Street Cred

An inherent dichotomy of the fashion world is at the source of its inspiration.

The dominating historical model is via top-down, from the inception at the courts of royalty filtered outward to the rest of society. But in contemporary times, the more immediate stimulus of the streets has caused quite the stir. The irony of the exclusive but disseminated against the colloquial but edited does not cause as much friction as we might think.

Several pioneers come to mind:

Scott Schuman of “The Satorialist” – Sept 2005 (NYC)
Garance Doré of the self-titled blog – June 2006 (Paris)
Jean-Phillipe Delhomme of “The Unknown Hipster” – April 2009 (NYC)
Yvan Rodic of “Facehunter” – January 2006 (London)
Liisa Jokinen & Sampo Karjalainen of “Hel Looks” – July 2005 (Helsinki)


The Satorialist
With Scott Schuman, he claims his source of inspiration in a photograph of a man on an empty street taken by German photographer August Sander. He also notes the influence of the Seeberger brothers who were responsible for the Parisian postcard photographs of the early 20th century, recording the upper echelons of society. Not to mention Amy Arbus who documented New York life and i-D magazine of the 80’s with their “straight up” photography of club kids and street styles. His main philosophy, he claims, is to echo in his own photography how fashion designers hunt for inspiration. It is selective but inclusive. He prefers the stylish over the trendy, and that is why he is so successful. He tends to photograph those who will define the future terrain rather than tread on the current topography. But none of this indigenous hunting hinders prospects of collaboration with international heavy-hitters. Due to his exposure with his blog (3 million hits per month), he now works with publications like Condé Nast and was named by Time Magazine as a Top 100 Design Influencer. He also has a compilation book of the blog to be published September 2009, by Penguin.



Garance Doré
“Une fille comme moi”
Doré started as an illustrator and was frustrated with the lack of contact with her readers. She also wanted a more spontaneous outlet for her work. So her posts of filled with portraits, scans and photographs of her notebook sketches (with a hint of Japan anime in the eyes), and short musings on stylish people.


The Unknown Hipster
“Information without the invitation”
Delhomme created an anonymous persona for this blog and satirizes the self-important world of fashion in a teasing manner. A great excerpt: “She ignored me in the same way art ignores people in a museum”. His lively illustrations in pencil crayon and paint add an idiosyncratic touch to the otherwise overdone endeavor of crashing fêtes. He also has a book published called “The Cultivated Life”. And his artwork has been employed in Barney’s advertising campaigns.


In these examples, it is clear that the catalyst of fashion isn’t exclusively behind closed doors but of individual and collective identities and behaviours. The creative potential captured on the streets and channelled through these blogs begins to define the social capacity to invent, absorb, and celebrate the endeavor of fashion and coveted objects.