Fashion Photography: Culture, Identity and Freedom with Daniele Tamagni
Daniele Tamagni is an award winning Italian photographer, based in Milan. Most known for the pictures of street fashion around the world, his photobook, titled "Fashion Tribes", features unique fashion groups from Congo, Cuba, Botswana and many other countries was published in 2015. Recently, Daniele exhibited this series at October Gallery in London.
(Daniele Tamagni, Playboys of Bacongo, 2008. Lambda c-print , 74.2 x 126.5 cm. Courtesy October Gallery London)
Hi Daniele, how did you start photographing different fashion groups around the world?
I was in Congo in 2007 to deliver a reportage project for Italian magazine about Africa and I heard about Les Sapeurs. Le Sape is an abbreviation from Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes (The Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People). It’s a group of men that wear very elegant clothes and style themselves as dandies. They were fascinating. I tried to speak to them to know why they’re wearing very elegant clothes. That’s how ‘Gentlemen of Bacongo’ came about. Then I took pictures of Cuban fashion under the name Havana Glam.
Suddenly, I had a pretext to do more. Primarily, I was taking pictures that magazines or galleries could be interested in. The book came later.
How did you hear about the groups you photographed?
I did research before going to each country but I discovered them in a different context once I was there.
(Daniele Tamagni, The Vintage Crew, Joburg, 2013. Courtesy October Gallery, London)
Did it take you very long to photograph each group?
It depends. To take pictures of Les Sapeurs I went twice to Congo and each time I stayed for a month. For other groups, it took between two weeks and a month. Everything depends on the situation. I am freelancer, so I don’t have as much time as I would like to have. If I had an art residency or a sponsor who could commit to long term projects, I would be able to take more time.
Do you wish you’d spent more time with any of them?
I would have liked to spend more time when I was in Burma photographing the punks. It was one of the most challenging and difficult projects.
What are the stories you want to tell?
I want to go deeper and show different situations without classifying people. I want to show how elegance looks around the world. Every group is different and it’s important to get out of its people what’s specifically important to them. In picturing Afrometals in Botswana it was about relationship between music and fashion. The context is the most important.
I want the pictures to speak about breaking stereotypes. Style can become a weapon for change and it can say something more than appearance. I want people to reflect on those groups without judging them.
(Daniele Tamagni,Smarteez #01, 2012. Courtesy October Gallery, London)
If you saw any of the fashion groups on the streets of Milan, where you live, do you think it would make similar impression on you and the viewer?
No, I don’t think so. I noticed Les Sapeurs, because they were different than their surroundings. They look like they’ve just left Saville Row in London, not a street in Congo. What’s important about the groups that I photographed is the contrast between how they look and how does their surrounding look.
Are your pictures more about fashion or attitude of the people?
Both go together. It’s not just fashion - it’s regard, identity, culture, globalisation, individuality and freedom. My work looks back to history and pictures changes in contemporary society. So, that the fashion become just a pretext to explore something else deeper.
Thanks Daniele!
www.danieletamagni.com @daniele_tamagni
(Daniele Tamagni, Afrometals 2012.Courtesy October Gallery, London)
Joanna Sopylo-Firrisa is a Polish writer based in the UK. She worked for various Polish magazines and websites as well as some based in London, like Weekend Notes, The Jellied Eel and Film Africa blog. She loves interviewing people and writing to explain the world around. You can read more of her work on her blog Walk & Talk.
@JoannaFirrisa www.walkandtalkuk.com
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