Your Body is a Wonderland

Since it’s the Friday before a holiday weekend, I thought we should celebrate early with a bit of inked-up eye candy.

Dennis Klaffert (left)—who has walked for Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani—has twenty-three tattoos that he’s had done in various countries around the world. In addition to a family crest of his own making and a compass (both of which his dad also has permanently stamped on his body), Klaffert has a heart on every finger except for one. “My wife has the missing heart; it’s her only tattoo,” he says. “We got them when we were in Germany. We were married, but we didn’t have rings then. She got the one heart that I don’t have.” As if marrying a model wasn’t enough, the girl also nabbed a man who knows the meaning of (badass) romance.



As for the dude with the abs, his ink also has a story all its own. Twenty-two year-old Eli Hall has appeared in such shows as Hermès, Fendi, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Issey Miyake (mostly with a shirt on), but his often-hidden chest piece that reads “Optimize” is a reflection of his middle name, Happy. “That’s what I base my life on—being optimistic and constantly staying [upbeat],” says Hall. But the tat you can’t see in this photo—”Everlasting Light,” written on his right index finger—was more of an impulse decision based on his favorite song by The Black Keys. “A friend was learning how to do tattoos two years ago, and I let him practice on me. He gave me the tattoo at home on my couch in Salt Lake City,” he explains.

And boys aren’t the only ones getting in on the action—ink is as ubiquitous on the women of the runways as stilettos. Legend Kate Moss has two birds above her bum; Cara Delevingne frequently hits up Rihanna’s go-to guy (Bang Bang in NYC) for her work, like the lion on her knuckle; and Jourdan Dunn has “Riley” written on her hand to remind her of her son. Models’ bodies are no longer just a blank canvas on which designers’ dreams can come to life—check out The Look to see why even up-and-coming catwalkers are putting their own stamp on things.