Sure it's winter, but Mr. Turk talks swim trunks
NEW YORK (AP) — Sure it's winter, but summer is year-round on the Instagram feed of Terry Miller in itsy bitsy bathing trunks designed by Mr. Turk.
We caught up with Mr. Turk, aka stylist and photographer Jonathan Skow, aka the husband of designer Trina Turk, at their mixed men's and women's New York Fashion Week presentation for fall Friday.
The coats and sweaters, skirts and trousers on the models were inspired by a drive west on Sunset Boulevard through Los Angeles to the sea, which is where the tiny guy swim gear by Mr. Turk comes in.
Swimsuits weren't a part of the show, being a summer rather than an autumn article of clothing, but Skow was happy to share his chance encounter about two years ago with Miller, aka the hunky husband of gay activist and writer Dan Savage — and the fact that Miller's rockin' hard body on Instagram has produced a bump in business for Mr. Turk.
With Savage, Miller co-founded the It Gets Better anti-bullying project, putting up the first video on YouTube.
Skow and Miller met in Palm Springs, Calif., where there's a Mr. Turk boutique. Miller was a shopper there.
"I didn't even really know who he was, and then Dan took some pictures of him and posted them on Instagram and tagged me and we started seeing that suit selling online," Skow explained.
The suit in question is the Mr. Turk Lagos swim brief — make that very brief. Soon Miller, who had spent years at home raising the now-teen son he adopted with Savage, had a growing Instagram following that now amounts to about 12,000. He shares lots of other photos there, but the swimsuit shots linger in one's memory, if you will.
"He's just a friend of mine," Skow laughs. "I pay him in clothes. I say whatever you want I'll send you as long as you Instagram it."
___
Follow Leanne Italie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/litalie.
