Visionaries team up for a collaboration of legends like no other, as local retail brand, Bench, is set to drop the first-ever steaming hot VMan calendar showcasing images captured by American photography icon, Bruce Weber.
Bench, whose celebrating its 30th year anniversary this weekend via an anticipated parade of stars in their bare essentials, “Under the Stars”, worked on this momentous partnership with Filipino publishing magnate behind Visionaire and VMan, Stephen Gan–a first for a Filipino retailer.
The 2018 VMan calendar prides itself with stunning imagery taken by Weber himself with top male models around the world, and yes, golden retriever puppies and never-before-seen artist sketches outlined for 12 whole months.
Each month consists of four pages, folded to make for 12 unique posters, giving those who buy it a chance to be a rightful owner of a Weber masterpiece. Weber has created an indelible mark in the photography industry, having produced legendary images for brands as Calvin Klein and Versace.
In an interview with Inquirer Lifestyle, Ben Chan shares his encounter with Gan that led to this partnership, on a chance meeting at the New York Fashion Week. He said, “He was quite excited to see a Filipino brand take part in the NYC Fashion Week. He was supportive and took time to see the presentation considering his busy schedule. He thought we should touch base and see how we can work together in the future.”
He continued, “I was happy with the gesture and thought we could support each other in many ways…Little did I know that he was conceiving the idea of coming up with a 2018 calendar and thought Bench would be the perfect collaboration.”
Chan flew to Brooklyn, USA, to shoot for the collaboration with two dozen male models including familiar faces who have joined Bench in previous campaigns like Chad White and Ian Scully. For the shoot, ace male model John Spainhour donned his Bench Body underwear to represent and celebrate Filipino form.
The calendar is set to be released on November 16, and will retail for $50–a portion of which will be donated to the Korean K9 Rescue. The calendar will then be available in select Bench stores. It is also available at the V Magazine storefront at 11 Mercer Street, vmagazineshop.com, Colette, IDEA Books at Dover Street Market in New York and London, VFILES, and Amazon.