Men Style Fashion Meets the Young Designer Awards
I started off in the photography industry, making my way from being a very successful landscape and cityscape photographer into the world of fashion. It’s while visiting my family in the mountains of Western Canada that I realised that photographs suddenly become a lot more interesting when you put a person in them – and that’s where my love of the fashion industry began. Now, I’m the UK Editor for Men Style Fashion, but I still like to get involved in the nitty gritty: which is why Gracie Opulanza co founder and I were in attendance at the FDC Young Designer Awards 2013. More to come on Gracie Opulanza.
The awards themselves were fantastic. Getting to see people from the age of 15 right up to their late 20s showcase their creations with pride, having spent hours upon hours using materials from business cards to porn magazines and sweet wrappers to make stunning pieces that the judges – who are all internationally renowned designers in the field – couldn’t get enough of.
Adding a Male Model to the Photo
However, it’s one thing making the clothes. It’s another shooting them. As a photographer, I work with people day-in-day-out and it’s important to get the right model to turn a day of shooting into a great collection of photos that will meet the client’s needs. In the up and coming world of men’s fashion, having a stylist on board is generally a must-have, but in the case of these three guys I bumped into in the lobby at the FDC Young Designer Awards, there was no need.
Wearing their own suits from high street brands such as Next and H&M, these three lads, whose modelling portfolios are only just beginning to build themselves, made me realise how much the model changes the photograph you take. Having recently worked with top models such as Sam Way and Conor Scurlock, both of whom have some amazing names ranging from Jack Wills, Abercrombie and Fitch, Kate Moss to Marks and Spencer in their portfolios, the contrast between the well-paid and well-experienced to the fresh up and coming -almost raw- talent was a real eye-opener for me.
Development in the World of Men’s Fashion
The shoot was spontaneous and on a tight schedule, but it would’ve been great to get some more time with these three guys and work with them to develop their talent and launch their careers into the world of men’s fashion and styling.
Starting out in the fashion industry? Wanting to become a male model? Unfortunately, I can’t give you any advice from that perspective, but what I can say is that as long as you take direction well, and you don’t look like, as Sam Way put it, “a wild deer caught in the headlights”, you’ll do great, but the main thing is to build a strong, lengthy portfolio of previous work. Experience comes with time. Get yourself out there and dedicate 100 hours a week to it – doing one shoot a month won’t get your photo on London’s biggest billboards.
MenStyleFashion Hits the Catwalk
Until next time, watch out as Gracie and I hit the catwalk and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what really goes on at the Young Designer Awards.
