Pol of Paris: fashion by day, erotic illustration by night

Photography by Tyler Matthew Oyer

Document sits down with the senior designer at Loewe to discuss art, pride, and butt cheeks

Catalonia-born, Paris-based artist Pol Anglada doesn’t dare compare himself to Tom of Finland. But he does mention that Durk Dehner, Tom’s ex and head of Tom of Finland Foundation, may have made some casual comparisons during his three month stay at the Los Angeles residency. Perhaps it was simply encouragement to pursue his art practice full time, but the fashion designer by day, erotic illustrator by night doesn’t want to pick one path, citing both his grandmother’s work as a seamstress and his father’s extensive comic book collection as early influences on his creative pursuits.

Pol moved to Paris after leaving Barcelona with a degree in fashion design, eventually taking a full-time job at Loewe, where he currently works as a senior designer. Off the clock, Pol would let his imagination run wild, building up an arsenal of erotic illustrations that, in 2016, became a publishing collective called Free Time, and a magazine of the same name based around the concept of leisure activities.

In 2022, his small exhibition titled Hole at Tom of Finland Foundation sowed the seed of his future residency with its 11 watercolor and colored pencil works. And in a seemingly inevitable art-fashion crossover moment, his illustrations of sculpted body-builder types were emblazoned on vests, t-shirts, and hoodies for a 2023 collaboration with his Loewe boss’s eponymous label, JW Anderson.

You can find Pol at the Paris Ass Book Fair in May, where he’ll be launching a fanzine featuring the gouache paintings produced during his LA residency. And if you’re looking for more ass in Paris, Pol recommends waking up early to spot short-shorted groups of firemen on their morning runs. And as a keen observer of the male form, I’ll trust his judgment as I set my alarm for the butt crack of dawn.

SEE THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW BY ERIC SCHWARTAU

Published: 10th April 2024

Categorised in: News