Soap up – the secret ritual of corporate men
Through cross-dressing and cleansing, the men envisioned by photographer Alexandra Alvarez Garcia and stylist Andrea Colace explore femininity without renouncing masculinity
Soap up – corporate men rediscover femininity through the act of washing
In a room that smells of soap and secrecy, men of power loosen their ties and shed their masks. They are corporate figures — polished, self-contained, accustomed to control. But in this private, suspended space, they surrender to a ritual that turns order into revelation. “Soap up” tells the story of transformation: a group of men who meet weekly to cross-dress, using soap not to erase who they are, but to wash away the conventions that confine them.
Alexandra Alvarez Garcia turns photography into a psychological mirror – when masculinity meets the tenderness of light
In Alexandra Alvarez Garcia’s visual language, light is both confession and question. Her lens is clear, clean, almost surgical — revealing gestures rather than constructing them. Each portrait becomes a moment of transition: somewhere between irony and vulnerability, strength and surrender. The men in Soap up aren’t pretending to be women; they are exploring femininity as an intellectual exercise, a mental space where identity can breathe. Alexandra Alvarez Garcia’s gaze captures the paradox: cross-dressing doesn’t weaken masculinity — it refines it.
Andrea Colace builds an elegant, ironic femininity – styling as a language of freedom
In Andrea Colace’s hands, clothes become instruments of self-awareness. She pairs sheer stockings and vintage furs with tailored trousers, crisp shirts, and undone ties. Nothing is exaggerated — the transformation is subtle, deliberate, deeply human. Her styling doesn’t imitate femininity; it thinks it. Through balance and humor, Colace constructs a dialogue between softness and structure — a vision of masculinity that allows itself to bend, without breaking.
Soap up – when washing becomes an act of truth, and cleanliness a language of the soul
Soap is both metaphor and medium. It washes away makeup but never memory. It marks the return — the moment before stepping back into the world, freshly composed yet quietly changed. In Soap up, washing is courage: a small, ritualized rebellion, performed with irony, tenderness, and dignity. Alexandra Alvarez Garcia and Andrea Colace craft an intimate study of masculinity — one that embraces femininity not as disguise, but as wisdom. A story of vulnerability disguised as elegance, and of self-awareness hidden beneath the foam.
TEAM
Photography Alexandra Alvarez Garcia, styling Andrea Colace, makeup Hugo Villard, hair Tsuyoshi Tamai, casting Vittoria Farina, photography assistant Leo Beauregard, styling coordinator Ginevra Vistoli, styling assistants Isabela Orozco and Agnes Solhall, makeup assistant Ornella Frosi, hair assistant Akane Nakamura, talents Alexandre Min @imgmodels, Delta Van Melle @yumodels_, Yuri Horban @theclawmodels, Mikhail Z @fashionmodel.it, Connor Newall @elite_milan, Charles De Liniere @mmanagementmodels
