On October 25th, FASHION HEADLINE hosted a talk event titled "The Future of Photography: Exploring the Current State of Fashion & Art Editorials" at the art event "Ao-sando Art Fair." The guests included editor Masanobu Sugatsuke, Toshiko Nakajima, editor-in-chief of fashion magazine GINZA, and Mutsuko Ota, editorial director of photography magazine IMA. Facilitated by Sugatsuke, the talk discussed the current state and background of young art photographers who are not specialized in fashion photography and are active in the field of fashion photography. GINZA underwent a redesign about two years ago, shifting from photography that focused on fashion items themselves to visual expressions that convey the story of how the items are worn, dramatically increasing circulation. Nakajima introduced young photographers currently active in the field, including Takashi Yasumura, Ina Zhang, Ryan McGinley, and Jiro Konami. Yasumura, who has contributed to transforming GINZA's visual expression by showcasing his artistic talent in photographing bags and other items for brand tie-ups, also shot for IMA's Dior tie-up page. Ota also noted photographer Vivienne Sassen, describing her work as "half fashion, half art," praising her innovative approach. Nakajima said, "Even though art and fashion are closely related, fashion people tend to dislike art, saying, 'That's not fashion.' This stems from the fact that Japanese fashion magazines have tried to become like international magazines, which has prevented them from breaking away from existing fashion styles. Everyone's eyes have become gourmet these days, and it's photographers with artistic talent who are breaking through this barrier." The conversation turned to Ryan McGinley, who takes nude photos of friends and amateurs. Regarding the increasing number of photographers, such as Kyoji Takahashi and Megumi Seki, who solicit portraits from amateurs, Sugatsuke, who also works as an editor at the magazine "COMMERCIAL PHOTO," commented, "Young photographers are becoming more multi-channel in their approach to monetization." He also noted the free and flexible approach of today's photographers, saying, "More and more photographers, like Naoki Ishizaka, are switching between video and still photography." Ota cited the example of Motoyuki Daifu, who published a photobook of portraits of families living in messy rooms in New York. He commented, "Because photobooks don't sell well in Japan, some photographers are even publishing their first works with overseas publishers rather than Japanese ones." He spoke of the trend among young photographers who are looking to overseas markets from the start.
Regarding young photographer Konami Jiro, who started out producing zines, Nakajima recalled his experience photographing actress Rie Miyazawa for the April 2011 issue, saying, "He has a flexible sense of distance from his subjects. He gives friendly instructions that convey his mood, and he's calm. Everyone on set was drawn into his atmosphere and loved to photograph him." In response, Sugatsuke commented, "These photos show the 'natural' Miyazawa, unretouched. Konami's photos convey the freshness of his relationship with his subjects, and they don't look like they were professionally done. He's a 'super-good-but-bad' photographer who moves around freely without worrying about depth of field, but also has good lighting."
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