Every year the same old story repeats. During Pitti, we are litterally bombarded with an overwhelming amount of images, sometimes useless. Other than all the images coming from this interesting and socially engaging vanity fair, this time we focused our attention on photographers.

If many people agree that you only need a good smartphone to shoot high quality pictures, it’s also true that the photographer’s eye is diverse and often more critical, showing things from different, new, original and funny perspectives.

We asked 11 questions to some of the photographers at Pitti we follow on Instagram.

Trevor Stuurman, South Africa.

”I’m a people’s photographer.”
GRIOT:  Hi Trevor, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

I don’t remember when I took the first picture but I used to draw as a kid, then from drawing I started taking pictures. I guess I’ve always been taking pictures, the medium just changed.

I guess I’m a people’s photographer. People interest me, more specifically people with style and substance.

What do you love the most about your work?

I love the fact that I can share my work. I think the sharing part is the most important side of it. I share a piece of myself with people who are also sharing a piece of themselves. We’re just sharing quality time and a piece of home, with whoever I meet.

What are you wearing today?

I’m wearing a suit I designed myself actually, by Stuurman. It’s not available for shopping yet. It’s a project in progress.
Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Definitely. I think fashion is something you can buy in a shop, it is on the runway, but style goes beyond. I think style is what happens between the moment you buy clothes and when you decide to wear them.

Definitely, I think so.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

This is my third year here at Pitti.

What brings you here this season?

I’m here with Mini [Cooper,] it’s one of the sponsors and I’m a Mini’s ambassador. I’m curating contents for them and sharing my upcoming collaborations.

Is there something special you like about Pitti and something you don’t?

I guess what I like it’s the level of respect and love that is shared here, because everyone comes with a purpose, that is to share their love for fashion. I don’t like, I guess… the fact that it could be more inclusive, I feel like there is a room for diversity.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Food, love and fashion.

***

Lisa Elijah, born and raised between Kenya and England, she has lived in Italy for 12 years.

“I’m a stylish person but I do love creating styles for others.”

GRIOT: Hi Lisa, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

Yes, I was at a Jean Paul Gaultier runaway show shooting the backstage. It was a failure but I’m happy it happened because it helped me to improve.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

I do backstage, front rows and street photography. And I do styles for Lamberjack, OVS and other brands.

What do you like the most about your job?

What are you wearing today?

I am wearing a Diane Von Fustenburg. She is one of my favorite designers. This bag is from Ecuador and I’ve got my camera. She’s always with me. She is my best friend.

Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Style is who you are.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

Is there something special you like about Pitti and something you don’t?

What I love is that I always meet new people here with different and interesting styles. I love everything about Pitti because it represents what I actually love about the fashion world.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Beautiful people, good food, fashion.

***

Adam Katz Sinding from Le 21ème. Born in San Francisco, raised in Tacoma, he lived in Seattle for 10 years. He’s now based in Copenhagen.

“Style is the personal interpretation of the fashion industry into a non verbal way out to express oneself.”
GRIOT: Hi Adam, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

My dad was a photographer as a hobby, so there was a camera at home. I probably picked his gear up at some point in time but I don’t remember the first time. I remember the first photo I developed, it was after 8th Grade. I was 13 or 14 years old and I took a black and white film photography course at a local private school. I developed photos of some light and shadows I had taken underneath a bridge. I still have them in my bedroom actually.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

Hmm no. I’m just a photographer. If I really had to label my work, I guess it would be more like photojournalism.

What do you love the most about your work?

What are you wearing today?

Nike x Acronym’s sneakers, Stone Island’s shorts, Acronym’s tank top, Jacques Marie Mage’s sunglasses.
Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

In my opinion fashion is the business of fashion, and style is the personal interpretation of that industry into a non verbal way out to express oneself.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

No. I’ve been wearing the same thing since I was like a kid. With the street-wear now I can go back to what I used to wear when I was like 11 years old. It’s nice, and it’s acceptable [we all laugh.]

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

I think I started coming here in 2013.

Is there anything special you like about Pitti and something you don’t?

I love the press lunch. And I don’t like 35 degrees outside right now and there are no trees in this part of Florence, so the skin cancer I’m probably developing might be the worst part.

