He is 91 years old, louche, sun-kissed, and effortlessly cool. The Spanish King, whose true name is Andrés Garca-Carro, unexpectedly became a model thanks to his granddaughter Celine van Heel, who started taking pictures of him three years ago and gave him the Instagram handle.
Garca-Caro possesses the steely gaze and angular features of a classic movie star, giving him a face that was intended to be photographed. The Spanish King is currently one of the oldest active models in Europe, boasting a big social media following and significant campaigns for Zara and Adidas.
He is a skilled poseur. Van Heel, who was photography a fresh, upcoming campaign with her grandfather in Gran Canaria, stated over the phone, "I guess he was born knowing how to posture. "You can put anything on him, and he looks amazing."
Garca-Caro claimed through email that he was at peace as soon as Celine started taking pictures of him. He said, "I wish I had started this career 20 years earlier."
In the course of a campaign for the motorcycle clothing company Schott NYC last year, one of The Spanish King's most arresting photographs to date circulated throughout Europe. As Garcia-Carro poses for van Heel at a vintage bowling alley, highlighted hair strands fall across his face. He wears a red varsity jacket across his shoulders and tucks his thumbs into the waistband of his baggy khakis. "It's all about attitude," Schott penned in the descriptions of social media posts promoting the image.
"His look, the way he looks at the camera — it's simple, but it really defines him," van Heel said of the picture. In other campaign photos, Garca-Caro poses with younger women while commanding attention with his commanding presence. But when they weren't taking pictures, her granddad was having fun and going actual bowling. "It was a lot of fun. He never ceases to amaze me, she added.
A new life
Van Heel claims that although she has always been close to her grandfather, their relationship deepened when she prolonged her stay with him and her grandmother in Spain during the Covid-19 lockdowns in the spring of 2020 so they wouldn't be alone. She had never attempted photography at the time; it is now her full-time profession. She was an executive assistant at the French fashion magazine L'Officiel. But when she was locked in their house, she started dressing and photographing Garcarro, creating an Instagram profile for him that quickly gained followers.
She remarked, "He's always been very stylish." He used to dress like Macklemore when he was young, including sporting aviator sunglasses.Garca-Carro has had a variety of occupations throughout his life, including rancher in Argentina, restaurant owner in Uruguay, and real estate agent in Spain. His debut editorial as a model appeared in the print edition of L'Officiel China in 2020 and featured photographs by Van Heel. Opportunities with additional magazines and companies soon followed, including Zara, with whom he worked on a capsule collection that included a silk robe, pyjamas, trousers and sunglasses. The Spanish King may seem considerably younger than his actual age of 91; van Heel said that "he's made a pact with the devil," especially considering that he still smokes and tans frequently — but he credits his late-in-life career with giving him “a new life, and so much energy.”
"I appear even more youthful than before! Meeting young people, learning new things, and being active are what I find most satisfying about modelling, he added. "I don't want to be sitting in my living room, watching life go by."Iris Apfel, 101, a textile and interior designer, has become a fashion icon; Carmen Dell'Orefice, 91, is regarded as the oldest working supermodel and continues to appear on magazine covers. Van Heel believes his appearance and energy are resonating with the fashion industry at this time as it embraces more models in their golden years.
Van Heel thinks her granddad is the ideal illustration of why no one needs to act their age.
She explained, "Just because you reach the age of 70 or 80 doesn't mean your life is finished and you have to act like a sweet older grandma and do nothing else. "At any age, you can achieve anything."
watching life pass by in the living room.Iris Apfel, 101, a textile and interior designer, has become a fashion icon; Carmen Dell'Orefice, 91, is regarded as the oldest working supermodel and continues to appear on magazine covers. Van Heel believes his appearance and energy are resonating with the fashion industry at this time as it embraces more models in their golden years.
Van Heel believes her grandfather is the perfect example of why no one should feel the need to act their age.
“When you’re 70 or 80 years old, it doesn’t mean your life is over and you have to act like a sweet older grandma and do nothing else,” she said. “You can do anything at any age.”
