Scott Schuman by Anne Strömberg - Textile and Fashion Management

Scott Schuman
Fashion
The new
Photographer

The Sartorialist, or Scott Schuman, was born in Indiana, studied at Indiana University
and majoring in Apparel Merchandising. He also has a minor in Costume Construction
and this was the beginning of his love for the craft of fashion and the understanding
of hard work for bespoke suits or couture gowns. (www.thesartorialist.com/bio.html)
Scott Shuman worked for fifteen
years in the fashion industry
before he started The Sartorialist.
He worked in sales and marketing
for high-end women’s designer
collections like Valentino
and distribution companies like
Onward Kashiyama. At that time
Onward Kashiyama represented
designers like Helmut Lang and
Jean-Paul Gaultier. During his
work life in fashion he always felt
that it was a big disconnection be-
1
tween the clothes he was marketing
and selling and what people,
people he thought looked really
cool, actually wore in real life. He
continued his career with opening
his own showroom for young
designers. He specialized in sales
and press working with merchandising,
promoting and brand
building for these new designers.
Shortly after 9/11 he closed his
showroom and started to focus
more on photography, though, he
never wanted to be an ordinary
fashion photographer. (www.
thesartorialist.com/bio.html)
One morning in 2005, while
looking after his daughters, because
their nanny had moved back
to Honduras, he took his camera
and headed out to Manhattan’s
Meatpacking District and shot
people on the streets (http://
women.timesonline.co.uk). He
combined his love for fashion and
photography with his feeling of
disconnection between the fashion
industry and real life people
fashion, and started the blog, The
Sartorialist. (www.nypost.com)

Si gnature/Style
Scott Schuman shoot people on
the streets the way designers look
at people and the way they, themselves,
hunt for inspiration. In the
process he feels like he gives inspiration
to a lot of people. Designers
look at outfits in an abstract way
with concepts of colour, proportion,
patterns and mixed genres,
not as a yes or no. This way of
shooting people has resulted in
designers using The Sartorialists
photos as inspiration as well as
everyday people saying they have
been inspired by seeing themselves
or others in a new way (www.
thesartorialist.com/bio.html).
He is inspired by August Sander,
a German photographer from
the first half of the twentieth
century, that strove for por-
trait photographs that where
sharp, clear and free from manipulation
and retouching
(http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/augustsander/sander.htm).
Scott says
that, when looking at this picture,
he used to wonder why he was
standing in this empty street and
what person he was like and so on.
(http://thesartorialist.blogspot.
com/2007_04_01_archive.
html#8444985737375191905)
Schumans style are at times unlikely
and he is not always interested
in trends or try to fix style
missteps. Instead he notices details
and personal styles, it could
be a red scarf matched with a herringbone
coat or something as
simple as a pair of purple tights.
(http://www.nypost.com/p/
entertainment/item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP)
Sh ooting modes
Scott Schuman travels around
the world looking for interesting
people to shoot in the streets.
Locations and models range from
old men in Harlem, businessmen
on Wall Street to young people
in Stockholm and famous designer
or editors in Paris, London.
(www.thesartorialist.com)
Since his breakthrough with
the blog, The Sartorialist, he is
also a given guest on all fashion
shows and fashion weeks shooting
other guests, celebrities and
models. Scott Schuman´s passion
has gained a huge reputation
amongst editors and fashion
insiders. To describe his greatness
within the fashion industry
New York Post web magazine
told of an anecdote: “During Fall
Fashion Week, Carine Roitfeld,
editor-in-chief of French Vogue,
stopped him on the street in Paris
to cheekily tell him, “We love you,
but take more pictures of me.””
(http://www.nypost.com/p/
entertainment/item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP).
2

