The gay vote is critical for the rise of any fashion trend. So tastemakers ought to take notice when an image transformation occurs inside the gay scene. The buffed mono-aesthetic body consciousness trumpeted by homosexuals in the last decade is showing a reversal to pre-eighties, un-worked out, fuller physiques with hair everywhere. The term and grisly aesthetic that is coming out of hibernation is “bear.” So while pretty boys are waxing crack and sack, proud furry daddies are packing London club nights XXL, Tonker, and Growlhouse, dancing shirtless and stomping in a palpable new male flavor. The scene even boasts a beefy new sensation: Har Mar Superstar, who shakes his thick thang on Top of the Pops. Retro-style Butt Magazine hired bear go-go boys for a recent London party and regularly feature chunky models on their pages. And cologne campaigns for Lacoste, YSL’s M7, and Lynx have already taken to the image, flaunting hirsute and naturally built models in their print ads and TV commercials. While this trend is still only in its infancy, take note: This aesthetic will go head to head with pampered metrosexuals to define the male profile of the new century.

- Jason Campbell
Photo: YSL’s M7 campaign