Eye Gandy

It's always nice to help a neighbour out and obviously, this chap needs a little extra publicity. We also need something pretty to look at on a dismal Monday. David Gandy IS my neighbour truly. He lives in the next block of flats to me, has stopped his car several times to avoid hitting me when I wander out into the road without looking, runs round our local park and we BOTH buy our coffee from the delightful Tinto's on the corner.

Whilst (arguably) the world's first male supermodel travels a lot - he's been back in the UK for a couple of weeks now and one of his engagements has been to return to the esteemed Oxford Union to speak to the university's students for a second time.  The Essex-born 32-year-old first visited the prestigious debating society in 2010 as part of a panel of fashion influencers to talk about the progression of men's fashion. This second invitation saw him speak about a similar subject, 'The importance of men's fashion', accompanied by Alex Bilmes, the editor of Esquire.

Speaking at the Oxford Union last week.

Writing in the Daily Mail , Gandy summarised his talk, saying he covered "many areas of men's fashion from its impact on the economy, Britain's strong heritage in style, history, how men shop and changes in men's media, right through to why it's important to take an interest in your appearance."
Gandy, who is best known for his scantly-clad turn in Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue fragrance campaign (DON'T PRETEND YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH ONE IT IS), is a staunch supporter of men's fashion - he sat on the British Fashion Council committee to launch London Collections: Men earlier this year, and he's also released a men's style app which I have yet to investigate.

The Union is no stranger to fashionable faces - it has previously hosted Anna Wintour and Donatella Versace, although Dave is the first male model to be invited to speak. Other unexpected guests have included Kermit the Frog, Katie Price and Jerry Springer.  I'll leave you to make your own judgements on these..although I would have dearly loved a chance to meet the Green one.

Discovered after winning a modelling competition on This Morning in 2001, Gandy has gone on to become one of the world's best known male models but still comes across as a lovely chap. I'd also recommend reading his Vogue blog if you don't already.  On his talk at the Union he said,

"It was great fun - the questions from the floor were smart and funny," he said. "No, I don't feel objectified by women, but I do feel the pressure of high expectation! No, I don't think I'm the best looking man in the world - not even the best looking man in the room.