On the Street.... 6th & 38th, NYC

On the Street... Welcome to Fashion Week, NYC

On the Street.... Bryant Park, NYC

On the Street....Hamish Bowles, NYC

The SartoriaLUST at Barneys

I am so excited about the launch of my book in New York!

I will be setting up a pop-up shop at Barneys called... The SartoriaLUST.

It has everything a Sartorialist would lust for... a specially curated mix of clothes and accessories pulled from the entire men's store at Barneys New York.

While I was at Pitti this Summer I also collaborated on a few special items with brands like: Boglioli, Roda and Sciamat and WANT Essentials, that will be sold exclusively at The SartoriaLUST. Even Al Bazar is sending a small selection of items all the way from Milan.

I spent yesterday selecting looks to go in the Barney's windows. It was tough! So much to choose from. In the end I was happy that the items I choose represented a real cross section of cool menswear. Designers like Dries, Ralph, Marc, and Jil are mixed with smaller brands like Duckie Brown, Lidfort and Fairfax.

A lot of the looks that I pulled were specifically based on some of my favorite photos from the blog. The green parka, white jeans, and navy blazer were specifically based on this photo that I have always loved.

Of course, when I saw this Dries Polaroid tee shirt I had to work it into the mix.

Tonight we will post the dates, times and locations for additional signings in the US, London, and Sao Paulo.

We will keep you updated about possible signings in Australia and beyond.

Ok, back to the streets and fashion weeks!!!

First Book Signing at Colette!

I am so excited to announce that my first book signing will be at Colette, in Paris this Saturday from 4:30 to 6:30 pm.

As someone who grew up always wanting to be a fashion designer it gives me a great amount of pleasure to have a window display of my work at Colette. Ok, it might not be the type of art that I thought I might create when I was younger. It goes to show that you should never give up the dream, but also don't be so narrow in your vision as not to see where your real talents lie.

I am taking a long weekend/Labor Day, so new posts will be up starting next Monday or Tuesday.

Hope to see you at Colette!

The Influencers - August Sander & Disfarmer

A long time ago Etro did an advertising campaign that was inspired by August Sander. I loved that campaign and immediately set out to learn more about Sander.

When I found this book I was struck by the quiet dignity of the everyday people in Sander's images. Not much later I found this book by Disfarmer (below) and was again struck by the quiet grace of his subjects.  

In a very literal way both books influenced my photography - I like to have a very quiet, distant background whenever possible. I love how both Sander's and Disfarmer's subjects really seem to fill the space they are in with their strong personas. I also like that even though these were not shot as fashion images the historical fashion perspective they give us is invaluable.

The Influencers - A House Is Not A Home, Bruce Weber

I have always said I am a big Bruce Weber fan. Not as much for his typical A&F work, but for his more personal character studies like his book A House is Not A Home.

The book really woke me up to the idea of how the things that fill your life can say as much about you as you ever could with words.

What he was able to say with a chair, I say with a pocket square.

The Influencers - Portraits, Steve McCurry

I would think that for any photographer having your first book published is a major, major big deal - I know it is for me. With my new book starting to hit the stores I know I have been thinking a lot about the books that were a big influence on me, and also had a direct effect on the decisions I made about how I wanted my book to be created. So today and tomorrow I thought I would try something different and share with you a few of the books that have had the biggest influence on my work.

One of the first and most important photography books I ever bought was this book: Portraits by Steve McCurry. I love the dignity in which he shoots such a wide range of people and cultures. I love the intimacy and connection that you feel with his subjects. I also thought that the concept of his lifestyle (traveling around the world alone taking pictures of whoever you found interesting) was so romantic. I never dreamed when I bought this book that I would end up creating my own version of that lifestyle. To learn more about Steve McCurry check out his website and his fantastic new blog.

The other, more literal way that the book influenced me was the small size of it. I found over the years that because the book was small it sat on top of all my other books. It was so easy to just pick it up and flip through it quickly without making a major commitment to moving around a huge stack of books. It was this lack of preciousness and ease that made it so easy to live with. When I was still in sales and photography was just an innocent hobby I would throw this book in my backpack and enjoy it on boring flights to Tulsa or Denver. Because I wanted my book to have this same lack of preciousness and hopefully the same impact on other young photographers and fashion designers it seemed a no-brainer to choose this size for my first book.

Portraits, I believe, is still relatively easy to find. Check these links, or on eBay.
Amazon (US)

Barnes & Noble
ICP

My publisher would kill me if I didn't also put links to buy my book.
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
Amazon (FR)
Barnes and Noble

Bol
Borders (US)
Borders (UK)
Foyles
Indie Bound
Waterstones
Liberty
Colette

The Influencers - Camera Ready, Arthur Elgort

I never trained to be a photographer, so this book was my first real insight into the thought process of making a good image. Written for a true beginner, this book discusses such basic concepts as filling the frame, capturing emotion (both happy and sad), and reacting to the action around you. Before spending a load of money on photography classes, or other books and manuals - try finding this book on eBay and really try to absorb Mr. Elgort's advice. His writing style is so easy and unpretentious that it will make you feel anything is possible.