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DELUXE DIGITAL EDITION
THE SUMMER '25 REMIX THEO JAMES
omegawatches.com
PRECISION. POWER. POISE. Set your eyes on the new Seamaster Diver 300M, with its monochromatic steel and Master Chronometer precision. A fusion of metals forged for endurance. Wear it and wear a legacy worn on some of the most daring wrists. Your next adventure won’t go unnoticed. Dive deeper, go further, and let the Seamaster lead the way.
PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHANIE GONOT
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EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director Stephen Gan GEN V Editor-in-Chief / Digital Director Mathias Rosenzweig Managing Editor Charlie Kolbrener Editor Kevin Ponce Savannah Sobrevilla Senior Contributing Editor Lizzy Goodman Associate Digital Editor Christian Rosa Entertainment Editor Greg Krelenstein Weibo and Chinese Editor Meng Ji Contributing Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg Copy Editor Annie FASHION Fashion Director-at-Large Nicola Formichetti Senior Fashion Editor Anna Trevelyan Fashion Coordinator Liv Vitale Contributing Fashion Editors Davey Sutton Hunter Clem Paul Sinclaire George Cortina Patti Wilson Anastasia Barbieri Junior Art Director Clément Condat
PHOTO/ART Art Director-at-Large Tobias Holzmann Photo Director Sameet Sharma Contributing Bookings Director Goran Macura Special Projects Producer / Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Alyson Cox
CONTRIBUTORS Alvaro Beamud Cortés Adrian Joffe Charlotte Hadden Arseny Jabiev Ian Bradley Stephanie Gonot Ryan Jenq Max Tardio Mahboubeh Absalan Penny Spiliotopoulos Stephanie Wong ADVERTISING & SPECIAL PROJECTS Eleni Gatsou Bureau (Advertising Office for France and America) Eleni Gatsou eleni@elenigatsou.com Marie-Loup Faggioli marie-loup@elenigatsou.com +33 (0)1 42 72 02 19 Mediaberna S.r.l. (Advertising Office for Italy and Switzerland) Luciano Bernardini de Pace luciano@bernardini.it Grazia Mortari mortari@bernardini.it Mariolina Siclari mariolina@bernardini.it For inquiries about foreign editions or special projects, please contact charles@vmagazine.com jared@vmagazine.com PR & EVENTS Purple PR Andrew Lister andrew.lister@purplepr.com Jocelyn Cash jocelyn.cash@purplepr.com
Remi Jiang remi.jiang@purplepr.com
Financial Office Manager Crystal McGhee
DISTRIBUTION MU Inc. David Renard david@muinc.com +1 (917) 207 6091 For inquiries about foreign editions or special projects, please contact jared@vmagazine.com charles@vmagazine.com SPECIAL THANKS Interlude Projects Elena Mereu, Elena Cimarosti The Production Factory Isabelle Kilbey, Maya Babar IMG Models Luiz Mattos, Ian Stone Home Agency Robin Pacheco, Josephine Whittaker, Christine Lavigne, Chloe Moal, Arden Napoli Viewfinders Dana Brockman, Carly Gallagher Studio Formichetti Tiffany Square Kramer + Kramer Jay Sternberg, Leslie Kramer, Marco Zarczynski Together Associates Kate Ryder, Emma Sweeny, Sia Thomas, Jon Simpson, Bertie Oakes Forward Artists Kade Russell, Jones Allison Winter Next Models Jean-Paul Quashie Heroes Jonathon Reis Soul Artist Management Andrew Castro Splashlight Taylor Hingston, Christian Breaux, Edward Wu Smashbox Studios Kennedy Shipley, Amanda Cohen, Rodney Richards Paradis Jovita Lee, Lucy Sylvester Lede Company Alex Labrie Untitled Entertainment Alex Kovacs Vision PR Leslie Sloan Mad Solutions Kareem Samy CAA Elizabeth Mitchell Premier Comms Christina Kohl DDA Global Romilly Bowlby Insight Tim Bradbeer Independent Talent Ruby Phetmanh RCPMK Anna Thackeray Muse Aidan Keogh The Wall Group Tami Fuks Werth Represents Alison Cloote Paradis Jovita Lee Interns Ha Chu, Nora Walid, Mizu Matsuura, Dylan Gue, Araceli Olaechea, Angelina Khachaturyan, Alice Almeida, AJ Grove, Amelia Murphy, Elissa Dziersk VMAN is a registered trademark of V Magazine LLC. Copyright ©2025 V Magazine LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.K. VMAN is published biannually by V Magazine LLC. All correspondence addressed to: 161 Water St (Suite 1907), New York, NY 10038 10
