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Scott Schuman in India
Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist, is often lauded for his ability to identify trends or even influence the direction of fashion. What is not often enough noted is the astonishing consistency of his output and the quality of his art. Next to the high-gloss, technically impeccable photography of fellow bloggers like Aun Koh, who shoots meat pies as though they were perfume bottles, Schuman is perhaps a little staid: his subjects are centered in frame, and the depth of field is zero-sum—either shallow or deep. The beauty of his approach doesn’t lie in the surface of the final image, but rather the curatorial control over it, and the precision and persuasiveness of their presentation. His discipline in this respect is amply demonstrated by his March series in India, where the breadth of his vision takes in all manner of styles and details: not only identifying personalities and their wardrobes, but capturing them in their most fully composite state, in each frame embodying the most perfectly complete attitude that those clothes aspire to communicate. Some highlights from the New Delhi series —
- More or less Palm Beach
- Mode à Macchio
- Slimane and snacks
- And interlocking patterns (the basis for this illustration); and the same shoes for an entirely different effect.
