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My, isn't New York magazine's Look Book trying to be rather artsy this week with its black and white photography? Herb Ritts would be so proud. This week's man on the street is model-slash-student (mudent?) Joshua Ku, a half-working male model who got into the biz like everyone does, through his co-worker at Starbucks. Ku seems like he might be better off brewing java, though — he wasn't paid by L'Uomo Vogue and had to bleach his hair for Pop magazine, so now he looks "unapproachable." He's not much of a fashionista, either, shopping mostly at H&M and putting work and school and relationships before clothing. Jesus, boy, then what the hell are you doing in New York?

After the jump, intern Alexis rounds up Maureen Miller, Trisha Weir, and Alia Akkam for a discussion of how best to repair Ku's tragic dye job.

Maureen Miller, Huffington Poster, schoolmarm

Joshua Ku looks sad. Why is he sad?

Relationships. School. Old job at the 'Bucks. The usual.

Joshua Ku says that modeling sometimes "requires you to do things that you would only do in your bathroom by yourself." Speaking of which, what do you want to do to Joshua Ku in a bathroom?

Cut his hair. He's a model, after all: Advertising looks, chops a must. Slap a shrunken blazer over that Gap Inc.-may-care tee and you have all the elements of an Asiatic Malkmus — elliptic, angular, abstract. Wait, scratch that. I think I might have meant Stephane Mallarme.

He says his bleached blonde hair makes him look "intimidating and unapproachable." Do you agree?

If by "intimidating and unapproachable," you mean "Andy Warhol on a crystal meth bender," then by all means yes. I mean that lovingly. Aside from a silkscreen and a smart pair of specs, what's the diff,
anyway?

Where did his left arm go?

I notice a sliver of sweet Ku sinew meandering down the left ribcage. Where might that hand be headed? I thought he saved those kinds of things for the bathroom! And, uh, modeling.


Trisha Weir, writer and collector of frequent flier miles

Joshua Ku looks sad. Why is he sad?

He'll tell you that he's still upset about the "payment" he got on the L'Uomo Vogue shoot. But truth be told, Joshua's terrified that if he looks happy and well-fed, the only modeling work he'll get is for the
International Male catalog (poet shirt edition), or worse yet, Land's End. The face he's making here says "I'm contemplative yet apathetic, and I'm way too good to model anti-wrinkle chinos."

The look also comes in handy to cover the hurt, when his friends tell him that the hairstyle that makes him look like an asshole is actually an improvement.

Joshua Ku says that modeling sometimes "requires you to do things that you would only do in your bathroom by yourself." Speaking of which, what do you want to do to Joshua Ku in a bathroom?

If I had Joshua Ku alone in a bathroom, I would want to touch...up his bleach job, because that shit's totally starting to grow out. Better yet, I'd like to hand him some clippers and tell him to buzz the goldilocks right off. But either way, the current look has to go; sure, Sarah Jessica Parker got that Gap modeling gig with her roots showing, but her agent had a bit more clout than Joshua's RePresentation at ReQuest.

He says his bleached blonde hair makes him look "intimidating and unapproachable." Do you agree?

Given the recent allegations that NY Mag runs all quotes through a jackassification filter, I'll assume he was horribly misquoted. Even someone whose only job skill is to be really, really good looking would have to know that the real reason he's unpopular is because he wants to work in advertising.

Where did his left arm go?

Joshua has more important things in his (undeclared) life to worry about than clothing, but he says simple's OK. Fortunately, this avant-garde one-sleeved shirt from everyone's favorite Swedish chain-store appealed to his "I so don't care; I don't even care if it's a functional garment," aesthetic. That, and it was cheap. They can't ring you up at H&M with L'Uomo Vogue's currency, if you know what I mean.


Alia Akkam, freelance lifestyle writer

Joshua Ku looks sad. Why is he sad?
 One afternoon, he decided to pay a visit to the "good luck charm" of a friend responsible for launching his modeling career. The friend still makes Starbucks Grande cappuccinos for a living (irony), so after shooting the shit for a while at the joint , Joshua realized how six nights of chowing down on mesclun salads sprinkled with cottage cheese left him ravenous. When the Good Luck friend offered him his Starbucks discount, Joshua couldn't resist. He threw his model diet to the wind and ended up scarfing down a brick-like blueberry scone and a gluey cheese Danish in less than two minutes. As luck would have it, his agent happened to be in the midst of a meeting there, sipping on his Frappucino (with skim of course) as he watched his new prized pet binge. Joshua hasn't had one carb in three months and since
the incident, hasn't been able to look anyone in the eye.

Joshua Ku says that modeling sometimes "requires you to do things that you would only do in your bathroom by yourself." Speaking of which, what do you want to do in a bathroom with Joshua Ku?

I want to guide Joshua over to the sink, dunk his head underneath the faucet, rifle my fingers through his crispy locks of hair with Paul Mitchell Super Charged Moisturizer and say "yes, there is help out there" as I slip him the business card to my stylist at Parlor.

He says his bleached blonde hair makes him look "intimidating and unapproachable." Do you agree?

Not at all. Don't you always go up to that throng of hipster kids hanging outside the noodle shops of E. 9th Street because they look so friendly? Now, maybe if he'd said "poseur" and "trite" I could agree
with the man.

Where did his left arm go?

Oh it's there, silly, it's just getting a workout right now. In the latest attempt at saving a dime, Joshua thought he'd be creative and experiment with vanity on the homefront by shaving his nether regions
with a lone Bic in the shower one day. In this heat though, well, the poor buy just can't stop scratching. If only he'd forgone the summer tee spree at H&M and saved up for a day at the spa to get it done
properly.