Following the sad passing of Will McBride last week, we revisit the second issue of AnOther Magazine for a beautiful fashion story, shot by McBride and styled by Alister Mackie. Here we speak to Mackie about what it was like shooting with the renowned documentary photographer, and his favourite of his works.
When did you first discover Will's work? What about it struck you?
I first discovered Will's work when I bought his book I, Will McBride. I was struck by the magnitude of how much he had done, it’s really an epic body of work. He was a champion of the counterculture and I especially loved his iconic 60s images.
What was the process like working together? What was the inspiration for the story?
In the story Will wanted to talk about violence in men, and spirituality. In one particular image we shot two brothers fighting while being filmed with a link to a TV set, which was Will’s comment on violence and the media influencing teenagers. We also did some shots of boys praying around Berlin, even one on the tube train. It was a very leftfield ad hoc process. Some of the guys he already knew because he had been painting them; we even shot in his painting studio. It was very spontaneous, we were just walking down the street when a friend of Will’s came by with a parrot on his shoulder, which we then borrowed for the picture.
"At moments he could be a little scary, flying into a rage against the “system”, then, in a second, he could be incredibly warm, fun and generous. The whole trip was an adventure" — Alister Mackie
It was unlike any other fashion shoot I had done before because it was more like documentary photography. He was an incredibly strong character, very unpredictable – still living with a radical 1960s ideology. At moments he could be a little scary, flying into a rage against the “system”, then, in a second, he could be incredibly warm, fun and generous. The whole trip was an adventure.
Besides the story, what are your favourite of Will's works and why?
I was incredibly lucky in that on the shoot Will gave me a beautiful print from 1964 of a boy and a girl lying in the heather. It’s one of my favourite images of all time, it’s so romantic and says so much about relationships. It is one of my most treasured possessions. I also have the print of the boy holding a dove which was given to me by Benjamin Huseby after they collaborated on a joint exhibition. Without doubt, Will McBride’s images are some of my favourites of all time. I think that he captured the feeling of freedom like no other in his 60s images, but there is so much more to his work. He talked about really big issues with a great sense of humanity.