Meet the New Face (and Body) of Envy Menswear

LOS ANGELES—It’s not every day that one gets to skip out of the office on a beautiful autumn day and spend the better part of the afternoon far away from email and nagging phone calls. So it was a pretty painless task to head across the San Fernando Valley for an Evny Menswear photo shoot—but it became downright pleasurable after meeting the star of the shoot: Ajdin Sefer, the new model for the apparel line, the brother company to Baci Lingerie. Hard at work in the studio in Van Nuys were a photographer, a makeup artist and three representatives from Baci Lingerie owner Frank Koretsky’s IVD empire: Helle Panzieri, sales director for Baci Lingerie and Envy Menswear; Sonja Elisa Raaste, the designer for both Baci and Envy; and the irrepressible Austin, a longtime IVD employee, who had assisted in the model search that yielded the new face of Envy. “We really wanted a personality,” Austin explained. “Someone who really interacts, who goes into social media. I always think that if you’ve got a personality you will translate better in pictures. We brought [Ajdin] in and he started talking—he’s got this grin and he’s got this energy. … I said, ‘I think this is the one.’ ” (To see a photo gallery of the shoot and its end results, click here.) A lean but well-muscled brunette with a mischievous grin, Ajdin Sefer spent the first 10 years of his life in Bosnia and then moved to Michigan with his family. “I lived there for 15 years. I got my degree in business administration with a specialty in management in December. And then I moved over here four weeks after I graduated. Packed my car up, loaded it onto a truck—my brother and his friend are truck drivers, and they took a load to Vegas. I rode with them, unloaded my car, I went my way and they went their way, and here I am. And I’m just living the dream, you know.” So far that dream has been working out pretty well. In addition to snagging this gig with Baci, Sefer said, “I did a Lady Gaga video, and then I did a video for J-Lo. And the I did a thing with Sophia Reyes, I don’t know if you’re familiar with her. They say she's the next J-Lo.” He adds, “They say,” laughing and poking fun at his pronouncement. Then comes an even more relevant tidbit: “I’m the new face for Von Dutch clothing.” But today it’s all about Envy. “I’m really excited with how they fit,” he says about the pinstripe Envy boxers he’s sporting, noting the shorts could even be worn as a bathing suit. “Feel the fabric,” he said invitingly. Indeed, a quick caress of the material revealed just how soft and smooth it is. Just how one might imagine Sefer’s own skin would feel. Panzieri and Raaste, however, are looking to make the model even smoother. Though his chest and arms are already hairless, they’re now asking him to shave it all off because the camera is picking up his light-colored leg hair. “You already have amazing-looking muscles on your legs,” Panzieri said. “When we take the hair off, it’s going to look even better.” With that, she was off in search of shaving accouterments. “You need any preferred snack, since we’re making you go through this?” she asked Sefer, who joked about needing a shot of tequila. Ajdin’s affability was just part of what made him a good fit for Team Envy. Austin recalled, “Seriously, we saw a bunch of guys, and there were a couple I thought could really work. But he was so charismatic. There are beautiful guys who photograph well, but if I brought him to a trade show, he would interact with people; he would be engaging. … People relate to the personality.” The shaving break provided more time to talk to Raaste. Though she didn’t work on this round of styles for Envy, the designer’s creations for Baci are already available. “I really loved working on the corset line,” she said. “The black one made of leather and suede with the peplum on the side—I think that was my favorite. And the dressy office styles.“ Raaste talked a bit about her background. “I studied fashion design and pattern making in Barcelona. I am Finnish, but I was born in Spain so it’s a little bit of a mix. I’ve lived in Spain all my life. I’m visiting and traveling a lot.” And she commented on the styles that would be photographed today. “I think it’s an evolution from the last collection because it has a lot of basic styles—they’re not just for the flashy guy. You have stuff for the regular guy too. There are boxers, seamless styles, there are pinstripe ones that are kind of sophisticated. And there are the sexy ones—for example, some have a stripe that is a little bit more revealing. It’s kind of sexy, but it’s still something that any guy would wear.” For bolder types there is also dance wear: “more colorful, like for club dancers, maybe, and for shows. There’s a little bit of everything.” At Baci for about a year and a half, Raaste first did the corset line and then a lingerie collection that is still to be released. “The lingerie is kind of sexy and subtle and sophisticated. Softer and feminine, but sexy still. There are more revealing pieces and some that are transparent.” In addition, there will be bikini sets, teddies and robes “that will appeal to all the different tastes that women have. … We have enough for everybody to feel comfortable and still feel empowered.” As preparations got under way to shoot the newly shorn model, Panzieri had a little time to talk about her end of the business: selling the Envy line in a competitive marketplace. “I think it’s fiercely competitive, but it’s not as fierce as female lingerie is. Right now as far as male apparel there’s a huge opportunity for us, and I think that that’s why Envy so far has done so well—not only for our international partners, but certainly for their customers, the end retailers and e-tailers. I think what is enabling the sales is that it’s a great product … cutting-edge styles, patterns and fabrics.” This year Envy will continue growing, with nearly 50 new styles revealed across three releases. The line will continue to employ front enhancement pockets and high-quality materials, including microfiber panels for added comfort. And comfort, it turns out, is key for male consumers. “One of the things that I really find interesting when talking to men about their undergarments is that it’s all about how soft can we make it. So with females it’s more about the cut—‘How does it make me look, and by that look how will it make me feel?’ For the guy it’s all about, ‘Is it soft for me?’” But what really has Panzieri excited still lies ahead later in 2015: a sub-collection of costume pieces for men. “That is my favorite piece of the upcoming styles,” Panzieri said. “If you can put a girl in a bedroom costume and really fulfill a fantasy that way, it certainly goes the other way as well.” She believes that not only will women enjoy drawing their men into the roleplay game, but also the men themselves—both gay and straight—will embrace the chance to dress up and play with their partners. “Props to the guy who’s going to walk in and buy a costume, put it on and say, ‘Honey, look at me.’ I love that, but I also love the thought of a girl walking in and buying it for her guy. Or a guy walking in and buying it for his partner. Or for himself to share with his partner. I think that’s just brilliant. “No matter who your partner is, it’s about constantly exploring fantasies, keeping it spicy and hot in the bedroom. With Envy, whether it’s our costumes or our new collection, it will definitely do that.” The first round of new styles for 2015—an assortment of standard underwear in thong, brief and boxer styles as well as dancewear with breakaway magnetic closures—debuts this month. Baci and Envy styles can be seen at ANME, taking place today and tomorrow in Burbank. Xgen Products is the exclusive distributor in the United States for Baci Lingerie and Envy Menswear. Attendees at the AVN Novelty Expo can place orders at the Xgen Products booth. To learn more about the clothing line, go to EnvyMenswear.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter (@envymenswear). Above, photo of Ajdin Sefer at the Envy Menswear photo shoot by Chris King