Phillip Wong Photography

Editorial

Mixer Magazine – Tortured Souls – Five Doors – Personals

         MixMag changed their name to Mixer Magazine while I was shooting fashion and profile images for their DJ-focused and music event oriented publication.  I wanted to show the differences

        Tortured Souls was one of a number of fashion editorials I did for them based on whimsical stories we thought would be different in approach to mainstream fashion.

          It was released in early Spring, but had to be produced immediately after New Year, and I shot it on New York streets on a cold, windy, wet night. I usually didn’t abuse models like this but was grateful for their participation and support. 

          The clothes were all showy, nightlife, pulled together because the publication had so little production time or resources, but I wanted to create the feeling of illusion and excitement of the night world. 

          But Mixer had a whimsical, ironic approach to fashion and Five Doors and Personals mocked parts of society that it’s readers had knowledge and relationship of.

Phillip Wong Photography

Editorial

A Magazine

           “A” Magazine was a publication aimed at a younger Asian audience. I was asked to do this shoot with a group of Asian models and actors who were cast by the editors of the publication.

          It was interesting for me, because while I have an extensive knowledge and understanding of race, color, diversity identities, it has always been from an “outsider’s” perspective. This project gave me another view.

Phillip Wong Photography

Editorial

Pellice Moda – Rail Yard

      In working with luxury goods, and in luxury environments, I’ve always been aware of contrasts between the most valuable of items, the people who wear them, the people who create them, and what creates the idea of “luxury.”

           Contrasting the luxury of furs and the Old World that embraced that idea of luxury, with the age and romanticism of that world – I convinced my editors at Pellice Moda, that the editorial story would have beauty, interest and appeal. They introduced me to Nadya Khamnipour, a stylist who’s work I loved – lush, whimsical, contrary, resisting cliche,  her combinations of accessories with textured clothing created a balance with my need to focus on the evocation of emotion, or a stark, textural landscape.

Phillip Wong Photography

Editorial

Italian Vogue – Intense Silhouette

          I used to describe the difference between working for European publications with America publications like this: In Europe, as a photographer, an artist, a creative, someone outside, with a wide mix of influences and resources, I could propose something, and while editors might not understand completely, they trusted in that background and allowed me to produce the piece.

         In America, I described publications as having a “Donald Trump mentality.” The people in offices, cloistered and separated from the trends and developments and people on the ground, dictated that “this was the way it was.” This was the way it was going to be. And because I was simply hired with a camera – I would do what I was told. (I was defining this “corporate” way of looking at the world, in the 1990s). 

       Italian Vogue editors didn’t always understand what I was trying to describe (a cross between imperfect Italian and overly complex English), but they often let me go ahead. They had products or trends or parameters which they wanted to cover (they had writers already working on an article), but they were looking for “creative,” “different,” “interesting,” visual images.  (Not surprisingly, those were some of the first words I learned in Italian.)

         I had been looking at textile shops and in New York, found some stretchy tubular material (I later found was used for undershirts), and bought a few rolls of it. In Milano, I tried wrapping it, and liked the form-fitting quality of the material – but didn’t see what I could do with it.

         Alberto Nodolini, and Luca Stoppini, handed me off to Vogue Pelle to shoot some handbags for a story. I saw the stark composition and silhouette of the bags, and wanted to contrast it with the forms, shapes and curves of the human form.

         The difficulty of accessories has always been the proportional difference between any accessory and the human body. When other items are added to the mix – they can create distractions.

          They let me run with this:

Phillip Wong Photography

Fashion/Editorial

Blitz Magazine – Brands

          While I have worked for established publications and designers, I have also sought to work with smaller, newer, developing and potentially influential magazines and designers.

          In London, The Face, ID, and Blitz came from the street to make influential statements in graphic design, photography and styling. The editors and graphic designers at the emerging publications shaped the publishing of France, Italy, Britain and New York as their work was recognized.

         Neville Brody, at The Face, commented on my choice of framing and composition, as editors from all three publications called when I went back to Milan, and they wanted content from the Continent.

              Branded was conceived by Blitz in London, but as all these publications were constantly on a tight schedule, they gave me a day to plan, shoot and send the material back to London.

           I was given a handful of branded items, booked friends who were available that night, shot everything on black and white Polaroid film, turned everything around in hours and had it going back to London by morning.  It reminded me of spot news photography in speed and production.

        The graphics on the vertical page sides echoed the the extreme sharpness of lighting and starkness of the black and white but was done in London.