Street style photographs have never been more commonplace or influential within the fashion world. Street style, for those who are unfamiliar, is the practice of having one’s outfit noticed in the street by a ‘spotter’ and having your photograph taken against a brick wall/bit of graffiti/with a bag of chips and a fag in your hand (delete as appropriate). It’s real, gritty and a snapshot into someone’s world and shopping habits. I work on Brick Lane, a hot spot for this activity, and each weekend, countless budding fashion bloggers scan the crowds, cameras at the ready, for perfectly preened hipsters just begging to have their photo taken, having perfected their pose years before in front of a mirror. Pretty much every fashion magazine has a street style section these days, with street style pioneers informing everyone from the big fashion houses to Primark.
But as with anything ‘cool’, it’s not long before it becomes totally uncool.
David Luraschi is a photographer who is poking fun at the usual format of the street style shot. He has been trawling the streets of Paris, the snobbiest of the fashion capitals and sneaking up not on the chic fashionistas dressed elegantly in black, but the real people who make up the street style scene – people who are obsessed with wearing all one colour, people who wear a rainbow of colours all at once and people who like to rock a toweling cape with a tiger’s face on the back. These are the people that Luraschi is interested in, and quite rightly so, whether or not they are aware they are being ‘street snapped’ is unclear, but his satirical response to this practice can only be admired.
The images a paint a vibrant portrait of a city too often thought of as understated and subdued in its dress sense. Hats off to David for going against the grain.
