Andy in American Vogue

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

By Vicki Woods for Vogue. Photographed by Mario Testino.

The shoot is almost wrapped; Vogue’s people are whizzing around, folding clothes and packing props. But the energy and heat that always build in a room during a photo shoot are still buzzing as Mario Testino clicks through thumbnail pictures on his laptop. He croons, “Beautiful! Beautiful! Andy, come and see how beautiful.”

We are in Andy Murray’s garage (concrete floor, bare cinder-block walls) because it doubles as his weight room, with barbells and racks of free weights: Testino was so struck by the daily/hourly grind of relentless practice that is all-consuming for top athletes that he shot him “in here. Where he works.”

Christopher Bailey, designer of Burberry (whose tuxedo it was in which Murray was looking so . . . “raw”), thinks he is going to be an iconic British tennis player. “He’s so focused and so driven in his craft,” says Bailey. “He’s laser sharp: a wonderful person for the nation to celebrate.” Bailey thinks he will be a global brand as a sports star, which is an amazing thought because we have remarkably few iconic sports stars here in the UK, even in the iconic sports we actually invented, like soccer and cricket. Try as we might, we can think of only one other British sporting iconic global brand, and that would be David Beckham.

For the full article please visit Vogue.com

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