Beautiful in Kimono — Japonism With A Twist

Dec 12, 2012 by Kay

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone has different standards of what is or is not “beautiful”, but I think many people would agree that the models in the pictures above and below look gorgeous… even if it’s a … “he”.

We’ve featured beautiful men dressed as women in our stories before, so when we found sensual photos of beautiful men dressed in kimonos, we knew we had to bring it to your attention.

The pictures are the work of French photographer Quentin Caffier and were introduced on the Taiwanese news site g amme.tw. Apparently, more than just a few viewers in Taiwan also thought the images were artistic and sexy. Yeah, some of the pictures do include elements of bondage, but not to such an extent as to be in bad taste, at least as I see it.

Caffier specializes in fashion and advertising photography and currently runs the Five Monkeys Studio in Paris. According to his website, he credits artists such as movie director David Cronenberg and musician David Bowie as having influenced his work (so maybe that’s where the slightly deviant and risque elements come from).

Professionally, Quentin Caffier is also one of the “Canon Explorers“, a group of talented photographers/filmmakers selected from image creators around the world to “share their passion for the Canon brand”.

It’s interesting that French native Caffier decided to dress the male models in Japanese-style kimonos. In a way, it brings to mind the prevalence of Japonism in 19th century Europe, particularly France in the latter part of the century — a time and place associated with decadence as well as brilliant, symbolic art. Many of the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that were so popular during this period featured women in beautiful kimonos.

Well, we may not be in end-of-the19th-century France, but I think these pictures are beautiful and definitely eye-catching. I for one would love to see more work by the photographer in a similar style, perhaps with men in lavish Marie Antoinette-style ball gowns or maybe Indian saris in bright rich silks, to give a few examples. (Hmm, or would male viewers feel differently?)

So, what do you think? Is this sensual art, or is it too eccentric for your taste? While the pictures may not be exactly conventional, we hope you enjoy viewing them. (And to Quentin Caffier, thank you for sharing pictures of beautiful men with us!)

Source: 宅宅新聞 (Chinese) via Kaola (Japanese)
Photos: 宅宅新聞 (Chinese)

Caffier 2