The portrait of Ivan Ugrin appears in the spring issue of the magazine where he graces the subscribers’ cover, bringing his characteristic warmth and playful energy to the pages. Known for a distinctive moustache and an ease with physical storytelling, Ugrin has become a figure who inhabits both choreography and fashion imagery with equal confidence. His recent appearance in the Loewe “Drink Your Milk” campaign — a collaboration with The Shameless Fund, Jonathan Bailey’s foundation — made headlines in 2026 and signaled a crossover from stage to high-profile brand storytelling.
Raised on a Croatian farm among chickens, turkeys and rabbits, Ugrin’s route to the creative industries was anything but linear. He began medical studies and later enrolled in veterinary training in Zagreb before a decisive encounter with dance in a modest studio changed his trajectory. That studio represented not only a new craft but a space where identity and self-expression were foregrounded: during rehearsals, labels like religion, origin or sexual orientation faded behind the shared work of movement. For Ugrin, these moments were liberating and formative, steering him toward a profession in which his physical intelligence and kinesthetic playfulness could thrive.
From Zagreb to Amsterdam: training and early career
Perceiving his home country as constraining, Ugrin moved to the Netherlands to join the Amsterdam Dance Academy, where his talent landed him an accelerated start by skipping the first year. That advancement mattered not only for his training but also for his family’s finances: his parents made significant sacrifices to support his studies. Early in his career, generosity from peers—such as a partner who offered lodging and practical support—was essential. With only one audition to his name, he went on to join a troupe and tour across Europe, cementing performance as his primary craft and exposing him to a wider cultural landscape that would later inform his work in fashion.
When choreography meets campaigns
While touring, Ugrin received an unexpected message asking for contact details for a project. Skeptical at first, he accepted an invitation that would take him to Madrid and into the orbit of designer Jonathan Anderson. The session for Loewe introduced him to editorial production on a larger scale and marked the beginning of ongoing collaborations with designers seeking bodies that defy the industry’s usual slim, neutral template. Ugrin’s background as a movement director and dancer gives him a rare ability to propose striking tableaux and physical narratives during shoots, qualities that brands like Carne Bollente and Ouest Paris have valued.
Signature moments on set
Photographers and designers cite his capacity to contort, animate and transform a still frame as a key asset. During the campaign that captured milk dripping from his moustache, his face and gesture became both humorous and provocative, marrying performative risk with accessible charm. He describes working on editorial shoots as allowing more spontaneity than stage performance, where timing and structure are stricter. That freedom is central to his creative identity: he enjoys the playful experiments that blur costume, character and movement.
Visibility, identity and the politics of home
Ugrin’s story intersects with the broader contours of LGBTQ rights in Croatia. While homosexuality has been legal since the late 1970s, same-sex marriage remains prohibited and civil unions were only permitted from 2014. For Ugrin, dance offered a refuge from the conservatism he perceived at home: a setting where collaboration outweighed prejudice and desire for expression mattered more than social labels. His experience illuminates how artistic spaces can function as sites of social progress and personal liberation, particularly for performers who navigate both public visibility and private origins.
Crossing into runway and life in Paris
In early-year fashion events in Paris, Ugrin made his debut on the runway in a show by Louis Gabriel Nouchi, in collaboration with OnlyFans, bringing the same exhilaration he feels before a dance performance to the catwalk. He calls the experience familiar and joyful, and he plans to move to Paris to pursue both modeling and ongoing stage work. Settling in the French capital represents the next phase of a career built on adaptability: from rural beginnings to veterinary classrooms, from rehearsal halls to international campaigns, his path underscores a resilient commitment to creative reinvention.
Throughout his journey, Ugrin has become emblematic of a modern masculinity that emphasizes kindness, play and physical eloquence rather than a fixed set of appearances. As a performer and emerging face of fashion, he models an image that many designers now seek: someone who brings history, identity and movement into visual narratives. Whether on stage, in an editorial session or as a magazine cover subject, Ivan Ugrin continues to expand how dance and fashion speak to one another — and how visibility can reshape cultural expectations.