Mark is working on a book project that will feature his popular Backstage series — a study in motion and light (see the photos here). I’ve been helping him with his artist statement and thinking a lot about what fashion means, both as Mark sees it and as I see it, but also about how where our personal perspectives overlap and where they are different. I’ve found a lot of inspiring material this week while catching up on blogs and news, which is how I found this interview with Tavi Gevinson, high school student, editor in chief of Rookie Mag and blogger extraordinaire.
It feels strange to look to a teenager for the meaning of fashion, but Tavi seems to epitomize the exact intersection between fantasy and reality, which is precisely the moment Mark captures in his photographs and is beginning to explore in his writing; her explanation of looking at fashion week from a child’s perspective is spot-on.
Tavi says “Nothing is ever as good as the fantasy of it,” which I think is so true about one’s ideas about fashion and fashion week especially. Mark’s images really perpetuate the fantasy of fashion as a spectacle, which is part of what makes them so interesting. The idea of fashion as a catalyst for expressing a character or a facet of our internal selves is what can be so liberating about it, but the criticism we might face for outwardly expressing ourselves is often what keeps people from being as bold as they could be or want to be with clothes. See what Tavi has to say about fashion and characters here. (image from stylelikeu.com)
What is fashion to you? Where do you find inspiration?
– Casey
Sometimes the the best photographs happen in between the main events. Here are a few quiet moments Mark captured before and after the fashion week storm. Enjoy! (top: Ok, this one is during an actual storm in Paris, during fashion week. You caught us. middle: Nearing the end of New York Fashion week fall/winter 2012. bottom: Before the Philosophy runway show)
Mark returned from the fall/winter 2012 fashion shows earlier this month but we’re just getting back to normal here at the office and we’ve finally had a chance to take a look at all the great photos from over a month of shooting.
Here are some shots Mark took with his phone backstage while on assignment for Glamour. We’ll be posting pics from Mark’s trips often so check back to see new stuff. Enjoy! (top: Dries van Noten, middle: Balmain, bottom: DSquared)
Two of Mark’s photographs were selected to appear in the American Photography 28 annual!
The images were taken backstage at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show in December for The Hollywood Reporter. Lindsey Ellingson (top) faces off with a wall of photographers while Ieva Laguna and Bregje Heinen document the occasion with a cell phone camera (bottom).
The jury this year included Bill Black, Reader’s Digest; Scott Hall, Newsweek/Daily Beast; Nathalie Kirsheh, Details; Whitney Lawson Travel + Leisure; Joanna Milter, The New York Times Magazine; Paul Moakley, TIME; and Zana Woods, Wired. Over 8,100 images were submitted this year by more than 1,200 photographers, magazines, agencies, publishers and schools — only 324 images will appear in the book.
To mix things up a bit we’re going to start doing some regular columns here at Leibowitz Pictures! For our first installment: The Many Faces Of… Each week we’ll post new images of a familiar face from backstage or on set. This week it’s Lindsey Wixson! These images are from backstage at Anna Sui and Michael Kors. Don’t forget to check back often for new content. Enjoy!
