‘The Spanish King’: how a 90-year-old grandpa became a fashion sensation

To celebrate his 90th birthday, self-proclaimed ‘Spanish King’ and newfound fashion model Andrés García-Carro held a party in a Madrid nightclub for 250 people.

Packed with models, actors, film directors and musicians, the private event that was official proclamation of the new king of the Spanish fashion industry.

And despite his age, his courtiers believe his reign is far from fading.

Two years ago, García-Carro was living a quiet life as a pensioner, in a country house in the Northern province of A Coruña, without a photo shoot or editorial campaign in sight.

García-Carro's found his renewed purpose close to home – his model potential was ‘discovered’ by his granddaughter, 27-year-old Celine Van Heel, during the early months of COVID-19 lockdowns.

“He was my first subject, my first muse. I discovered photography thanks to him,” says 27-year old Celine Van Heel.

She now manages the Spanish King’s career as her own fashion photography flourishes.

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With a distinctive tan and long silver hair, his leopard print speedos and his fur coats, 'The Spanish King' is often portrayed as a ‘bon vivant'.

His outfits take us back to the Golden Age of the Costa del Sol when Spain opened to international tourism in the late sixties. Sometimes it resembles a grownup Alain Delon, brought back from the film ‘Nouvelle Vague’, with a hint of Iberian flair.

“It was actually during COVID times that I was with him in quarantine and I just decided to grab a camera and start to take pictures of him," Van Heel tells Euronews Culture.

"I was constantly with my grandfather, walking with him, talking with him, taking pictures. The first photos were for the magazine I was working for [...] it was an editorial