Honestly, there’s a lot of posing that happens at Pitti which gets worse every season, so I think it’s not very honest anymore. I think it wasn’t honest when I started coming but it’s getting worst. But there are still a few people that are great.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Hmmm… Slow, pleasant and food.

***

Nabile Quenum from J’ai Perdu Ma Veste, comes from Paris.

“Nobody can dictate somebody’s style, but fashion is dictated by some people.”
GRIOT: Hi Nabile, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

Nabile: Wow, that was a longtime ago! Maybe 9 years ago, the real first time I took a picture and thought I can do this as a living. I borrowed my friend’s camera and I started taking pictures, and looking at them I was like ‘Damn! That’s pretty nice!”.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

I’m not a street style photographer, not a fashion photographer, just a photographer. I’m doing street styles because I randomly started doing this and it brought me money, and you can’t say no to something that pays the bills and you enjoy at the same time. But beyond all that, I’m just a photographer.

What do you love the most about your work?

When I take candid pictures, like when I travel to other countries and I try to take portraits of people, candid pictures of actions and stuff happening around. That’s what I like the most. I also like taking portraits with a film camera, but you know it all depends on my mood.

What are you wearing today?

I’m wearing a vintage Harley Davidson’s t-shirt that I bought in Rome last year, a pant from Junya Watanabe, shoes from Nike and a vintage hat I bought in Tokyo. A bag and a cover that I bought in Tokyo as well, that’s it… and my camera!
Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Sure. Nobody can dictate somebody’s style, but fashion is dictated by some people. People from the fashion industry think they know everything about style, what is actually not true. They just have the platform to express their views but everybody has their own style.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

Probably, for me and my family [we all laugh.] I like myself, that’s the most relevant thing, maybe I’m stylish but it’s important to feel comfortable in your own clothes, I do feel comfortable in mine.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

I think five years now.

What brings you here this season?

I’m trying to take pictures of people for New York Magazine, GQ. I’m trying, it’s different now because Pitti attracts strange people.

Is there something special you like or don’t like about Pitti?

I don’t like the new Pitti’s people. It used to be guys wearing suits but elegantly, unique, the “back in the day Italian guys”. Today there’s too much mix, they all try to be avant-garde and mix everything to catch the eye of the photographers, it seems. But actually it’s not really interesting for us, I like normal, cool and calm people.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Carbonara, gelato and Navigli.

***

Eva Losada from Eva al Desnudo [named after a Spanish movie from the 50’s]. Born and raised in Spain, Eva is based in London.

“Style is personal, not just the clothes you wear or how you move and behave.”
GRIOT: Hi Eva, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

I was very little, I was taking photos just for myself. I started doing the fashion weeks in London about six years ago, but mostly in the styling part. I went there and I saw this guy who was taking pictures of me and other people, so I thought, “why not bring my own camera and do the same?”. So this is how it started, I believe.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

Yeah of course. I do street style, backstage, lookbooks and editorials, so yes I can say I’m a fashion photographer.

Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

It depends what you consider style. My understanding of style is surely different from what common people may think of it. I like very extreme looks, designers like Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto are those people whom clothes are recalling the big joke behind. Style isn’t high heels and beautiful dresses, it’s something completely different, and fashion I think is something more general. Every look can be called fashion. Style is personal, not just the clothes you wear or how you move and behave.

What do you love the most about your work?

The freedom, I think. You travel all the time and meet so many people and you can do what you’re passionate of the whole day.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

Of course! [we laughs.] I think I’m stylish, why not?!

What are you wearing today?

I’m wearing Gosha [Rubchinskiy] and a very old pair of Dr. Martens, and a necklace that I made myself, and that’s it, because it’s super hot! [she laughs.]

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

Maybe six years.

What brings you here this season?

I’m covering Pitti for Highsnobiety, and shooting street styles and also some backstages, like JW Anderson and Off White. Pitti is quite relaxing.

Is there something special you like and don’t like about Pitti?

