His work has touched the lives and genitalia of thousands.
Out fashion designer Andrew Christian has taken undies into a new realm of sexy with homoerotic ads and briefs that double as booty enhancers and ball boosters. When he decided to host his latest model search at Play Dance Bar in Nashville, boys of all shapes and sizes lined up to strip down - and the crowd went wild in a way we hadn't seen since that scene in "Milk."
We caught up with Andrew after the show to get the skinny on his rowdy stint in Music City.
O&AN: You brought your underwear search to a gay bar in the Bible Belt. I love it. What did you think of Music City?
This was my first time in Nashville and I was pleasantly surprised. The venue (Play Dance Bar) was really nice and the caliber of models for the show was excellent. It was really hard to decide on just one winner so I left it up to the crowd’s response and even then it was very difficult.
It definitely was a close contest. What’s next for crowd-favorite Demetri?
He’ll be entered in a finalist’s pool. From there, one person will be chosen as the finalist pick and might be featured in the spring 2009 campaign.The final round won’t be a live contest, but the venue will be at Abby in L.A. on Dec. 5 and soon after that the winner will be announced.
What made you decide to hold this model search in Nashville?
I wanted to take the search to cities I hadn’t been before or done promotions in. We’ve done a lot in New York and Chicago and L.A., of course. But we wanted to reach out to others and spread the word.
What did you think of the contestants? Did Nashville's beefcakes rise to the challenge?
They all looked great and the top three were phenomenal. I could see all of the top three with agencies in L.A. or New York. It was great!
A lot of your ads have a homoerotic tone. Do you try to market your underwear primarily to gay men?
That’s definitely part of my core demographic and that’s been the community that’s always supported me from the beginning. I definitely don’t want to turn away from them or go too mainstream with my stuff. They are a core following I want to keep them happy and keep catering to them.
Obviously you wanted to include some openly gay models in the contest since you held it at Play. Do you try to use openly gay models in your ads?
I try to use the best model possible for the job. Our models right now are 50/50, straight and gay. It isn’t really a determining factor on whether or not I hire somebody.
It looks like some of your undies can help average people look more like models. What was the inspiration for your body-enhancing lines like Flashback, Wonderwear and Show-It?
Necessity. Everybody needs a little help enhancing their body, including myself, in those areas - lifting your butt and enhancing the front package. That’s really where those products came from.
How popular have the body enhancers been?
They’ve been extremely popular. Flashback has been the number-one selling item of our time and Almost Naked is catching up.
Looks like you have Almost Naked undies with Flashback technology and a hang-free front pouch. That’s pretty much a trifecta, right? Earth-friendly, ass-friendly and package-friendly?
A lot of my customers liked the Show-It and Flashback technology for the enhancement, and the Almost Naked line because it's made of eco-friendly bamboo. They kept asking and asking us to put those into one product, so we did. I like to think of it like a mash up: It’s a party in the front and a party in the back. Or business in the front and business in the back. However you like to think of it.
So what’s the next big project you’re working on?
More development. We’re working on a lot of new products right now that I can’t really talk about. We’re doing new exciting things in underwear and are always trying to come up with something better and be on lookout for spring 2010.
Think any of your endeavors will lead you back to Nashville?
Definitely. I'd love to be able to come back and spend more time in the city and really check things out.
The finalist in the underwear model search will be posted on andrewchristian.com/events and andrewchristianblog.com after Dec. 5.