photograph Nick Knight, model David Epstein

‘People think ‘If i put on muscle, males will accept me and women will accept me’, which is a shame. I’ve seen it first hand', says Epstein. The personal trainer admits that use of performance enhancers runs rampant not just within the bodybuilding community. ‘I’ve had clients risk using steroids because they want to be accepted.’ In 2018 The Guardian reported that over a million people in the UK were anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs to change their appearance. In order to conform to the body standards that are defined by fitness influencers and cinematic superheroes. ‘If anyone used steroids they could get a good physique. But I don't think thats a talent' declares Epstein.

Fashion's always been slow to change when it comes to bodily ideals. While designers like Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Hedi Slimane have shown no inclination to beef up their choice in models, other brands like GmbH are beginning to embody those hyper-masculine physiques. 'I won't lie, it's nice to get likes', says Epstein on how embodying these idealised physiques provides a sense of accomplishment and validation. Still, for the former bodybuilder, the quest to attain these aesthetics often leads to extreme measures to be taken. As fashion's pendulum begins its slow swing towards new body standards, we can only hope it's done so responsibly.

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