Fans are turning to New York Magazine's new Men's Style issue for a playful, steamy glimpse of queer celebrity fashion. The standout moment features Brandon Flynn and Isaac Cole Powell posing together at a historic New York bathhouse, where wet hair, bare skin and unmistakable chemistry have sent social media into overdrive.
Essential Takeaways
- A new style issue: New York Magazine launched its inaugural Men's Style edition with a queer-focused bathhouse shoot.
- A standout pairing: Brandon Flynn and Isaac Cole Powell drew particular attention for their intimate shower images.
- A historic setting: The shoot took place at Russian & Turkish Baths in New York City's East Village.
- A wider cast: Troye Sivan, Jeremy O. Harris, Marlon James and Elliot Page also feature in the editorial.
- Not their first fashion moment: Both actors have previously appeared in revealing, fan-friendly online images.
The bathhouse shoot has become the issue's talking point
There was never much chance of a shoot called "The Boys in the Baths" passing quietly through the internet. Set among tiled rooms, steam and glistening skin, New York Magazine's fashion feature leans into theatrical glamour rather than standard studio polish.
According to The Pink Times, the project brings together a broad group of queer men from entertainment and culture for the magazine's Men's Style issue. The result feels less like a conventional clothes spread and more like a deliberately playful celebration of bodies, friendship and camp confidence.
The setting matters, too. Russian & Turkish Baths, on East 10th Street, is one of New York's best-known bathhouse landmarks. Its old-world atmosphere gives the photographs a slightly cinematic edge, even when the styling is minimal. [5]
Brandon Flynn and Isaac Cole Powell steal the spotlight
The biggest online reaction has centred on Flynn and Powell, whose behind-the-scenes shower video has quickly become the shoot's most discussed snippet. They appear soaked and close together, with the kind of relaxed chemistry that makes a short clip feel far more memorable than a carefully posed portrait.
Out notes that both actors are already familiar faces to audiences who enjoy bold, skin-forward publicity. Flynn is known for 13 Reasons Why and Manhunt, while Powell has appeared in American Horror Story and Dear Evan Hansen. Their shared appearance gives the feature an extra jolt of recognisability. [7]
It also helps that the pairing feels unexpected. Neither actor needs a major red-carpet stunt to attract attention, but together they create a visual spark that fans immediately noticed. Sometimes the internet doesn't need a complicated explanation. Two handsome actors, a shower and good lighting will do the job.
A queer fashion story with a deliberately broad cast
The shoot isn't built around one celebrity couple or a single definition of masculinity. Troye Sivan, Jeremy O. Harris, Marlon James and Elliot Page are among the other contributors, creating a lineup that stretches across music, theatre, film and literature.
The Cut's promotional material describes the issue as a wider conversation about men, style and identity, while related coverage highlights the bathhouse feature as one of its central visual moments. That broader framing is important because the images aren't simply selling clothes. They're presenting queer visibility as confident, social and unapologetically sensual. [6]
There is a knowing sense of performance here. The bathhouse becomes a stage, the steam supplies atmosphere and the cast plays with familiar ideas about male glamour. It feels cheeky, but also carefully composed.
Why the setting makes the pictures work
A bathhouse offers something a white studio cannot: texture. Tiles, mist, water and warm light create movement, so even sparse styling doesn't look empty. The setting also gives the shoot a sense of history, linking modern celebrity culture with an older tradition of communal bathing and physical display.
For readers looking for the full editorial, the magazine's own campaign materials point towards the complete Men's Style issue and its accompanying "Boys in the Baths" coverage. The photos are designed to be browsed as a set, with each personality bringing a different energy to the same environment. [5]
That variety keeps the concept from becoming repetitive. One image might feel polished, another mischievous, while the Flynn and Powell footage lands somewhere between fashion film and flirtatious backstage moment.
The actors already know how to command attention
Flynn has previously appeared in a bathtub for his role in the Apple TV+ series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, according to Out. Powell, meanwhile, has also delighted followers with a poolside photograph featuring little more than a pair of underwear.
Those earlier appearances help explain why the new images travelled so quickly. Neither performer is being introduced to audiences as camera-shy, and both seem comfortable with the playful boundary between editorial fashion and fan service. [2]
Still, the bathhouse shoot adds a different ingredient: collaboration. A solo image can be striking, but a shared frame invites interpretation, and that is exactly what has made the shower clip so irresistible to viewers. The internet may be noisy, but it knows chemistry when it sees it.
It's a small editorial moment with a very large online afterlife.
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