3
Cu stomer base
Fashion interested people in general,
fashion magazines, fashion companies,
designers looking for inspiration.
Other photographic areas
Scott Schuman also makes videos
from different fashion shows and
other fashion events for style.com
(www.thesartorialist.com/bio.html ).
B ooks/Publications
The book, The Sartorialist, was published
in September 2009 by Penguin. Schuman
rejected similar offers from other
publishers before because they were unable
to meet his requirements. (http://
women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_
style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1) When
releasing the book in New York he set up
a pop-up shop at Barneys called The SatoriaLUST.
Here you could find a mix of
clothes and accessories from Barney’s entire
men’s store. He also collaborated with
brands like Boglioli, Roda and Al Bazar
on a few special items that would be sold
exclusively at The SatoriaLUST, basically
everything a Satorialist would lust for.
Su ccess factors
In a time when traditional style icons are
photographed and Photoshopped to limits
that makes them unreal, Schuman celebrates
the real people, who still have integrity
and can intrigue our imaginations.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)
Designer Michael Bastian says that: "Scott's
hidden talent is that he can be on any New
York City block and instinctively find
that one person that is doing something
valid or new”, and continues, "It's always
very unstudied or real, like a sixth sense."
(www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/
item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP)
Scott has an eye for the subtler people
whose looks are a mix of styles. He finds
these people that maybe are a little out of
fashion in terms of trends and shapes the
future instead of reflect on how it is today.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)
Mo st known for
Scott Schuman is not doing something new,
his own predecessors, the Seeberger brothers,
Parisian postcard photographers shooting
society upper class, are now seen as fashion
photography forebears. Followers have
also emerged, but he is the only one who is
not favouring the trendy over the stylish and
the first photographer of this kind who has
made a name of himself in the internet age.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
e ce ?token=null&off set=0&page=1)
Fashion blogs are popping up in a vast
extent and in this blur The Sartorialist
sticks out for its lack of judgements.
(http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP)
US Vogue´s European editor, Hamish
Bowles, describes it like this: “Scott’s pictures
are compelling documents of the way
today’s stylish people put themselves together”
and continues, “These aren’t manufactured
looks that have been contrived
with the help of stylists; this is how his subjects
actually dress themselves. That’s what
makes them so intriguing and inspiring.”
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)

Pr emium customer
The brand image is fashionable street wear style
worn in a personal way that can give inspiration
to people both within the fashion industry
and to people interested in fashion. Scott
Shuman always interprets this in his pictures by
travelling around the world to big cities where he
thinks he can find exactly this and taking photos
when he finds something that catches his interest.
All pictures on The Sartorialist blog are
always from real life straight from the streets.
Ca mpaigns
The Sartorialist for
Burberry – Art of the Trench
Scott Schuman shot images for Burberrys social
networking site that showed on-the-street pictures
of different trench coats from the brand. On
the site you could vote for the trench you liked
and interact even more by leaving comments.
(http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/11/
the_sartorialists_campaign_lis.html)
Spring/Summer 2009 Ad campaign for DKNY
Jeans
This was Scott Schumans first time shooting a
major campaign and the ads showcase a mix of
New York celebrities including, Sean Lennon,
Daisy Lowe and Chanel Iman. Pictures show
one or two persons caught-on-the-street style
in each photograph, instead of the usual group
format. The idea was to highlight a wide variety
of personal styles that easily could be translated
from the New York streets to a suburban mall by
shooting a mix of “real people” and well known
figures. They thought that Scott would be perfect
to shoot the campaign and say that: “He brings
such a freshness to street style”. The ad campaign
began with the February issues of, for example,
In Style, Elle, GQ and Details and online as well
as on billboards across U.S. Mexico and Canada.
(http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2008/12/
sartorialist-shoots-dkny-jeans.html) Vogue.
com writes: “Taking the street style of New
York(Schumans original sartorial stomping
ground), as inspiration, the result is a series of
images which, with manipulated Polaroid edges,
have a vivid and literal quality and capture
the “edgy spirit” of DKNY Jeans.” (http://
www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/090204dkny-launch-new-campaign.aspx)
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Saba Campaign
Like Schulmans blog the idea of the campaign was
to shoot real people in the world’s fashion capitals.
They gave Scott free reign to shoot who he wanted
and via his blog he invited people to meet him at
a local restaurant. Finally he had chosen 17 people
with different backgrounds, ages and fashion
influences, both ordinary and famous people,
including footballer Brad Miller and the first
editor of Australian Vouge Sheila Scotter. For
the campaign Saba set up a temporary blog
for one month. They will also run it on fashion
magazines, newspapers and websites as well
as setting up a pop-up gallery space in Melbourne
that will display the images. (http://
www.bandt.com.au/news/ec/0c0628ec.asp)
Ho w t h e c o mmun i c a t e d v a l u e s
have had impact on culture or society
I believe that all people, from all different
ethical and cultural backgrounds, from all different
groups in the society and with all different
professions are represented in the photographs.
He shows us that fashion is something that is
represented by all people not only the big fashion
houses; everyone is his or her own brand in a way and
has the power to show it however he or she wants.
Scott has created a buzz and dialogue with his
photos and enthusiasts give feedback and debate
looks regularly on the blog. “Wow! What a
silhouette – and what a face!”, “I love how the
French have turned looking amazing into a
National Anthem”, and “Does anyone know
where to buy those boots that tie up from
the leg? I would love to buy them!!!!!!!!”
are representative for comments written.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
e c e ? t o k e n = n u l l & o f f s e t = 0 & p a g e = 1 )
More than ever people are looking to other
people and studying them for inspiration, says
booking editor at Harper´s Bazaar Katie Baron,
who organises shoots with the most successful
photographers. When in economic crisis
it is necessary for people to be more creative if
they want to stay original and watching people
is the most ideal way of looking for inspiration.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1) Schuman
has made this more accessible and feasible for
all people, wherever they are and whenever they
want it. If I am in Gothenburg I can see what
people wear in the streets in fashion capital Paris.
Skaters, secretaries, schoolchildren, businessmen
and workmen are all represented on the blog
and some of Schumans best photos are of stylish
pensioners. Some says that it is unimportant
to the world and silly while others react with,
Wow, I want to look like that when I get older.
(http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_
and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)

