Meet the World's Top Male Models
It's harder than ever to make it big in the world of male modeling.
July 6, 2009— -- In 2006, Sean O'Pry was like any other 17-year-old kid, attending high school in Kennesaw, Ga., and tinkering with his MySpace page in his spare time. What was not so normal was what happened after the photos on O'Pry's page caught the attention of New York modeling agency VNY Models. VNY owner Lana Winters personally phoned O'Pry's mother to get her permission to fly Sean to the Big Apple, and within three days he had landed a major ad campaign.
"He came here with a little suitcase, not knowing what to expect and basically became a star overnight," says Winters. "I've been in this business for a very, very long time and I've never seen anybody get such a response."
In the two-and-a-half years since, the now 19-year-old O'Pry has nabbed some of the most prized campaigns for designers from Calvin Klein to Armani and was named GQ Style's 2007 "Man for the Season." All that acclaim makes O'Pry Forbes' most successful male model this year.
To compile our rankings, we looked at the most prominent male models' work over the past two years, counting magazine covers and spreads, advertising campaigns, contracts and runway shows.
O'Pry's success makes for a great story, but it's the exception to the rule in the female-dominated world of high fashion. A top male model may take home anywhere from $200,000 to $500,000 annually, but most make a less glamorous living from catalog work. Now, thanks to the recession, advertisers are shortening photo shoots and renewing older contracts to save money. They're also narrowing the types of men they feature.
"In times of economic downturn, there's an automatic reversal to a more classic look," says Gene Kogan, co-director of the men's division at DNA Model Management. "During those times, clients, designers and department stores need to speak directly to the consumers."
