As far as fashion blogging goes, Yvan Rodic, the Sartorialist of London, better known as Facehunter, is taking over the world. First an internationally acclaimed street fashion blog, Vogue contributions, sitting front-row at fashion weeks, and now in a move that screams “you’ve made it” for any blogger, he’s releasing a book.
Facehunter is a compilation of Rodic’s photography spanning four years and thirty cities. Online, Facehunter.blogspot.com has a tendency to blend in with other similar sites, but seen in print, Rodic’s work is disarming and unique. The arrangement is perfection, each spread hits you with two photographs connected by a whimsical humanistic quality; a corresponding expression, proportion, or texture. A standout shot of a girl in a cotton vest layered under a black rope dress is set opposite a one of a man on crutches wearing a vest, tailored shorts, 1920s style flop hat, a leather boot and a white cast. The clothes are great, both looks are simple yet aesthetically ingenious, but it’s the poses completing the captivating effect—both of them dancing with the same awkward exuberance.
Facehunter is less about fashion, more about style. “You can’t seduce me with an It-bag,” writes Rodic. “Sorry guys—I’m more interested in personality, charisma, madness and creativity.” It’s a coffee table piece representative of the changing structure of fashion, where the new style frontline isn’t the runway but the street corner: trendsetting from the ground up. On style in our capital, Rodic observes: “British street style is without a doubt the most influential in the world. You’ll find people copying Londoners in every country, but you will never see a Londoner following the aesthetic of another city.”
By Lillian He
Facehunter by Yvan Rodic will be released in the UK on 15 March 2010 by Thames & Hudson, £14.95 hardback.
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