How campaigns have
enhanced the value of the
brand and the appreciation
of the photographer.
The campaigns all follow the
idea of showing the products in
a street fashion way and this is
also The Sartorialists signature
style or brand image. Therefore
I believe that the campaigns
have strengthened the value of
the brand by being a sign for the
viewers, of Scott Schuman position
within the industry. And by
only shooting campaigns that is
in line with the brand and idea
of The Sartorialist blog he gains
credibility and the brand becomes
strong and trustworthy.
Discussion/Conclusion
In a time where internet provides
us with a wide range of different
ways to express ourselves and
where it is only you who set the
limit for what can be done in the
sense of being seen on the web,
Scott Shuman has become, according
to me, the new fashion
photographer. Also, in a time
when we are tired of retouching
and manipulated ideals, he gives
us fashion in a “real way”, straight
from the streets. This is one reason
why he now has so much influence
in the industry. We want
the real thing; we see through
the fakes and want inspiration
from people that are realistic. Everyone
can find something that
suites them on The Sartorialist. .
Scott Shuman himself says that it
is one simple reason to why he has
become so successful; “Everyone
likes peoplewatching”. Another
is, he says, that he mixes ordinary
people with celebrities and writes
positive comments about them.
He does not take many pictures in
a day, because he is very picky, this
enables a selection of pictures that
are very good. (http://www.thesartorialist.com/pdf/afton.pdf
)
The fact that he is picky when it
comes to who he shoots creates a
blog with high quality from which
viewers always can expect the best.
A blog is very subjective and this
is also the fact with The Sartorialist.
The people he shoots may not
be the people you or I necessarily
would chose. Though, Scott
Schuman do not only choose
people who wears something
that is trendy for the moment,
he chooses people who is interesting
with either a very
personal style, well tailored
clothes, a fun detail etc.
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Instead of being a trend follower,
which many of today fashion
blogs are, he finds future trends
and inspiration in his pictures.
I would want to call him the new
type of fashion photographer.
The type who do not need a big
set for his pictures or a particular
kind of person or mood, but
who instead finds his subject
in the real world in a place
they really live and with
clothes they actually wear.
Personally, I believe that his
background within the industry
has provided him with an overall
knowledge and experience
that he probably never had managed
without. Or at least it has
References
Internet:
been a great advantage for him
in his work with The Sartorialist.
As he also has said: "I had no one
to talk fashion with, so I taught
myself ", I think made him very
independent as a person and
also a person who do not see any
obstacles. If you want to learn
or do something it is only yourself
who sets the boundaries.
(www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP
// Anne Strömberg
http://www.bandt.com.au/news/ec/0c0628ec.asp
2010-01-07
http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2009/11/the_sartorialists_campaign_lis.html
2010-01-07
www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/item_M6fFIjBv73FkvXl2Nfh7fP
2009-12-05
www.thesartorialist.com/bio.html
2009-12-10
http://www.thesartorialist.com/pdf/afton.pdf
2010-01-07
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2008/12/sartorialist-shoots-dkny-jeans.html
2010-01-07
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html#8444985737375191905
2009-12-10
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1)
2009-12-06
http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5874273.
ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2
2009-12-06
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/090204-dkny-launch-new-campaign.aspx
2010-01-07