Prop stylist Samantha Margherita
Business Development Director Jared Sinclair Feig
ADMINISTRATION Business Manager Todd Kamelhar
Left page: Bag, chain belt, charm LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S Speedy P9 Bandoulière 25 ($9,300, available at select Louis Vuitton stores) Vuitton Chain Belt ($895, available at select Louis Vuitton stores) LV Alien Bag Charm ($960, available at select Louis Vuitton stores) Right page: Quad leather drum bag AMIRI ($2,690, available at amiri.com)
Cover 1: Theo wears knit short sleeve crochet polo, linen pinstripe trousers, braided leather belt DOLCE&GABBANA Cover 2: A$AP Nast wears nylon velvet embossed jacket, long nylon vest, polyester lace tank top, nylon shorts COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS Shoes COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS x KIDS LOVE GAITÉ T-shirt, necklaces, bracelets talent’s own Rings O’THONGTHAI, talent’s own Socks SIMONE ROCHA Cover 3: Cooper wears baby blue cotton poplin double-breasted jacket and formal short pants GUCCI Ring talent’s own Cover 4: Ahmed wears tank top, denim pants, socks DIOR MEN Santos de Cartier necklace, bracelet, watch CARTIER Cover 5: Shai wears leather Gancini trench coat, tank, trousers FERRAGAMO Earring and necklaces talent’s own Cover 6: Patrick wears Milano double breasted wool jacket and Joetsu wool pants LORO PIANA
DRUM ROLL PLEASE
14 VMAN NEWS 16 WHAT’S YOUR ROUTINE 22 DAY & NIGHT WITH A$AP NAST 24 UK’S NEW WAVE 30 THEO JAMES 38 A$AP NAST 46 COOPER KOCH 56 AHMED MALEK 64 SHAI GILGEOUS-ALEXANDER 72 PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER 84 SPRING FORWARD 92 CATCH A WAVE 100 BOLLYWOOD’S BOY NEXT DOOR 104 WHAT VMEN WANT
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Photography STEPHANIE GONOT
Bag CELINE HOMME by Hedi Slimane Medium Voyage in multicolor textile with Triomphe embroidery ($2,950, available at Celine.com)
We can all use a bit of escapism; that’s what fashion is all about, at the end of the day. And as you know, travel is one of our favorite pastimes outside of sartorial fantasy. Anchored by the theme of “A Day in the Life,” but with a global twist, this issue takes you on a journey across the globe to capture the season’s icons. We tap into the feeling of wanderlust as we jet-set around the world to showcase the who’s who of the season. Our cover stars A$AP Nast, Ahmed Malek, Cooper Koch, Shai GilgeousAlexander, Theo James, and Patrick Schwarzenegger are the first in the issue to give us glimpses into the exciting days of their lives in Los Angeles, Egypt, Oklahoma City, London, and New York. 12
With pit stops in the U.K. to uncover a new wave of rising actors popping up on screens everywhere [such as Harry Collett to Zain Iqbal], to the Outer Banks of North Carolina as we hit the waves with pro-surfer Mason Hyce Barnes, we even managed to bring Bollywood to Manhattan as we met the ever-charming Indian actor Ishaan Khatter. Along with the recent launch of our first foreign edition VMAN Southeast Asia (which brings our editorial DNA to the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam regions), our global lens on the worlds of fashion, music, film, sports, and beyond remains unwavering with the hopes of unifying men everywhere through the power of style. MR. V
Prop stylist Samantha Margherita
E R H A IN T R B E O V O W
VMAN NEWS
2025 IS ALREADY CHOCK FULL OF NEW RELEASES, BUT WHERE SHOULD A VMAN BEGIN HIS QUEST FOR FINDING THE BEST NEW TRACKS TO REVAMP HIS PLAYLIST OR WHERE TO BOOK A RESERVATION FOR DATE NIGHT? WE BREAK DOWN SIX MUST-KNOW RELEASES TO KEEP YOU BUSY THIS SEASON TEXT PENNY SPILIOTOPOULOS
