Model Gavin's debut novel inspiration is dressed to thrill
FASHION, infidelity and predatory sex - and all in the pages of a debut novel by a Sheffield University graduate.
When Gavin James Bower started his internship at a trendy London magazine he had no idea of the path his life would take.
History graduate Gavin wanted to be a journalist or writer and was offered an internship at fashion and lifestyle publication Dazed and Confused.
He took up the offer and travelled to London to work in the editorial department.
But his journalistic career soon took a very different turn.
A week into his placement, Gavin was asked to model for the magazine.
A career on the catwalks ensued and soon, his high cheekbones were synonymous with labels such as John Galliano and Hermes.
"It was a good way of earning money while I was in London," said Gavin. "It's a shallow world but I was old enough to know what to expect."
He said the world he was thrown into was superficial, vain and fickle but it provided the inspiration he needed to write his first book, Dazed and Aroused.
Gavin said: "I wanted to write about being young, seeking happiness and being unable to connect with people while living in a capitalist city. The fashion industry provided a great background. There's no other industry that's so ephemeral as fashion."
The book's protagonist, Alex, is, like Gavin, a young male model.
Alex works in Milan, Paris and London, absorbed in the ruthless world of the catwalk. He eschews his long-term girlfriend for more predatory, unfaithful relationships.
But Gavin insists he and the frivolous Alex aren't the same: "I'm not like Alex, he does things I didn't do. Alex is unfaithful. But the big difference between us is that I'm a real thinker. I analyse everything. He's only sensitive to the superficiality of his surroundings and, despite noticing the conflicts and contradictions around him, is unwilling to connect the dots. Alex is not a dark character, but he lacks empathy. This is his tragic flaw."
Remarkably, the book took Gavin only two months to write.
He said: "It took more time to find a publisher. I sent it off to more than 40 literary agents. They would come back and say 'We don't like that bit, can you change this.'
"That process took longer than the actual writing of the book itself."
Describing his own experience as a model, Gavin said: "You are just another face. You either are or you aren't what they're looking for. But modelling is modelling and it is about looks and fashion.
"It's so competitive and you are completely alone. It's very alienating."
But there are perks. "It's an eye-opener. The people you meet in the industry are the most interesting, weird people you'd ever meet. It's such a unique world. Fashion is like nothing else."
- Dazed and Aroused is published by Quartet Books and available from Waterstones.
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