The Hottest British Male Model in Fragrance Gets Real About Selfies

Adriano Russo
Adriano Russo

David Gandy is not your average selfie-taking, press-obsessed male model. Instead, the British vet — famed for his iconic Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue fragrance ads shot by Mario Testino — stays in his own lane. In fact, he believes in the idea that those who take selfies may be having less sex (but more on that later!).

When it comes to modeling, David is a vet. He's still the face of Dolce & Gabbana beauty (the original, aforementioned campaign was shot a decade ago), and when the brand recently launched a limited-edition version for men and women inspired by Capri, we got to travel to Italy to meet him. When he smells the new summery-citrus scent, Light Blue Beauty of Capri, it makes him feel nostalgic. "It takes me back to shooting that day with Mario Testino and coming across on the boats," he said. "It's all good memories for me from Light Blue."

Keep reading to learn more from David about how to look better in your bathing suit, why the male modeling agency currently has flaws, and how a great haircut makes life that much easier.

The Sexiest Place to Spray Cologne
Adriano Russo

The Sexiest Place to Spray Cologne

"Well the scientific way is you put it on pulse points, I think they say, it's the wrists, and you were saying behind the ears . . . I think, doesn't everyone spray it on their neck? I spray it just around my neck and that's about it."

Why Men Need a Fragrance Wardrobe
Getty | Karwai Tang

Why Men Need a Fragrance Wardrobe

"I always go for the same fragrances. There's the Dolce & Gabbana Velvet range, which is vetiver and leather. And that's probably between for evenings and Winter. It's just a bit more intense. When I think Summer, I want something light and fresh, fragrant, and vibrant — really nothing too deep. Now, men's grooming is becoming a huge, huge business. So men are getting ever into having a few fragrances and exploring and trying different things."

How Men Can Have an "Effortless" Beauty Look
Getty | David M. Benett

How Men Can Have an "Effortless" Beauty Look

"I dare say you can't give the same advice to everyone, really. Some people are very lucky. A suntan helps. But some people don't have the same colored skin as I do or other people. So they get tanning very wrong, and they either look either very red or not that great. Some people look better when they're paler — I don't — but some so beautiful like that, especially paired with auburn hair. So you can't give the same advice to everyone. Just make your skin look as healthy as can be, [using] a scrub and a serum. You know, English people get it wrong all of the time. They see a bit of sun and get very excited and they just go straight out into the day sun without sunscreen. We're all learning a little bit how to look after our skin. Just look as vibrant as possible, really."

Great Hair Is All About the Cut, Not the Products
Getty | Anthony Harvey

Great Hair Is All About the Cut, Not the Products

"I barely have to do much because my stylist Larry King gives me a good haircut. If it's a good haircut in the first place, then I really don't need to do much at all . . . I put a bit of clay or molding cream [in my hair]. [Use] whatever you fancy — there are millions of stuff for men's hair care. But it is about cutting it into a style and air drying it, and that's what a great hairstylist does. It's very hard to do what they do because they're the experts, but you can try your best. You can try to sort of imitate it."

Why Those Who Take Selfies Aren't Having Sex (Yup!)
Getty | Eamonn M. McCormack

Why Those Who Take Selfies Aren't Having Sex (Yup!)

"I never take selfies. And I read the best thing yesterday — I loved this — that the people who clearly take selfies aren't having any sex. There's a book written about this. The article was in The Telegraph, and a woman wrote a book about it. That's the new theory behind selfies. [People who take selfies have less sex] because they're too selfish. The selfishness of taking a selfie means that they could never actually connect with someone deeply enough to have great sex. It would have to be about them. It was actually about people dying, as well. People are dying taking selfies, because they're so busy taking them that they're falling off cliffs or get run over, because they're just on their phone all the time. So I can probably safely say I've taken selfies with people, but I've never taken [my own] selfie. Every week I have my picture taken. There are enough pictures of me — the world does not need any more."

