He was in the UK to launch his 2025 Pirelli calendar to much fanfare at Londons Natural History Museum.
EJG:The whole process of doing the Pirelli project….
I had to get out of my comfort zone.
Ethan James Green decided to become part of the 2025 Pirelli calendar he was photographing.
I had to work and exist in a bigger way.
Part of that was just being visible, and I enjoyed it.
[But now] it feels like a full circle moment for me.
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Vogue Italia, July 2013
Modeling was my tool to get here.
Youre exposed to so many things that you cant learn about if you dont see them.
I showed those to model agencies.
Ethan James Green took a self-portrait for this Calvin Klein campaign from 2020.
Everyone thought I was crazy, but I got signed [by Ford Models].
Were you being told back home by people, Oh, you should model?
It would happen when I would go to the mall, at Macys….
I wasnt necessarily the hot kid at school.
Thats a different kind of beauty, I guess.
I didnt know I could model.
You mentioned earlier about being taken seriously as a photographer if you were still modeling.
Obviously these days youre takenveryseriously as a photographer, so how does modeling fit with that now?
And with being more front-facing, maybe its not just modeling.
Its about allowing myself to have a bit more possibility.
I limited myself in the past.
And I am ready to do that, to be in frontIve finally gotten the confidence to do that.
What brought you that confidence?
Its been an ongoing thing for the last two years.
Once I started doing that, things got better.
Can you tell me a bit more about the Pirelli shoot?
We got to a point that we wanted to do three guys.
But you have to do it nude.
That would go against our whole approach, which was wanting people to feel super comfortable.
Instead, like me, they just text you.
How did you shoot the image?
So I did that with James.
Well, I am on the talent books, so basically, yes!
Its good, because…a male model is at the bottom of the totem pole in this industry.
Some male models go through a lot of bullshit…I had crappy things happen to me.
So you have to make the leaps and jumps when its timeand its a very quick moment.
Are you open to editorial, advertising, all of it?
What about walking a show?
Would you do that?
I think I might!
Youve signed with IMG.
Were they initially surprised you wanted to model again?
When I saw him, he told me he thought that I was so not into it.
And I said, I guess feelings change.
I was happythey were like,lets do this.
(Imagine reaching out and they were like, ahhhh…trying to nicely say no.)
Ethan James Green took a self-portrait for this Calvin Klein campaign from 2020.
I ended my career with that.
I finally had the big campaign, and my agents were like, Everyones calling!
and I told them I had just shaved my head.
So thats how my career ended.
But I was so ready to be done.
Everyone who hasnt lost their hair is popping back up.
Its crazy how I have been in the fashion industry for half my life.
While you still have the hair.
While I still have the hair [laughs].
And I will knock on wood real fast.
