Baptiste

Four years ago, Baptiste Giabiconi, son of a corsican mechanic, was working at a helicopter plant in his hometown of Marseille. “I met a woman at the gym who suggested I create a photo book,” says the 21-year-old model, who, prior to setting off for paris and une vie à la mode, was saving up to start his own pizza delivery service. Since then he has become one of the most sought-after faces-and bodies-in fashion, in large part due to his ongoing collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld, who has photographed giabiconi for numerous campaigns for Chanel, Fendi, and the designer’s eponymous line. As Lagerfeld himself has duly noted, Giabiconi’s lean, athletic physique looks good in clothes-and even better out of them. Giabiconi, though, is now eager to bare himself in another way: last fall he unveiled “Showtime,” the dance-y first single off his forthcoming debut album, which he describes as “mostly electropop,” but also inspired by a wide range of other sources. “David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and Otis Redding, from the past, and now, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga,” he says, ticking off a handful of the influences he hopes to reconcile on the record. “I hope I will go on tour,” he adds. “this is my dream.”