Missing the street-style inspiration from fashion month? Us too. As SS21 goes virtual, we’ve delved into the archive to deliver a much-needed dose of outfit joyfulness and celebrate the best real-life fashion moments, from the 1990s to now
Is your IG feed feeling the absence of street style right now? Ordinarily by the close of London Fashion Week, editors and influencers alike would have showcased their looks to cohorts of expectant photographers. However, in the advent of SS21’s phygital shows, fashion’s most recognisable style chameleons remain confined to their living rooms.
With a limited run of physical shows to be papped en route to, this season has seen the rise of Zoom and AI presentations, one-in-one-out press meetings and a temporary disbanding of the hallowed front row. With street style replaced by mostly virtual alternatives, we’ve asked eight leading photographers to deliver a much-needed dose of nostalgia.
Style Du Monde, Sandra Semburg, Paul Won Jeong, Shoichi Aoki, Phil Oh, Jonathan Daniel Pryce, Scott Schuman, and Søren Jepsen are 8 of the most in demand street style photographers working today. We invited them to delve into their archives and select their most inspiring shots and share the stories behind the snaps.
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Adnan Salman Jalal, 23 September 2018, Milan SS19, outside MARNI“I have the tendency to stay a bit longer than most photographers after the show. I’ve taken some of my favourite pictures after the big crowd left. You never know who’s going to come out. This was one of those moments. The Italian woman, curious about what was happening, just made the picture complete.”
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Joan Smalls, Adesuwa Aighewi, Theresa Hayes and Janaye Furman, 22 September 2018, Milan SS19, outside Roberto Cavalli“I felt this was an important moment to see models raise awareness for Juneteenth, Black history and culture. Still very relevant in 2020.”
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Kanye West, 2 March 2015, Paris AW15, outside Celine
“This picture was taken after the Celine show. There was no way for me to get close, so I got on top of a short wall to get a bird’s-eye perspective of the paparazzi madness surrounding Kanye.”
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Rei Kawakubo, 28 September 2019, Paris SS20, outside Comme des Garçons
“I love this picture as it’s rare to get the opportunity to photograph Rei Kawakubo, one of my absolute favourite designers.”
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Teddy Quinlivan, 27 September 2018, Paris SS19, outside Paco Rabanne
“Never a dull moment with Teddy Quinlivan. Teddy is always up for some fun pictures.”
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Unknown, 1993, London, outside Covent Garden tube station
“Wow, I had no choice but to take a picture of her: London street fashion.”
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Unknown, 1991, London, near Piccadilly Circus tube station
“I always held my camera at that time. I often published blurred or out-of-focus photos in Streets magazine, because it’s not always easy to take clear photos on the street. Sometimes blurred or out- of-focus pictures express the atmosphere of the street.”
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Unknown, 1987, Paris, outside Jean Paul Gaultier
“It was the most exciting fashion show and audience. His fashion was incredible. He is a genius. I want to know who he is.”
