Asian male models have helped broaden the faces seen in international menswear, from the tailoring campaigns of Italian houses to the more individual casting of contemporary labels. Their careers resist a single description. Some built their names through repeated runway bookings; others moved between advertising and creative work of their own. Across generations, their portfolios show how much room there is for different identities within men’s fashion.
Asian Male Models
These model men represent a selection of Asian and Asian diaspora talent, with careers spanning luxury campaigns, magazine covers, and everyday clothing. Their different backgrounds and professional paths resist the idea of a single Asian look.
Dae Na
Korean model Dae Na appeared on the cover of Vogue Hommes Japan for spring 2012, an early booking that placed him alongside an international cast. His subsequent work has included campaigns for Diesel and United Colors of Benetton, as well as Tom Ford.
Dae’s portfolio moves between fashion editorials and approachable menswear. His POLO Ralph Lauren work is a useful example, bringing the same ease to layered holiday clothing that he brings to more formal advertising.
Daisuke Ueda
Japanese model Daisuke Ueda has built a career around tailoring, with advertising work for Giorgio Armani and Dior Homme. In Armani’s fall-winter 2019 campaign, his leather suit gives the traditional menswear portrait a harder finish.
He also joined the 31-model cast on the Details September 2015 cover. That group portrait records his place among an international generation of menswear faces, alongside editorial work for publications including Vogue Hommes Japan and GQ Germany.
Hang Yu
Chinese model Hang Yu brings movement to Etro’s 2020 tailoring campaign, photographed mid-leap in a printed suit. It is a more useful introduction to his range than any measurement on a casting card.
His work has also included Versace and Tod’s, with editorial appearances in Esquire China and Numéro Homme. Across those settings, conventional tailoring and more theatrical styling both form part of his portfolio.
Hao Yunxiang
Hao Yunxiang has worked across Chinese fashion publications and international advertising. His portfolio includes Giorgio Armani, Banana Republic, and Jimmy Choo, alongside covers for L’Officiel Hommes China and Men’s Folio Malaysia.
The Chinese model’s Mango suit imagery shows the commercial side of that career. The clothes remain easy to read, while the direct pose gives an everyday tailoring proposal the authority of a fashion portrait.
Hidetatsu Takeuchi
Japanese model Hidetatsu Takeuchi has walked for Bottega Veneta and Tom Ford, with advertising work including Dunhill. His freckles give photographers a recognizable detail, but the range of bookings is the more telling part of his career.
For Zara’s fall 2022 edit, relaxed tailoring and an open shirt put him in a quieter setting. His editorial credits include Esquire Taiwan and Corriere della Sera Style.
Jae Yoo
Jae Yoo established a career across commercial clothing and luxury fashion in the early 2010s. The Korean model’s clients have included American Eagle and Brioni, while his runway work includes Dolce & Gabbana.
His fall-winter 2013 Moncler Gamme Rouge campaign offers a particularly memorable example. Steven Meisel photographed him in a wintry setting with a husky, making the advertisement as much about a character and a scene as the outerwear.
Jie Zheng
Chinese model Jie Zheng has appeared in advertising for Gucci, Dior Men, and Emporio Armani. His Dior winter 2022 campaign places him amid a constructed landscape, where layered clothing and a restrained pose do the work.
Alongside campaigns and lookbooks, his editorial credits include GQ China and ICON. Those different formats show a career built across both the commercial and editorial sides of fashion.
Noma Han
Korean model Noma Han became known in the early 2010s through work for Interview, United Colors of Benetton, and Hilfiger Denim. His close-cropped hair and tattoos offered a recognizable alternative to the conventional clean-cut advertising face.
His portfolio includes Kenneth Cole and Moose Knuckles, as well as runway appearances for Y-3 and Lanvin. Tattooing is another part of his creative work, connecting his professional life to the visual identity visible in his fashion photographs.
Philip Huang
Taiwanese American model Philip Huang began modeling in 2005. His runway work has included Gucci and Valentino, followed by advertising for BOSS and Kenzo.
