Actor Turned Model Paul Kircher Takes Over Harper’s Bazaar Homme France.
French actor Paul Kircher slips fully into model mode for a dreamy, unruly and occasionally teddy-bear-sized fashion story.
Photographer Karim Sadli captures Kircher for the second issue of Harper’s Bazaar Homme France, presenting the young performer as the publication’s self-described “sensitive soul and powerful actor.”
Styled by Élodie David-Touboul, the cover story moves between embroidered denim, fragile lace, severe Dior tailoring, vintage T-shirts, shimmering Jean Paul Gaultier trousers and fantastical feather headpieces.
The result feels less like a conventional celebrity portrait and more like an actor testing a series of new characters through clothing, posture and movement.
One minute he is wearing a quiet cashmere cardigan. The next, he is carrying an enormous teddy bear in gold sequined trousers. Range!
Explore Karim Sadli’s official editorial and find statement layers inspired by the shoot’s mix of tailoring, vintage pieces and playful texture.
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Karim Sadli lets Paul Kircher act through the clothes.
Sadli’s photographs rarely settle into one fixed mood. Kircher appears delicate and withdrawn in one frame, then theatrical, restless or openly mischievous in the next.
The interiors carry the faded intimacy of a half-cleared apartment: exposed window frames, old mattresses, plastic-wrapped furniture and walls washed with unexpected red light.
That imperfect setting gives the polished wardrobe something to push against. Dior cashmere and leather sit beside vintage cotton, archive sneakers, handmade headpieces and extravagant textiles that look as though they wandered in from another production entirely.
Kircher’s background in acting becomes the editorial’s secret engine. Rather than simply holding a pose, he yawns, twists, reclines, hides behind his hands and turns every garment into the beginning of a scene.
The clothes are expensive. The energy remains beautifully unhousebroken.
Dior cashmere meets one gloriously oversized headpiece.
Kircher pairs a softly buttoned Dior cardigan with a plain white T-shirt while La Bête Vaquera’s towering tulle-and-silk creation turns the portrait into fashion theater.
The styling repeatedly softens familiar menswear through proportion and contrast. A simple cardigan becomes the base for a sculptural hat, while a denim jacket is cropped and opened until it reads more like costume than casualwear.
Elsewhere, a Vicente Ayaguez coat constructed from tulle and lace completely envelops Kircher, turning him into a soft pink-and-cream creature seated at the edge of an old mattress.
Jean Paul Gaultier sequined trousers are paired with a vintage Souvenir Machine T-shirt and worn-in Converse. Dior leather trousers meet archival Comme des Garçons sneakers. Feather creations by Oriane Belefant add a final jolt of cabaret drama.
The styling does not ask Kircher to choose between masculinity, delicacy, nostalgia or spectacle. It lets him carry all four at once.
Paul Kircher steps completely into model mode.
Sadli and David-Touboul move the actor through saturated color, stark black-and-white portraiture, Dior tailoring, vintage sportswear and surreal accessories.
Kircher arrived at the fashion story with an acting résumé already built around vulnerable, physically expressive performances in films including Winter Boy, The Animal Kingdom and And Their Children After Them.
His performance in the latter earned him the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival.
That emotional openness carries directly into Sadli’s images. Kircher never appears sealed off from the camera; he looks curious about it, occasionally suspicious of it and completely willing to play.
Actor turned model? For this editorial, absolutely. The character work simply changed wardrobes.
Source: Morphosis 2.0’s presentation of Paul Kircher’s Harper’s Bazaar Homme France Issue 2 cover story, with official editorial credits from Art + Commerce.