I like the relaxed vibe. People are not stressed, everybody is hanging around, so you can take better pictures. People are more patient, it’s not like in Paris where they’re always running from one show to another. To be honest it’s not really my style, it’s tricky to find looks here as it’s more like a gentlemen kind of thing but it’s still exciting when you find the ones you’re looking for.

There are a lot of backgrounds, possibilities around, so it’s good, and the food as well [she giggles.] What I don’t like is that sometimes it can be a bit boring, because it’s kind of slow, but except for  that it’s fine, I like Pitti.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Slow, beautiful architecture and food.

***

Karl Edwin Guerre – Guerre – from Guerreisms. Born and raised in New York, Brooklyn, his family is from Haiti.

“I’m not a true photographer, I’m a guy who occasionally takes pretty pictures.”
GRIOT: Hi Karl, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

Karl: The first time I used a camera it was simply to capture a moment that I wanted in my life. It was poetry. I was writing poetry, and I needed some photos to match some of my writings. Nobody could take pictures for me or was too busy, so I just did it and said to myself, “hey, I’m not too bad at it, I can do this!”. Then I decided to continue with it. But I put the camera down at some point and did other stuff, then I came back to it years later.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

No. I’m a guy who occasionally takes pretty pictures. I’m not really focused on fashion, I’m more concerned with style, how people wear things. Do I consider myself even as a photographer? I don’t, I use that term only for simplicity when I don’t want to explain it, but I think a photographer is somebody who has an eye for it but also the technical skills. I have an instinct that allows me to take photos and I do that, but I don’t consider myself a true photographer.

What do you love the most about your work ?

I appreciate the ability to voice my opinion in a way that can possibly alter and change and influence people.

Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Of course there is. Fashion is wearing pieces from the latest trends, style is more expressing your personality in the way that’s consistent.

What are you wearing today?

I’m wearing a customized Italian jacket from Sciamãt, a Post Imperial’s scarf, a shirt from Eton, and pants from Edesim. English shoes from Grenson.
Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

I believe that with time I developed and evolved into my own personal style. I have my personal style which reflects my personality and who I am.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

Seven years.

What brings you here this season?

What I generally do here is to document some of the looks not necessary the trends, for myself and publications also, like GQ Japan, The Rake Magazine and Mr Porter.

Is there something special you like or don’t like about Pitti?

Pitti is the Mecca in terms of bringing like minded men together. In terms of style, it brings a lot of peacocks also but that’s another story… So what I like about it it’s the fact that you can come here and have a bit of everything. Like they say with love, Pitti is “what you love is and what you hate”, so the same thing applies to what I like and dislike about it. Sometimes it’s exactly the opposite end of the spectrum, so what I hate about it is the peacocking and the excess, the lack of personal style, the lack of personality.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Can I give four?

Sure.

Another place and opportunity.

***

Valentina Frugiuele, from Milano.

“A person can have style without following the rules“

GRIOT: Hi Valentina, do you remember the first time you used a camera?

The first time I used a camera I was 8 years old and I remember I took a picture of my school folder, and of my brother who was crying that day. I always used to shoot everything, everywhere. Then my father gave me my first Reflex. I was 16 years old.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

Yes, I mainly make fashion photography.

What do you like the most about your work?

Street style phototography, because it allows me to travel, to meet so many people and also have fun. Regarding fashion photography, I like working with a team in a studio and create more laid back storytelling.

What are you wearing today?

A white crop-top I bought at Topshop, shoes by Adidas and Zara shorts.
What’s the difference between fashion and style?

A person can be stylish and not necessarily fashionable. Fashion is made of all those rules that come every season from the runaways. A person can have style without following the rules.

Do you think to be a stylish person?

I have my own style, which is always sporty. But I also love fashion, since I work in this industry. I often try to adapt my style according to the trends.

What do you like and you don’t like about Pitti?

I like this concept of elegance and tailoring that you cannot find in other cities. Sometimes it’s maybe a bit excessive and it is difficult to find the right balance between the well-dressed men and the peacocks.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Food, Dolce Vita, sea.

***

Darrel Hunter from Modehunter, comes from London.

