All images Isabel Martinez for W Magazine, courtesy of Isabel Martinez
Isabel Martinez is a photographer, creative director and social media fashion influencer (@IsabelitaVirtual). She is frequently commissioned to photograph backstage during fashion weeks. Isabel provided her point of view on the experience for Models.com.
I don’t think there’s any better definition of what a backstage photographer’s work consists of than the one the Australian photographer, Sonny Vandevelde, gave me only a few days ago – “Shooting backstage is like documenting a war zone, except everyone’s gorgeous”.
Sonny’s a member of that small band of photographers allowed access to the entrails of the fashion world in those minutes just before a show, amid all the bustle, the tension and the nerves.
He snapped his first backstage pictures about 25 years ago in Sydney, where he was the official photographer for Harper’s Bazaar at the time. He, like many of his fellow photographers, has seen how the industry has changed dramatically since then: “Body mass index, the opening up of shows to the public via front-row bloggers, the ever more hectic pace”. He recalls the good times with more than a hint of nostalgia, “I especially remember the Galliano shows when he was still at the helm–you always just knew that you were about to witness and document a very special moment”.
About 2 years ago, I myself gained admission to this same world. I was the first instagrammer to be present backstage at the Haute Couture shows in Paris. Viktor & Rolf were presenting their ironic “Red Carpet” collection and, all around me, photographers were hurrying after the models, desperately trying to capture a photo which would stand out from those of their colleagues. Little did I realise at the time that I’d bump into these same professionals at every show, in every country, season after season. They were a breed of backstage celebrity that nobody knows about.
Photo: Isabel Martinez for W Magazine
I have to say that I wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. That, I understand. I was probably seen as an intruder, a product of the digital invasion, capable of little more than being a nuisance. Over time, that opinion changed which is why I’m now able to write these lines.
The first person I got to know was Kevin Tachman. At the Chanel Fall/Winter Haute Couture Show 2015, he was right next to me, glanced at my cell phone and asked sarcastically, “Does it have batteries?”. Later, I learned that Kevin is something of a golden boy backstage, with access to the “First Looks” of all the major labels, well almost all. He knows the models, the security chiefs, the make-up artists, the heads of communication.
Kevin loves his work, enjoying his role, and among his lucky charms is a monkey which hangs from his lens, highly fitting in this fashion jungle. He admits to being a huge fan of Pari Dukovic’s and Chris Anderson’s backstage work as they “deliver something different, but always in their own voice,” but continuing to deliver something distinctive is getting more and more difficult, “Everything’s faster than ever before, but we keep doing our best to create quality images”.
The dramatic lighting conditions backstage together with a smartphone aren’t what you’d call the ideal combination for obtaining work of the highest quality, so I’ve recently begun using an Olympus, light and user-friendly, which has had the effect of reducing the anger of at least some of my companions. Others, like Landon Nordeman, have always shown respect, perhaps because Landon himself used to use Instagram as a source of inspiration, and also because he thinks that talent has nothing to do with the camera, but instead depends on the eyes of the one using it. His own photos, similar in style to the spontaneity of Larry Fink, reflect another side of fashion.
As for the rapid “invasion” which backstage has experienced, Landon is clear about the reason – “Everyone’s a photographer now”.
Does taking photos make us photographers? I don’t think that’s the right question. The real question is whether the photos we disseminate make us content generators. That’s the great digital revolution.
Photo: Isabel Martinez for W Magazine
Backstage has its paradoxes. On the same sign you can read the words “No social media at any aspects of the event” and then just above that, the hashtag for posting photos of the event. Anyone with a cell phone can spread images in seconds. From dressers and make-up artists to models.
During the SS16 Chanel show, the model Jade de Lavareille strapped on a camera to take us behind the scenes at the 2015 Chanel fall show. Recently, the Paris-based sound designer, Michel Gaubert, took over Self Service magazine’s Instagram account during the J.W. Anderson show. And it goes without saying that acting on the spur of the moment such as uploading a photo and getting 500,000 “likes”, as Gigi Hadid does.
Photo: Isabel Martinez for W Magazine
Certain fashion houses put on a simple set for the in-house photographer, while other professionals, squeezed together, are given a mere 5 minutes to carry out their work. Inconsistency, once again.
We’re going through a period which is not only impassioned, but also confusing. The brands, particularly those which have a long history behind them, have lost their way a little. Priorities have changed as well and it can seem as if more importance is attached to the image that a blogger can upload than the work of a professional photographer whose creative vision elevated the label to its rightful place. With this in mind, Landon states, “I’ll never forget the security guard in Milan who told me, “Go in the cage”.
But who can stem the tide? Perhaps the problem lies in the fact that backstage continues to function in the same way it did 20 years ago. Maybe now’s the time to put in place a system of communication, creation and dissemination of images which is more in keeping with the times.
Despite everything, these unknown backstage heroes keep on circulating during fashion weeks, which is exhausting even for veteran photographers like James Cochrane who, before becoming involved in backstage fashion, shot news features in the Balkans in the mid-to-late 90s. He describes what it feels like: “Running a daily half-marathon with 16kg of camera gear for a month, shooting 80,000 at 160 shows in 4 different cities, hoping you don’t suffer a technical failure, equipment theft, loss of internet, or a flight cancellation…or forget to skype your daughter before 8pm bedtime”. There’s no doubt that those who soldier on deserve credit.
Photo: Isabel Martinez for W Magazine
Female backstage photographers are few in number, but an interesting fact is that it was a woman, Roxanne Lowit, who made backstage photography popular back in the 80s, according to Schohaya, the German photographer whose atmospheric pictures and special effects are easily recognizable. Regarding the “sporting” element of her work she says, “I’m quite sporty by nature. I love the intensity, the tension, the challenge of obtaining good pictures whatever the conditions”.
In spite of this maelstrom in which they’re submerged, the invisible stars of backstage photography still fight to justify why they’re there, and now more than ever, they need to keep on showing the most creative, beautiful and magical side of fashion.
