It is a classic of homoeroticism: the changing room of a sports temple after a game as the scene of various sexual fantasies. A mess of towels and underwear at this point as typical as leather clothing; an equivalent to the sexy mason, which journalist Mark Simpson dubbed sporno in 2006: a mix of sport (sport) and porn (porn). “Sport is the new pornography and its protagonists don’t seem to ignore the hordes of gay fans who are beginning to adore them, from David Beckham to Fredrik Ljungberg,” Simpson said at the time.
Three decades have passed since that article, and what used to be an implicit allusion in the ads showing the bodies of the gods of sport has now become an explicit reference. “At a time when physical activity is more democratized than ever, it is most pleasant to look back at the sporting references that have built an aesthetic imaginary,” explains Álvaro Ramos (Madrid, 1991), founder of On Tracks, the was recently born with an aesthetic approach between homoeroticism and nostalgia. Cotton t-shirts and briefs in solid colors, wrestling jumpsuits or boxer and crop top sets in classic ribbed underwear are among the offerings. “As before, we missed underwear. Brands today are focused on new patterns, designs and materials, and we wanted to play with recreating vintage from a modern perspective.” His campaign images feature male bodies intertwined as if fighting, and muscular men in images of erotic simplicity. The photos they posted as previews on their Instagram account already foreshadowed it: more semi-naked vintage athletes, more wrestlers intertwined, and an ode to the sock and underwear fetish (today, the brand’s images dominate the account) .
Fredrik Ljungberg presents his Calvin Klein Pro-Stretch campaign at Selfridges in London in 2003. Ferdaus Shamim (WireImage)
“It has taken a long time for humans to reach a point where they can express themselves personally through clothing, beyond certain niches or urban tribes, feel attractive, want to show it, break with certain canons and not be afraid to be you himself,” says Ramos. In short, photos and ideas that used to belong in certain folders on the computer have become ingredients for image campaigns that are no longer a rarity. Ramos’ proposal is similar to other young companies such as Étalon, Brassai, CDLP or Kvrt Stvff. The current range of men’s lingerie also includes cheeky voices that don’t just work with sexual attraction. This is the case with Leak NYC, Menagerié or Wicked Mmm, whose motto is: “Underwear to adapt to your gender expression”.
Image of the On Tracks brand campaign, which plays with the homoerotic element in sport. On track
An open-minded approach that has also reached mass brands like Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty line, which launched its first men’s collection in 2020 and sold out in 12 hours, its marketing manager told The New York Times back in April. In the singer’s signature, for example, portly balding or belly men (or all together) pose with daring sets of red briefs and semi-transparent T-shirts, garments that until now would have only been fitting for a Victoria’s Secret Angel. .
These briefs from the Savage X Fenty men’s line incorporate transparencies, something that until recently was almost exclusive to women’s underwear.Savage X Fenty
One of the first to push the boundaries of sex in advertising was Tom Ford in the mid-1990s when he was given control of Gucci. He liked to provoke: he said he shouldn’t wear underpants so he wouldn’t get fat, and by emphasizing the male body he became one of the great commercial prodigies of 20th-century fashion. So it was called porn chic. “When Tom Ford came to Gucci, everything was round, brown and soft. When it came out, everything was square, black and tough,” said Domenico de Sole, CEO of the Italian company at Ford’s time, in Rizzoli’s book about the company in 2008. “We live in a culture that objectifies women, but as soon as a man is shown like this, there is a real phobia and everyone is outraged. I’m aware that nudity is still controversial, so I want to provoke a reaction by showing it,” Ford told Olivier Lalanne in Vogue in 2019.
His gesture at the time is almost parallel to that of this new cascade of companies born in response to the men’s underwear that seems stuck in these images by Mark Wahlberg for Calvin Klein with its boxer shorts peeking out over the jeans or in colored versions of the same underpants with the logo on the elastic. Or as the On Tracks creator sums it up: “Often we think of clothes as something we should wear, period, but we forget that it can make us feel ourselves and even part of a larger group. Being able to feel sexy is just another step along the way. It’s time to be yourself and go out as you please, because without the freedom this game offers, the world would be a much more boring place.”
You can follow ICON on Facebook, TwitterInstagram or subscribe to the newsletter here.