Top Boys of Spring/Summer 2012

With each new fashion season, there is also a new crop of boys that emerge from Milan and Paris that strike a chord and make an impact. It was no exception for SS12. The latest crop was quite hard to pare down to ten  but after last season's list that included Adrian Cardoso, Leebo Freeman, Robin Ahrens, Johnny George and Tomas Guarracino, we were confident that we'd make the right choices. The boys we picked as the top new models for FW11 did exceptionally well during the following SS12 fashion season and have had a flurry of editorial and campaign work. With that said, let's begin for the new crop of boys! The list is organized in alphabetical order, by their last name.

Benedikt Angerer
  • We first noticed Benedikt before fashion week. One of our favorite agencies, Wiener in Australia, shot Benedikt in a series of shots by their head booker Kosmas Pavlos. Then we were happy to see him in Milan and Paris for Salvatore Ferragamo and 3.1 Phillip Lim, respectively. Benedikt's strong cheekbones and full lips remind us of a Disney prince. (Benedikt in Salvatore Ferragamo SS12)
Alexander Beck
  • This is Alexander's second runway season and after his knock out first season for FW11, he made a strong following this season, walking shows like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Lanvin, and Neil Barrett. Hailing from the United Kingdom, Alex went from working at fish & chips joint to walking some of the most venerable runways in Europe. Bravo! (Alex in Louis Vuitton SS12)
Benjamin Eidem
  • Benjamin Eidem hails from Scandanavia, to be more specific Sweden. His Nordic look was a giant hit in Milan and Paris. Out of all the boys in SS12, Benjamin made the biggest splash. Just like his ReQuest brethren RJ King, Benjamin walked exclusively for Prada but he upped the ante on RJ by opening and closing the Prada show. When he arrived in Paris, he walked a litany of shows as well but his biggest coup came when he opened and closed Kim Jones' debut collection for Louis Vuitton. The 23 year old Eidem is definitely one to look out for. We love everything about him and it seem we're not alone! (Benjamin opens Louis Vuitton SS12)
Olli Greb
  • Olli Greb caught our attention in Milan, when he walked Prada's FW11 runway. For SS12, he walked Lanvin, Gucci, Acne, Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, Jil Sander...and the list keeps going. This 20 year old German's features don't come around often and we hope we see a lot more of him in the future. If his SS12 is any indication, we think that answer will be a resounding YES! (Olli backstage during Lanvin SS12)
RJ King
  • This was St. Louis native RJ King's first runway season in Europe. He walked his very first runway during NYFW FW11 for DKNY Men. Since then, he has had steady work and upon arriving in Milan, he was snatched up by Miuccia Prada and walked exclusively the now-publicly traded Milan luxury house. His luck continued in Paris when he walked 9 additional shows. As an aside, he is not the first in his family to be a model, his older sister was a model but after one show season in Milan, she quit. (RJ walks exclusively for Prada SS12)
Eric Puzio
  • ReQuest's Eric Puzio has a definitely edgy look, from his tattoos to various piercing and something about it all meshes together so perfectly. Eric has been featured on our blog previous alongside fellow ReQuest model (and SS12 top newcomer) RJ King when the duo modeled for Gilt's collaborative sale with Lady Gaga. Eric also walked the polarizing runway for Nicola Formichetti's version of Mugler. (Eric in Mugler SS12)
Luca Stascheit
  • Luca made a bit of a soft debut for SS12, walking Prada and Gucci. Oh, wait, did we just say Gucci and Prada? Nothing soft about those houses! If Luca continues to model, he has the potential to be a blue chip model, with his soft features, enigmatic eyes and full lips. He's definitely one to keep an eye on because come next season, he might really explode onto the scene. But Gucci and Prada is nothing to sneeze at! 
Anderson Weisheimer
  • We thought we finally had a list of models and didn't have a single Brazilian. But lo and behold, Anderson Weisheimer hails from the land of a million gorgeous models and he walked Prada, of course. This 17 year old's overall....stunning-ness has us asking for more of him. We have a feeling that'll happen.
Mat Woodhouse
  • Appearing in three looks during Calvin Klein's SS12 show warranted a second look at the 18 year old Brit, who was scouted while working at an Abercrombie & Fitch in the UK. Much like Calvin Klein's FW11 campaign model, Dmitriy Tanner, Mat is repped by NYC's preeminent Adonis agency: Soul Artist. We can definitely see Mat splayed on billboards in the future, maybe even for Calvin Klein.
Henry Pedro-Wright
  • Another Prada exclusive. But Henry is probably more notable than the other Prada exclusives this season because Henry is black. As forward thinking as Miuccia Prada is, her runway cast consistently lacks diversity. Off the top of our head, we cannot think of a single black male model to have walked Prada. For perspective on the importance of Henry's exclusivity for Prada: when Jourdan Dunn walked the Prada runway in 2008, the last black model to have walked the Prada runway in any capacity was Naomi Campbell fifteen years before. Henry was joined by Abiah Hostvedt on Prada's SS12 diversity tally but because Abiah is not a new model, he was unfortunately disqualified for this list.