You open your eyes. And the first thing you see is a poster of Venice. You ask yourself every time why somebody chose such a kitschy poster to hang over that chair.
If you were in Venice right now, it would be embarrassing to send a postcard with that picture to your loved ones.
But when you lie in that bed, in which you sleep a few nights every year, you are happy about that yellowed sunset over the Rialto Bridge.
Because you know that if you are in Venice, you are in Paris.
The idea of the beard goes back to its origin. In fact beards are one of the very few external distinguishing marks that show the basic features of us humans. I myself wear my beard convincingly because it simply is a part of me since I travelled to Peru five years ago growing my beard longer and longer. That’s when I became the „alemán con barba“ , the bearded German, who collected sun energy in the old Inca sites.
I spotted Töff in the „tent of the big car company“ during the Berlin Fashion Week. The dreamcatchers were on my list for beard accessories for quite some time now, but when I met Töff who spoke of his travels to South East Asia, green balconies, incense sticks, curly long hair, old music classics and festivals, I knew I had found the suitable beard model for them. Also, his last name translates to owl, how perfect. Enjoy another beard monologue with him after the jump.
Michi is the boyfriend of my lovely friend Lena. Lena has a passion for beautiful tableware – whether she brings me fruit salad in a cute box before our Sunday workout or serves you the best self-made lemonade in colorful cups – she really has an eye for those things! For this reason I just had to photograph the beard of her boyfriend with some kind of food or drink decoration. See for yourself after the jump.
Andreas is one of four beard models a friend of mine (being my designated beard agent) sent to me. He’s actually somewhat of a real nature-boy. I like taking pictures of beards with natural materials – the effect of plants and similar items around the face is the most beautiful I think. My mother got me the little garden gnomes that she found in a small deco store. By now she keeps her eyes open for all kinds of little objects that could pretty in a beard. In the end it’s quite good to have such lovely (little) helpers. More of the results and Andrea’s monologue after the jump.
Since I like Star Wars and have a lightsaber that a friend of mine gave me in my entrance, there had to be a beard theme with that topic as well. Besides I think Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi has a great beard. In this spirit: May the force be with your beard! Another beard photo set with and monologue by Bernard after the jump.
Alicia approached me last year at the Berlin Festival and asked me if I would be willing to model for a photo series about bearded guys she was working on. I was quite curious about the project so we exchanged contacts and she sent me some of the photos that she had already done. I really enjoyed them and was happy to be her next special beard portrait. As if she would have guessed that I had a sweet tooth I became her first edible beard. While the other guys before me got decorated with flowers or confetti or minituare figures, my beard was frosted with cream and sprinkles. As fun as it looked, it was a sweet mess and a nightmare to clean. But I think it was worth the trouble as the photos came out quite fun. Enjoy more creamed beard shots of me along with my beard monologue after the jump.
I immediately noticed Steffen in the subway with his perfect beard, dark hair and blue eyes. When he got out at the same station as I did, I knew I just had to ask him about taking his picture.
We had to take a romantic portrait for my photography class at university. Instead of capturing the gesture of giving someone flowers, I wanted to photograph a beard decorated with flowers. Since beards are kind of en vogue right now I decided to turn the idea into a series afterwards. That’s how Steffen’s portrait became the first in a row and still remains of one of my favorites. Some more photos from this shooting along with Steffen’s beard monologue after the jump.
photos: Alicia Kassebohm
“I’ve been wearing my beard for about seven years now nonstop. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Actually, the effect it has is completely secondary to me – overall my beard gives me safety and protection. In fact it feels like a pair of fluffy socks or a cuddly pullover: though it is not essential, I feel more at ease and peaceful with it.”
Photographer and visual designer Alicia Kassebohm has been working on her ongoing photo series Beardicted now for over a year making very special beard portraits of interesting men. Every beard is unique, that’s why all of the portraits have an individual styling. For iHeartBerlin she let’s the men behind the beards speak about the fetishized extra hair in their faces. Enjoy the first part of our new series The Beard Monologues with Sascha from FluxFM and more photos after the jump.
photo: Patrick Mettraux
If you walk around in Berlin with open eyes and with a bit of attention towards the male sex you might have noticed: People love beards here. And it’s not just a hipster thing like in many other big cities. Here in Berlin a man needs a beard, the bigger the better. Girls love, boys love it and can’t have enough of it.
I personally think that every man looks better with a beard. Certainly there are men who look amazing without it too, but surely will look even better with some facial hair. I guess it’s no coincedent that the core I HEART BERLIN team of Claudio, Devid and myself sport a beard as well. And it’s no coincedent either, that one of our favorite series on the blog is the Beard Monologues by our guest contributor Alicia Kassebohm.
So with all this beard loving it was about time that someone wrote a book about it. Apparently this is what a good friend and work mate of mine thought. Together with author Kevin Clarke he compiled a great compendium of manly beards with lots of photos and texts about the history of facial hair, the styles in different cultures and it’s meaning and appearance in pop culture and fashion. The book was released by Berlin-based publisher Bruno Gmünder and has the spot-on title BEARDS – An Unshaved History. You can win a copy now on our Lucky Thursday! They also have their own dedicated beard lover Facebook page – make sure to follow.