Brief Encounters

As a group, gay men have long been the target of marketing experts, and a brand’s favorite customer… even if the people in the big offices don’t want to talk about it publicly.

Fiercely loyal and willing to spend money on things we deem “fabulous,” more and more designers are courting the gay community, using both blatantly gay ads, and campaigns that aren’t explicitly gay, but clearly appeal to the gay clientele.

Today’s savvy fashion houses hire star photographers like Rick Day and Justin Monroe, build beautiful sets, brush-up on their Photoshop skills, cast top models and – let’s be honest – remove a lot of their clothing.

The results are incredibly impressive images, and with them, a near-certain guarantee that the gays will notice- and sales will skyrocket. Fashion editor Jason Salzenstein has gathered some of his favorite images from the short history of this phenomenon in “Brief Encounters.”