NOTE: All images are by Dan Roberts from ThreadsLike.
The other night outside LMFF's National Graduate Showcase, I was photographed by local street style photographer, Dan Roberts. (That's me wearing the mustard coloured trench coat - a second-hand gem from Savers.)
He was then kind enough to answer a few questions for Colour Me Red...
Who is the person behind "ThreadsLike"?
Dino Dan. Admittedly this is a fairly recent name of
which the origins can be put down to a notorious night during LMFF with the
lovely ladies from StyleHunter, and Style Melbourne. Seems to be sticking
though, so I’ll roll with it.
How did
"ThreadsLike" come about?
ThreadsLike was in the making a long time before it
actually took charge of a domain name and became something that I was prepared
to show to the world. I was in Tokyo a few years back and I guess you could say
I had a ‘moment’. Foreign smells, flashing lights from every direction, steam
billowing from vents, black suits ducking into flash cars, heels, overcoats,
wintery boots and mysterious faces. Something in this sensory overload that is
Tokyo made me view cities in a whole new light. It gave me more perspective and
respect for the streets and the people that walk them.
I’d been working for a large New Zealand womenswear designer for a number of years in Auckland before I moved to Melbourne, but as
soon as I landed here I knew it was time to start working on my own street
style blog.
Photography has always been a part of my life. My
sister gave me my first camera when I was pretty young, and since then I’ve
tried to always have a camera at my side.
So I guess these things came together, had a little
party and ThreadsLike was born!
Many
photographers like to capture street style, but I feel that yours has quite a
unique point of view. Tell us what you look for on the street.
You’re right, there are a lot of ‘streetstyle’ blogs
out there these days. It’s grown so much in the last few years that you can
even sub-categorize under the one umbrella now.
I don’t look for specific fashion when I head out
shooting, I’m looking for something that is more than just ‘good’ fashion. I
would probably quite simply call it, style. I try to find cohesion between subject,
fashion and environment. I think these three things are needed to really
capture a great street style image. Style is something that can only happen
when someone is totally comfortable with what they are wearing, and that’s
something I’m a firm believer in. Style only occurs when the outfit matches the
person’s mood or personality.
That’s what I try to capture in my photographs - the
personality of whoever it is that I’m framing up. Like any photographer, I look
to tell a story in my photographs. I think street style has a lot more to offer
than just a static head to toe, two-dimensional image of some clothes that
someone’s wearing.
How does
Melbourne's street style compare to other major cities overseas? What makes us
quintessentially 'Melbourne'?
I think the greatest thing about Melbourne streets is the diversity that you can find. Melbourne’s arts and culture is really strong and
there are a lot of young students studying at the many Arts institutions around
Melbourne. This contributes to people’s creative, experimental and fresh
outlook into what they’re wearing. It has more of an impact on designers and
fashionistas than some may think.
There’s always so much going on in this bustling city
(I can hardly keep up), which gets people out and about on the streets. A
creative, diverse culture helps to build and maintain a fascinating street
culture. And street culture is an integral part of getting the mould right for a
great city.
The vintage scene in this city is really relevant
too. There are so many great little vintage boutiques dotted around, and they're
definitely worth sifting through to find those gems. There's no doubt that vintage finds
its way into so many Melbournians' wardrobes - I love hearing about how
someone has thrown designer wears together with a bit of vintage to give it that ‘one of a kind’ look.
I love
seeing the people in your photographs standing in familiar streets of
Melbourne. Do you have any favourite areas of the city to scope out stylish
subjects?
I wouldn’t say I have a particular favourite place to
shoot, because what I love is the diversity that this city throws up. Northside
of the city is quite experimental, and Southside has a more refined look. It’s
important to look at different approaches to fashion, and different burrows
have different ideas/looks that can be equally interesting.
The city centre is probably where I spend the most hours on the street.
There are places like the GPO building in town that has a natural romanticism, which makes for really beautiful backdrops in photographs. Collins Street
consistently has really nice light throughout the day, and I explore laneways
as much as possible. I still find myself discovering new hidden oases down streets I’ve walked a million times.
I’ve definitely come to learn that it doesn’t matter
where you are, you could walk around a corner in a seemingly dead part of the
city and run straight into a beautiful frame.
There has
been much criticism regarding the authenticity of street style photography
recently, particularly that which documents international fashion weeks. How do
you feel about the evolution of street style photography? Do you feel it has
been tainted by commercialisation and over-saturation?
As long as the photographer can still convey a feeling,
capture a style that is worthy viewing and essentially still tell that story
within their photograph, then I think there is definitely still relevance. I just
think that street style is still finding its feet after a huge growth period.
It’s at that awkward teenage stage where your body grows really quickly and you
suddenly find yourself clumsy; you knock things around and generally can’t put
one foot in front of the other… It’s just going to take a little while to find
that coordination again and to catch up with ourselves.
If you find a street style photographer that you
like, I think the beauty of following their content is seeing how it changes
and being a part of that person’s evolution and journey. I personally think
that we are at a stage where street style photography is more interesting than
it has ever been. People have been forced to push themselves creatively, and
the good street style photographers are coming up with some incredibly
beautiful and provocative images.
It’s just part of the evolution within the industry
and seeing how designers will react to this new phenomenon is part of the
intrigue. I’ve already heard of designers paring back/simplifying collections
in response to the flashy shows that are happening on the streets outside. I think
if something is so big it has the power to influence designers, then there
is definitely relevance. As a flow on effect, the style on the street will reversibly
be influenced by the designers, so it will be interesting to see where things
go from here.
I do think that there are a lot of publications that
have jumped onto the street style scene and have totally missed the point. But
that’s with any industry, and at the end of the day it’s up to the reader to choose
what they consider to be good content and what they think is worth supporting.
What
other street style photographers do you admire / reference?
The first street style photographer that I heard of
and started seriously following was Scott Schuman, of The Sartorialist. Again,
I can thank my inspirational sister for this introduction. I think Schuman is
incredibly good at telling a story through his photographs, and he catches the
essence of his subject like very few others can.
Fairly recently, I’ve also been following a lot of
what Tommy Ton is shooting. He brings a whole different aesthetic to the street
style scene. I really like Ton’s attention to detail and the way he frames
photographs is definitely an inspiration that I reference when I’m out on the
street.
I am definitely a perfectionist, and therefore I’m
really critical of my own work. I look at what I consider to be the best
content in the world because it’s how I keep pushing myself to be the best I
can be.
Where
to from here? Any upcoming projects?
L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival was a great week and I met a
lot of incredible people - some of whom have shown interest in collaborating in
the future, which is really exciting. Next up though is Sydney for Mercedes
Benz Fashion Week Australia. It’ll be great to see Sydney from my street style
perspective.
It’s always refreshing and inspirational going to new places, so
I’m really looking forward to getting on that plane! I’ll skip back over to
Auckland for New Zealand Fashion Week later in the year too.
I’ve been trying to work out a plan for taking
ThreadsLike more international in the future, so hopefully you’ll start seeing
some frames from interesting cities around the world in the mix too. Watch this
space…
Aside from that, I’ll be back out on the streets of
Melbourne tomorrow, hunting out those stylish birds and bears!
