Gaultier’s Muse Tanel Bedrossiantz Is the King of Runway Camp

Camp is not only an elusive sensibility, it’s a pervasive one that functions a bit like those proverbial rose-colored glasses, as a filter that alters what we see. Even long familiar faces reveal new angles when seen through camp’s lens. That of Tanel Bedrossiantz is a case in point. Last year, if you had asked someone to describe this longtime muse of Jean Paul Gaultier, androgynous would probably have been the first response; in 2019 it’d likely be camp.

When this Frenchman—who really is tall, dark, and handsome—started modeling in the 1980s, he was the antithesis of the “Marlboro cowboys,” as he puts it, who were then the industry’s ideal males. In his heyday, Bedrossiantz had been pushing the boundaries of gender even before he took to the runways. Paolo Roversi photographed Bedrossiantz in a velvet cone-bra dress from Gaultier’s Fall 1984 collection—this some time before Madonna, in a 1993 French television interview, chose Tanel as a favorite model “because,” as she said, “he’s masculine and feminine.”

Bedrossiantz can wear anything; his point of distinction is the way he moves, combining a sinuous saunter with a cheeky attitude, and a power pose like no other. He’s also got a mean hashtag game. One recent post was annotated thus: #thecategoryis #jattattitude #attitudeiseverything #attitudematters #eleganceisanattitude #walkbitch.

Included in the catalog for “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” is a snap of Bedrossiantz clad in a ruffled corset dress with panniers worn over a white shirt and black tie. He pauses, hands on hips, cocks his head, and gives the camera some side-eye. Part dandy, part court darling, this image of Bedrossiantz is quintessentially camp.

Here, the model and stylist talks about being in the right place at the right time, his camp role models, and what he’s up to today.

Gaultier’s Muse Tanel Bedrossiantz Is the King of Runway Camp

When did you become interested in fashion?
I was small—between 5 and 6 years old. I saw my sisters begin to dress to go out in nightclubs. They let me watch them for their preparations of the weekend: beauty masks, makeup, hairstyle, and choice of outfit. It quickly became our Saturday night ritual, I could not wait to grow up!

I have always been fascinated and inspired by the models in women’s magazines. I adored the fashion photos and images. I would go through Elle, Marie Claire, L’Officiel, that my mother bought. When I was about 15, I played with the ambiguities between genders and sexes: I wore saris, enormous hoop earrings, and turbans.

What models were your favorites?
Leslie Winer was, without a doubt, my favorite model at the beginning of 1980. For her androgyny and above all her [short cropped] hair—I even went to the hairdresser Harlow in Les Halles to give me the same cut. In the mid-’80s, I had several big favorites: Isabelle Townsend, Laurence Treil, Claudia Huidobro, Christine Bergstrom, Linda Spierings, Inès de la Fressange—girls I saw in Jill magazine or Marie Claire.

When I was way younger, I was fascinated by beauties such as Capucine, Veruschka, Jean Shrimpton, of course; Lauren Hutton, Jerry Hall, Sayoko for Kansai Yamamoto et cetera, et cetera. I would cut out their photos to stick them on my school notebooks.

What did you read and who or what inspired you as a young man?
I had a mirror ball instead of the brain. I read very little. My mother gave me a book on Boy George’s looks and this is certainly the only book I have read many times over. I found inspiration in the magazines we had at home, the Saturday evening variety shows, which made me dream, and, of course, Charlie’s Angels. I fell crazy in love with them.

Can you walk us through your career in fashion?
It’s the result of a happy combination of circumstances. I had just turned 17 and [was with Stéphane Marais.] He was my first big love. We fell in love before working together. Subsequently, we went on a good number of jobs together with Peter Lindbergh (Ouarzazate/Le Touquet/Deauville/Rome) and I joined Team Lindbergh thanks to Stéphane and my mysterious dark hair look for the photos. [One day] I met Stéphane on the Rue de Buci and we stopped by the Jill magazine offices because he was meeting with Babeth [Dijan]. While talking to her, I mentioned that I wanted to go to a fashion school and she immediately offered me a job. She told me to come back the next day and learn by her side by assisting her and Martine Cohen. I did not have to go to school. Thank you, Babeth.

When did you sign with an agency?
The first time I met [the modeling agent] Fabienne Martin was in December 1984 at the agency’s Christmas dinner. When she asked me to join the FAM agency I said yes immediately—of course. It was the place to be. Fabienne represented only three male models: Walter Schupfer, Michel De Windt, and me.

When I started working as a model in 1985, I understood that I was different from the other male models of the time. They were very masculine, muscular, with ultra-bright smiles. [They were] beautiful, strong, and wild. I was the opposite of all that, in every way. I had a baby’s face with a big mouth, big ears, a little belly, and an exaggerated back arch. It was hard to compete with the Marlboro cowboys. On the runways I had to stand out from the others; my difference came naturally in my way of moving. And for photo shoots, I took attitudes that I had seen in women’s magazines and added a personal touch.

When did Jean Paul Gaultier come into the picture?
Going for a sample pick-up for Babeth in June 1985. I had been there twice before, for the same reason. The third time was the charm; Gaultier saw me and I caught his eye. By the time I got back to Babeth with my packages, he had called her to say he wanted me for the men’s show (Joli Monsieur, 1985) and his advertising campaign. I think Babeth knew very well what she was doing by sending me to these designers.

What is your position there now?
Since 1994, I have been working as an assistant-stylist taking care of castings for shows—with JPG of course. I work on the couture during fittings and on assembling exhibitions. I am especially a friend on whom he can count, a close friend, a confidante. I’m part of the walls since the ’80s.

What’s it like being a muse?
I ask myself the same question: The perfect man? The ideal man? A mascot? A good representative of the house? It is JPG who often says that I am his inspiring muse. We are a good duo; him with his clothes and me with my way to wear them, to move with them. We have become inseparable with time. Like there was Sonny and Cher, Céline and René, Roux and Combaluzier—there is Jean Paul and Tanel.

Do you consider yourself camp?
Certainly, when I was much younger, around 13 to14 years old. [I was camp] in my way of dressing, so not to be unnoticed. I loved it (my father, much less). Today [I save the campiness] for the runway.

If you were attending the Met Gala this year, what would you wear?
I would go as Fée des Lilas, [the lilac fairy] from Jacques Demy’s Donkey Skin.

What do you consider to be your campiest moments?
#askmyfather

This interview has been translated from the French, edited, and condensed.