Gabriel Aubry

Gabriel Aubry is a Canadian model and painter from Montreal whose fashion career began in the late 1990s. International advertising made him a recognizable menswear face, while drawing and painting, interests dating to childhood, developed into a parallel artistic practice.

A stylist approached Gabriel in a nightclub in 1997, beginning a career that included work for Versace, Calvin Klein, and Hugo Boss. His advertising established him across European fashion houses and American brands, with magazine appearances including L’Uomo Vogue.

In 2015, Gabriel joined Heidi Klum as an ambassador for INC International Concepts as the Macy’s label marked its thirtieth anniversary. Speaking to The Daily Front Row, he described himself as shy and explained that familiar photographers and clients helped him feel comfortable on set.

He identified Cliff Watts as the first photographer he had worked with in the United States. Away from work, fatherhood and ordinary routines took priority. “It’s a pretty simple life,” he said.

Designer advertising remained part of his career across subsequent decades. Gabriel appeared alongside Jon Kortajarena and Tony Ward in Balmain’s spring-summer 2017 campaign, then joined Garrett Neff and James Turlington for Bally’s Brand Heritage imagery in 2025. His work for Bally also opened a connection between his modeling and painting.

In an interview with Numéro Netherlands, Gabriel explained that art had offered a private space while he was growing up in foster care. Over time, he devoted more sustained attention to a process involving drawing, paint, and layers of wax, sometimes partially concealing the original image. “Painting allows me to build the image myself,” he said, describing the independence that making his own work offered.

For an exhibition with Bally in Milan, Gabriel developed paintings from photographs he had taken during the campaign. The project brought two longstanding parts of his life together, allowing fashion images to become material for work directed by his own decisions. His artistic practice extends the career of someone long accustomed to being photographed into the making of images he controls himself.