The International Men’s Catalogue was a portal to fashion and fantasy for many gay men in slightly older times. The pages of IM were filled with handsome men with chiseled jaws and muscular bodies, often wearing nothing but underwear. Straight men can see a Victoria’s Secret catalog full of underwear “angels”; There was an international man for homosexuals.
Documentary All Men: An International Men’s HistoryScreening at the Outfest LGBTQ+ Film Festival in Los Angeles, the film explores the story of a pioneering publication calling itself a “catalogue/magazine.” The film is directed by Brian Darling and Jesse Finley Reed.
“It was loosely based on my experience of entering a bedroom and locking the door,” Reid joked during a question-and-answer session after the weekend screening to enjoy instant messaging. I went to Brian, I said, ‘You know what? Let’s make a funny 3-5 minute movie about what this means for a certain generation of gay teens. And more was done as we started to unpack the story.”
Producer and screenwriter Peter Jones entered the project through his own relationship with the international man.
“I was a client,” Jones told Deadline at a party at Chateau Marmont. “I bought a black mesh tank top and jaguar print lycra type workout clothes that I’ve been wearing for years.”
International Male was founded in the mid-1970s as the brainchild of Gene Burkard, a former Army veterinarian, singer and songwriter. For his first successful product, he was inspired by bandage-like medical apparel, which he reimagined as colorful “sports socks.” Forget the boring utilitarian joke and step into something bold and sexy. She made another hit with an outfit she discovered in England and was originally designed “for this”. [dock] Workers shoveling coal,” Darling explained. They called him Stoker.
“Actually, it was British scrap that they found in a big pile of dirt at the docks, and they said, ‘We want to buy this,'” Reid said. “They bought them. And it sold like crazy.
“They were one of the pioneers in taking military surplus and turning it into fashion,” Darling said. “How many overalls have you seen? Purple and blue… during the war they would have German coats and everything else. Then when they were finished they would take them somewhere and copy them… It sold very well.”
Burkard wrote a copy of the catalog – imagine J Seinfeld. IM praised the “Bombay” trousers: “Irresistibly sophisticated high-waisted cosy trousers.” Or the blue cotton work shirt: “We discovered this in Greece…it was an interesting fashion discovery.” The cover of the 1993 fall catalog read “Go, Young Man in a Vest”.
The clothes were intended for men of all faiths: gay and heterosexual. Stripes, bold Versace-inspired prints, khakis rough enough for Indiana Jones, and outfits that stand out to blow your Jolly Roger: chunky vests and choppy shirts worthy of Blackbeard. In fact, the movie suggests that the IM hacking team was inspired by celebrities. Seinfeld Episode “Fluffy Shirt”.
“International men used to dress really masculine men in clothes that weren’t quite masculine,” says fashion expert Carson Kressley. all men. “The beginning of the metrosexual movement where you can only wear clothes for fun.”
Gay men were neither the sole target nor the main target of the catalogue. According to the movie, 75 percent of shoppers were women, buying men and trying to trade their boyfriends for something more adventurous with Dockers and Haynes.
Jones said, “Come, ‘Honey, please try?’ says,” he said. “When it comes to shipping clothes home, the kids try them on in the bedroom and send them back if they don’t like it. .. As a business, it was very smart for women to market to men.”
The lush, white bread models were typically masculine and thus offended heterosexual male consumers, even as gay men browsing the catalog were mentally withdrawing from the images.
“Straight Guys were a huge consumer, but had a huge impact on the LGBT world because of what they could do,” Jones observed, “bring these wonderful images of thinly dressed men to all 50 states.”
“We never said we were a gay catalog, but gay people ‘get it,'” says Burkard on the film’s website. “I mean, gay people looked at him and said, ‘Oh my god, it’s mine and I can get this in the mail because it doesn’t say gay anywhere.
The filmmakers interviewed Burkard before his death in December 2020. They also spoke with compatriot Gloria Tomita, vice president and head of purchasing for International Male, as well as former models, photographers, bodyguards and other employees at all levels of the company. Darling, Reed and Jones were impressed by the warm atmosphere Bucard and Tomita created at their San Diego headquarters.
“Former employees have a Facebook page. They visit each other, they keep in touch,” he said. “Everyone we talk to says, ‘This is the best job I’ve ever had.
“But it was more than that,” Darling added. “He wasn’t [just] The best job was literally “we were a family”. It was a unique experience. How many people can say that about your work?
Most of the male employees were gay and faced backlash for accepting their sexuality.
“It was a relationship that Gene and Gloria had and deepened with the staff and young people they hired who were rejected by their families. “The current cultural significance of this movie: I wanted people to see humanity in business,” Jones said. “I’m currently thinking about two documentaries about Abercrombie & Fitch and Victoria’s Secret. They were run by psychopathic maniacs who abused people. Now there is International Male and Gene Burkart, a good man who cares about and takes care of his employees. “
The movie is narrated by actor Matt Bomer. All Men: An International Men’s History It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month and was later shown at Frameline in San Francisco. The producers are trying to distribute the documentary to large audiences.
“We hope someone will pick it up and a lot of people will look at it,” Jones said. “We have a very involved party. [Outfest] Being able to hear the program and the audience reaction and see it on the big screen, I’ll take that as a positive sign. But we’ll see. “
Source: Deadline
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