WHAT TO SEE/WATCH: TOM BLYTH & RUSSELL TOVEY’S FORBIDDEN LOVE IN PLAINCLOTHES A romantic thriller or a thrilling romance. Call it what you want, but Carmen Emmi’s directorial debut, Plainclothes, is not your boilerplate love affair. Set in 1997, the film is a frantically taut tale about identity, detailing the story of a promising undercover cop assigned to lure and arrest gay men before defying orders when he falls in love with a target. Shot in his hometown, Emmi’s directorial foray is marked by the inescapably personal experience of being a formerly closeted gay man. “I made this film so that my seven-year-old self could exhale,” Emmi says in his filmmaker’s note. “I made it for the countless people…who hold their true selves back.” Fundamentally, Plainclothes comes as a lived restoration, but also as an unflinching take on a man grappling with his sexuality at a time when being gay garnered a death sentence. It is an illustration of the ineludible complexities inherent to the emotional existence that is being human. Starring Tom Blyth as the offending officer and featuring Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, and Amy Forsyth, Plainclothes has made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and will be available to watch later this year.
Courtesy of Lorton Entertainment
WHAT TO EXPLORE: ENTER THE SUITE LIFE WITH NORMAN REEDUS’S PHOTO EXHIBITION AT SOHO GRAND Every New Yorker knows that within the nit and grit of downtown Manhattan lies a glut of glittering gems, you just have to look for them. Multi-hyphenate artist Norman Reedus did, and the Gallery at Soho Grand, downtown’s ritziest boutique hotel, will host an exclusive photography exhibition showcasing the doomiest and gloomiest of his finds. Titled “IN TRANSIT,” Reedus’s latest viewing operates as a sort of yearbook in the life—the life of the unconventional and the urban, each governed by a ruthlessly ephemeral beauty in continuous metamorphosis. Using the same creative energy he brings to acting [you may recognize him as The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon], Reedus explores the intricacies of human emotion through visual art, finding grace in the unexpected and mystery in the quotidian. His distinctively dark aesthetic transforms candid moments into portraits of character and grit, demonstrating how even the overlooked and abandoned possess an inescapably raw energy. Following solo exhibitions in Tokyo, Barcelona, Paris, and Los Angeles, Reedus’s latest show is a must-see. And, if you love New York City, in all her decadence and debauchery, you will. “IN TRANSIT” will be showing at the Gallery at Soho Grand from January 29 to May 18.
Courtesy of Norman Reedus / Soho Grand
WHERE TO EAT: LE CAFÉ LOUIS VUITTON CALLS ALL FASHION FOODIES WITH FIRST U.S. RESTAURANT
Courtesy of Le Café Louis Vuitton 14
Forget your mother’s cooking, and let Louis Vuitton wine and dine you. The fourth floor of their new East 57th Street store is now home to Le Café Louis Vuitton, and, from what we’ve heard, caviar and Comté abound. The latest culinary endeavor of the French maison is grounded in familiar influences and French flavors with a distinctly New York twist. The menu, crafted by French chefs Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric, is rooted in lavish little bites, and the celebrated duo, who also opened a restaurant at Louis Vuitton in SaintTropez, has placed local talents Christophe Bellanca and Marie George at the helm of the café. Luxury snacking comes in the form of steamed scallop soufflé, decadently topped with caviar and champagne beurre blanc, and a dessert selection of reinterpreted French classics—hazelnut gâteaux and LV Monogram embossed pear tarts. We must remind you, however, that it’s not just about the food. Flanked with wall-to-wall books, a collection of 600 titles curated by editor Ian Luna, the café-library hybrid space encourages meaningful conversation. In the midst of dinner, designer and decadence, what better place to ponder Sontag’s On Photography or Warhol’s deluded aesthetic?