His gray-haired portrait for Mytheresa’s spring-summer 2023 campaign adds another chapter to that career. He also co-founded his namesake clothing label, Philip Huang, extending his work in fashion beyond modeling.
Sang Woo Kim
Korean British artist and model Sang Woo Kim walked Burberry’s fall-winter 2014 show while building a career that also included Diesel and DKNY campaigns. Painting is central to his professional identity, not simply an extracurricular interest.
His fashion work ranges from luxury advertising to Isabel Marant’s casual menswear. That movement between modeling and art gives a fuller account of his career than a list of runway appearances alone.
Sung Jin Park
Sung Jin Park emerged internationally in the early 2010s, with tattoos and a closely shaved head that made his look immediately recognizable. The Korean model’s work includes Vogue Hommes Japan and Details, as well as runway bookings for Neil Barrett and Hermès.
Advertising for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger sits alongside his H&M fall-winter 2016 campaign. The H&M portrait makes the point simply, using a conventional suit and direct gaze to put the individual ahead of elaborate styling.
Taemin Park
South Korean model Taemin Park has walked for Gucci, Versace, and Giorgio Armani. His advertising portfolio includes Hermès and Tiffany & Co., bringing him into different corners of luxury menswear.
His Mytheresa campaign offers a more casual counterpoint. Wearing an Our Legacy T-shirt and shorts, he shows how a runway career can sit comfortably alongside everyday clothing.
Tony Thornburg
American model Tony Thornburg, who is of Japanese and Swedish descent, is recognizable for his long hair and beard. His work for Giorgio Armani and Etro places him in two different visions of Italian menswear.
Etro’s spring-summer 2018 lookbook uses that look to good effect, setting flowing hair against patterned tailoring. Editorial appearances in GQ China and L’Officiel Hommes Thailand add to his fashion portfolio.
Wang Chenming
Chinese model Wang Chenming has worked with Dior Men across campaigns and runway shows, alongside advertising for Fendi and Valentino. His editorial portfolio includes British Vogue and Vogue Italia.
For Bottega Veneta’s 2022 Chinese New Year campaign, he reclines on an inflatable set in a photograph by Charlotte Wales. The playful setting offers a different use of a fashion face from the formality of a runway lineup.
Xu Meen
South Korean model Xu Meen is recognizable for his close-cropped hair, a reference point for the buzz cut for Asian men. His fashion work, however, extends well beyond a signature haircut, including advertising for Louis Vuitton and Tod’s.
In COS’ spring-summer 2023 campaign, Glen Luchford photographed him in a suit on the streets of Los Angeles. His runway credits include Gucci and Zegna, adding traditional menswear houses to a portfolio that also suits more minimal clothing.
Yang Hao
Chinese model Yang Hao has appeared in Dior Men campaigns as well as on the runways of AMIRI and Loewe. His editorial work includes WSJ. Magazine China and GQ Style China.
Dior’s spring 2023 advertising gives his work a specific setting, photographed by Rafael Pavarotti against a garden backdrop. The printed clothing and floral surroundings turn a straightforward portrait into part of the collection’s visual world.
Yura Nakano
Yura Nakano, who is of Japanese and Taiwanese heritage, has worked in advertising for H&M and Louis Vuitton, with lookbook appearances for Balenciaga and Kenzo.
His Zara fall 2021 Origins photograph, shot by Tyler Mitchell, takes a more direct approach. An open denim jacket and matching jeans put the emphasis on proportion and posture, demonstrating how much a simple clothing image depends on its casting.
Zhao Lei
Chinese model Zhao Lei has built a long-running international career through work for Giorgio Armani, Prada, and BOSS. His editorial record includes repeated appearances in GQ China, while runway bookings have included Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani.
His Giorgio Armani spring-summer 2019 campaign, photographed by Kurt Markus, captures the relaxed side of tailoring. The open jacket and waterfront setting present him as someone inhabiting the clothes, giving a practical wardrobe the atmosphere of a fashion advertisement.
