Photographer, founder of The Sartorialist
Following fifteen years working in the fashion industry, Scott Schuman began taking pictures of people he saw on the streets who he thought had interesting looks, then began posting them on The Sartorialist, which he founded in 2005. His 2009 anthology became a bestselling book, followed by a second in 2012 and a third in 2015. His books have been translated into many languages, he won the CFDA media award in 2012, and his work resides in the permanent collection of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Can you tell us about how you became a street-fashion photographer?
I always looked at fashion magazines and I love them, but I thought there was something else out there. There were all these cool people I saw on the street, not dressed head to toe in designer clothes, and I thought I could learn something from them. With digital media and digital photography, I could do that and share those images. I didn’t have an idea that it would go anywhere. It was just a fun thing. But I still look at magazines for inspiration.
Street photographer and fashion journalist Rei Shito is one of Scott Schuman's favorite subjects. He in turn inspired her to start sharing photographs online: “Because the street styles in Tokyo change so fast...I thought that introducing styles on the internet, like The Sartorialist was doing, was faster and more suited to capturing [it].”
— Scott Schuman
You’ve been shooting Rei Shito at various locations around the world for more than ten years now. How did she first catch your attention?
It was September 2007 Fashion Week and she was leaning against a car. She had a very slim figure and was wearing a kind of girly-style dress with black high-top Converse, but she had a big, serious camera, and I thought it was intriguing. This was before the real big boom of people shooting at Fashion Week, and there was something just so charming about her. I didn’t have to think a lot about it. It was an obvious image waiting to be captured.
Two of The Sartorialist books have whole sections dedicated to Rei Shito. Can you tell us what makes her style special?
Rei consistently puts things together in a really unique, interesting way. It always looks like her, but it’s also always different. Her style is always evolving.
I like how she really makes her style work even around the job that she does. Rei is one of the few photographers who actually goes out and shoots on the streets year-round, whereas most of the street-fashion photographers now are more “Fashion Week photographers.” And that, to me, is different than street style.
You’ve been to Tokyo to shoot and exhibit. What are your impressions?
When I went to Tokyo, I thought, “This is going to be great, I’ll find a whole city full of Rei Shitos.” But I didn’t, and that just really shows you how unique Rei is. Maybe it’s because she travels. In her heart, she’s Japanese, but her travels seem to have really informed and shaped her style. Some women in Tokyo love fashion so much that they seem to have a hard time personalizing it.
And how about men’s style?
I really admire Motofumi “Poggy” Kogi [@poggytheman]. He’s got great style. He’s not too much of one school. Some guys in Tokyo do Italian head to toe. They look great and they do it very, very well, but it doesn’t feel real. Or you have guys who dress very English, or they have that whole denim thing where they’re so obsessed with getting the original, vintage, perfect denim. But if they don’t look good on you or fit properly, well . . .
So, good style is about knowing yourself?
I think so, and it’s true for photography, too. I’m old enough and have been doing this long enough that I know what looks cool. A lot of the people who shoot, they don’t trust their taste level very much. So they think if someone is wearing a big-name brand, they must be well dressed. For me, I want to make a good image.