Advice For Photographing Your Beach Bod
Mario Testino

Advice For Photographing Your Beach Bod

"I would probably suggest about four months of gym, about four times a week. Watch your nutrition, and then after those four months get a good-fitting pair of David Gandy swimming shorts. And get a tan. Then it's all to do with the lighting and everything else really. Honestly, everyone is different and something that looks good to one person will not look good on others. It's very difficult, but the right swimming shorts are very important. I would probably go with a sort of tailored swimming short. Find the right thing that suits you. Don't go for anything too long because it can make you look short."

What to Eat Before a Big Event
Getty | Anthony Harvey

What to Eat Before a Big Event

"Well, it can be anything if you've got clothes on. It's the same as I always eat. It doesn't really matter. A lot of models will 'dry' themselves out for a good week before so they don't have any water retention — that's something I don't do. I don't go that far but you can go to the extremities, which can probably be a bit dangerous because you'll be very dehydrated. Nutrition wise it's quite simple: stay away from saturated fats, and stay away from anything in a packet or that's processed. When things say 'low-fat' or 'low-carb,' it has extra sugar and salt. It's probably worse for you than carbohydrates in the first place. It's not brain surgery. We make it a lot more complicated than it actually is. In the UK there's a huge discussion at the moment. Some people say [contradictory things like] 'fats are bad' and 'fats are good,' or 'carbs are bad' and 'carbs are good.' It's amazing that we can't educate ourselves on all this stuff, but it's all to do with governments and guidelines, and who's making the money at the end of the day."

The Evolution of the Ideal Male Body Type For Modeling
Getty | Venturelli

The Evolution of the Ideal Male Body Type For Modeling

"There's a better mix now. I think when I started, it was just about the androgynous guy, and that's what was 'in' at the moment. With Light Blue, it changed again and the classic good-looking guy came back into modeling. So everyone started working out, training, and getting their bodies really into shape — which is good. I like the fact that people got fitter because of it. Now I'm not sure, now I think there's probably a good mix between the two, but I don't think it matters what you look like now, I think it matters how many social media followers you have."

Why Privacy Is a Luxury
Getty | Eamonn M. McCormack

Why Privacy Is a Luxury

"No, I can't say I really am a fan [of social media]. I use it when I have to and I have a team [who runs it], but [I don't use it] to the extent that people would probably like me to. My private life is my private life. I respect people such as Daniel Craig or Rachel Weisz, and other very famous people who are not on social media at all. And if I do see an article about them, I don't know anything about them, so I'm intrigued to read it. But, you know, no one reads articles in magazines anymore anyway. Everyone is just constantly online. I don't want to know about people's lives, I'm interested in what their views about something are; but social media is not something I'm interested in."

How Social Media Has Changed the Male Modeling Industry
Getty | Mike Marsland

How Social Media Has Changed the Male Modeling Industry

"It's taken the whole creativity out of many things. Journalists have been replaced by people who have got the numbers and not the talent. I think that models have been replaced by people, too. I know this because models are coming up to me saying, 'I didn't get the job. They said I was perfect for it but I didn't have enough social numbers,' which is kind of sad. You've got people being shot who aren't probably right for it, but they've got social numbers. And then journalists writing about it. So you're just going in a vicious circle, and it's great for the brands, because they don't have to pay for any PR or marketing. It saves them a lot of money. Are you going to get campaigns and editorials that we saw in the '80s and '90s? I very much doubt it. I think there has to be a real sort of revolution to start, otherwise, it's just going to be about selfies."

Is There a Life Outside of Male Modeling?
Adriano Russo

Is There a Life Outside of Male Modeling?

"I can never answer what I would do if I weren't a model, because I never look back in the past. I can't tell you what I want to do in the future either. In my head I know what I want, but I don't like telling people. I don't know . . . I just I feel the pressure of how to do it. There's always a five-year plan. If you don't have a five-year plan, what are you aiming for? What are you striving for? This business is a game of chess — you have to move everything in a certain way and hopefully you'll find your way through."