“Create emotions and get reactions.”
GRIOT: Hi Darrel, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

I actually picked up a camera for the first time when I was six or seven years old, but I can’t remember. I have always enjoyed having a camera in my hand and taking pictures. The first streetstyle picture I remember taking was about 8 years ago of my friend in Shoreditch and I thought, ‘Yeah, this is definitely what I want to do.’

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

No. I’m just a photographer, not specifically fashion.

What do you love the most about your work?

I like inspiration, whether it is fashion, travel, or portraits… I just like being inspired, seeing different looks and meeting different people, and overall being able to bring out their personality in a shot. And for me that’s the most important thing. Being able to create emotions and get reactions from people when they see your images. And also for myself to look at them and say, “I love that, I enjoy the shots”.

What are you wearing today?

Oh geez! The shoes are Bass Weejuns, the trousers by Marc Jacobs and the shirt is Charles Tyrwhitt I think.
Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Yes, definitely. I think fashion is very much a trend that goes and changes over the seasons. Style or people who have style transcend seasons or years, it’s literally something you have, something unique to you.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

No, I just wear what I like and what suits me, whether is in the trend or not.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

I think five or six years now.

What brings you here this season?

I’m here for myself, Modehunter, and some clients.

Is there something special you like or don’t like about Pitti?

No, I think I like everything about Pitti. I enjoy it. The weather, the people, even in the winter, I think it’s literally the Mecca of menswear, the epitome of styling. The fact that you get to meet the brands and the clients out close, it’s not something you get from a runway show, either touch the clothes and understand about people’s creativity. While here you can actually go around, speak to brands and learn more about them.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Romantic, artistic and stylish.

***

Charlene Williams [Charley], from Gentlemen Wear Daily. Former model Charley is from Trinidad and Tobago and she has lived in Italy for 26 years.

“I love inspiration from the people I meet.”
GRIOT: Hi Charley, do you recall the first time you used a camera?

Charlie: Five years ago when I launched Gentleman Wear Daily.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

I am more a street photographer.

What do you like the most about your work?

The inspiration I draw from the people I meet.

What’s the difference between fashion and style?

Fashion for me is just copying, people who just follow trends. It’s so boring. Style is something more personal.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

Five years.

What brings you here this season?

I’m here for myself, Gentlemen Wear Daily.

Is there something special you like or don’t about Pitti?

I don’t like when people who dress themeselves and behave only to catch the attention of other people and photographers.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Creativity, architecture, food.

***

David Nyanzi is from Uganda and based in London.

“I see myself as a people’s observer.”

Hi David, do you recall the first time you took a camera?

It was back in summer 2010, I was messing around with a friend’s camera and I was looking at some street style blogs, and I thought that I can do the same thing. My first picture was of a girl in Leeds, Yorkshire, and I looked at it and said to myself, “Maybe I can do this!”. And after that I just decided to do it and taught myself everything about photography.

Do you see yourself as a fashion photographer?

No, I see myself as a people’s observer.

What do you love the most about your work?

I like the travel part, and unrepetitiveness of the joke, you never know what you’re gonna do when you wake up in the morning, and who you’re gonna run into.

What are you wearing today?

I’m wearing  trousers by Hugo Boss, All Saints’s shoes and socks from Happy Socks.
Do you think there’s a difference between fashion and style?

Fashion is a trend, style is personal.

Do you see yourself as a stylish person?

I’m not stylish, I think I’m just cool.

How long have you been coming to Pitti?

This is my second time, the first time was in January 2017.

Is there something special you like or don’t about Pitti?

I like the mix match of cultures and styles, but what I love the most is the tailoring, and Pitti is about tailoring. I love the different types of tailoring you get here. There’s nothing I don’t like, maybe it’s too hot in the summer. That’s all, I like everything about Pitti, it’s all in one place. It’s my second time, so I don’t know yet what I don’t like.

Italy, Griot’s home. Three words to describe it.

Laid back, chilled and cool.

– by Johanne Affricot e Janine Gaëlle Dieudji | Edited by Celine Angbeletchy

Italian – Pitti Uomo 92 | Ecco cosa pensano e dicono 1o fotografi da seguire su Instagram.

All images | Janine Gaëlle Dieudji and Johanne Affricot

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