photography

School by Raimond Wouda



My good friend and art partner in crime, Hips Like Boys just alerted me to a great series of photographs that ever so slightly reminded me of Joseph Szabo’s Teenage. In this case, ‘School’ by Raimond Wouda studies the youth culture microcosms of secondary schools in The Netherlands from 2002 to 2007. (more…)



Lahssan X Façonnable



I love what French label Lahssan has been doing with its deconstructed trench coats, favourited by the Tommy Tom set (Elisa Nalin, Natalie Joos et al) and influential stores like The Shop at Bluebird, Opening Ceremony and 10 Corso Como Tokyo).

To take his influence further, designer Dryce (one name only) has collaborated with Riviera heritage brand Façonnable to produce a capsule line of fun macs in Lichtenstein-esque primary-hued stripes. And naturally, he enlisted Tommy Ton and Elisa Nalin to shoot, style and model the look book. Watch out for the line when it arrives in Spring…




Gap’s iconic portraits – when classic is best



I spotted this great portrait of Rifat Ozbek by Steven Meisel (above) in a book in the Gap store. The book is Individuals: Portraits from the Gap Collection and is currently going for a song on Amazon. The book is full of portraits by the likes of Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz, David Sims and Meisel and goes to show that Gap has been doing for years what lots of brands are only just doing now. That is, photographing interesting people in a way that represents their own style. (more…)



Portraits of cities: William Klein + Daido Moriyama at Tate Modern



William Klein + Daido Moriyama is possibly the best thing I’ve seen all year. Comparing and contrasting both photographers’ approaches to street life in New York and Tokyo, it instantly appealed to my love of graphics and energy in documentary photography. Years ago I saw a Garry Winogrand exhibition at The Hayward and I still vividly remember those in-yer-face compositions of life in New York. Some of these reminded me of those.

The exhibition space is a layout of vast, high ceiling-ed rooms that give breathing space to the biggest and most dramatic Klein artworks (he often mashed up photography and art by sploshing paint around the borders of the image or across the image itself for even greater impact). Like his wide-angle compositions that put you in the midst of the action, the design of the exhibition repeats Klein’s sense of big city chaos. Framed photos are densely ordered row on row, depicting the busyness and character of Rome, Moscow, Tokyo and New York. Also integral are the photo books on display by both Klein and Moriyama, many on loan from Martin Parr’s extensive collection.

Moriyama’s work is less punchy and more detached than Klein’s, with greyer, grainier portraits of Tokyo and New York street life. They didn’t have such an immediate impact for me but I loved the room of Polaroid montages towards the end. The exhibition is on at Tate Modern until 20th January and I highly recommend going on a Friday evening to avoid the weekend crowds.