News
WHAT TO SMELL: FRAGRANCE PHENOM FRANCIS KURKDJIAN’S LATEST SCENT REMIX, DIOR HOMME PARFUM Francis Kurkdjian’s reinvention of an olfactory classic is a return to Dior’s structured aesthetic. Built around an overdose of the Iris Pallida [quite literally doubled in composition], the latest Dior Homme Parfum effectively harnesses the bold sensuality of a floral body with the fiery spirit of amber and woody accords. Fit for the devilishly handsome VMAN, the fragrance is accented by an addictive blend of the Iris’s dual facets: tender as the flower and powerful as the roots. It’s alluring, it’s magnetic, and it’s oh, so beguiling. Kurkdjian’s pills and potions have forged a perfumed paradox—a concealed femininity married to a tactile masculine allure. Powerful vetiver and coumarin with hints of freshly cut hay lend the scent a strength integral to its inherent sensuality, and the overdose of soft petals and roots ally masculine rigor with notes of gourmand amber warmth. A play on power and tenderness, the power in tenderness, the latest Dior Homme Parfum rendition is a clever lesson in seduction, so pay attention.
Courtesy of Dior Beauty
WHAT TO LISTEN TO: BELGIAN-EGYPTIAN MUSICIAN TAMINO BEARS HIS SOUL IN EVERY DAWN’S A MOUNTAIN The indie rock singer, Tamino’s, upcoming album, Every Dawn’s a Mountain, is a hypnotic 10-track testimonial to the new beginnings buried in every end. Harnessing a melodic discourse fueled by an ever-growing fire of change, each song builds on the value of impermanence infiltrating each and every one of us. Having headlined arenas in Europe and the Middle East, Tamino has retained a strong link to his Arab lineage, and the album’s musical arrangements are intensified by the strings of the Arabic oud. His newest single, “Babylon,” is a six-minute epic and cornerstone of the album, and the fifth track, “Sanctuary,” featuring Mitski, is a testament to the embers of emotional wreckage that spur the dawn of a new birth. Tamino’s voice smolders and erupts, deep and sultry tones evolving into flickering falsettos. Loss and displacement are counteracted by creation and impassioned genesis. Through Every Dawn’s a Mountain, Tamino constructs a metaphysical altar to human brevity. He reminds us, “The faster the flame burns, the harder it is to catch.” Every Dawn’s a Mountain will be released on March 21st.
Photography Nick Ventura
WHAT TO READ: THE ASSOULINE BOOK RELEASES YOUR COFFEE TABLE NEEDS
© Sirtravelalot/Shutterstock
Poster illustration by Renato Casaro; OCTOPUSSY © 1983 Danjaa, LLC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.
A coffee table of banality is unholy. We beg of you, please don’t sin. Here are two of Assouline’s must-haves for the spring. For the stylistically proficient, James Bond Style is a fledgling charmer’s must-have. An exploration of the fashion behind all 25 Bond movies (in chronological order of principal Bond, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig), each chapter captures the most iconic looks from the franchise. From 007’s sharpest suits—33 bespoke Tom Ford suits were made for No Time to Die in record time—to each bombshell’s glamorous gown—in Quantum of Solace, Prada fabricated 20 dresses for Olga Kurylenko from brand-new to ruined—an amalgamation of never before seen sketches, analyses and behind-the-scenes insights produce a comprehensive chronicle of the films’ sartorial codes. Onto the cosmopolitan canine—man’s best friend. And Winston Churchill’s. And Maria Callas’s. And Coco Chanel’s. We won’t go on, but Chic Dogs will. And it does, in the sharpest way possible. Recognizing dogs as an inextricable part of our cultural fabric going back centuries, the visually compelling anthology features some of the most singularly famous relationships between iconic figures and their four-legged friends. The distinguished dog, that emblem of sophistication and style—Louis Vuitton dedicated an entire collection to one—is now placed at the forefront of an aesthetic dialogue, and who doesn’t love a little canine cultism? 15