The musician and photographer have selected a series of images from Magnum Photos’ iconic archive, along with curator Antwuan Sargent and architect Carl Gerges
Luxury fashion platform FARFETCH has this week launched a new international photography experience. The project, titled The Art of Choice, celebrates the street style of the past, with four pop culture auteurs selecting the most vibrant and timeless images from the iconic Magnum archives.
The chosen curators are musician FKA twigs, photographer Tyler Mitchell and architect Carl Gerges, with critic and curator Antwaun Sargent also supporting. Their selections are themed by location, acting as an “ode to the people, places and style” of the cities they love. For FKA twigs, this is London; for Tyler Mitchell, it’s New York; and for Carl Gerges, it’s Dubai. The images will be on impromptu display for 24 hours in their city of choice, as well as online.
“The Art of Choice introduces the idea of an advertising campaign drawing on nothing short of the history of modern photography,” says Ronojoy Dam, the global brand and culture director of FARFETCH. By featuring some of the world’s most renowned photographers, and reflecting on the historical street style of a variety of different countries, the platform hopes to empower more diverse fashion perspectives. “We hope this simple act is a small way of celebrating that,” adds Dam.
FARFETCH has joined forces with Magnum for the campaign, which is home to the most groundbreaking photojournalism of the last century. The majority of selected images come from the 1960s and 70s: in Tyler Mitchell’s curation, we see Ernest Cole’s joy-filled street shots of Manhattan; Alex Webb’s lively, immaculately composed vision of Coney Island; and Richard Kalvar’s transportive images of Central Park. Representing London, FKA twigs selects Chris Steele-Perkin’s photos of 70s Brixton, David Hum’s 60s pub scenes, and Peter Marlow’s mid-century snapshots of Notting Hill Carnival. And finally, musician and architect Carl Gerges paints a broader portrait of the Middle East, selecting work from Eve Arnold, Bruno Barbey and Marc Riboud. All the featured subjects wear pieces that reflect, and inform, the categories of clothes we wear today.
The project will also extend digitally to other cities – including Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, Moscow, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo – via the FARFETCH community and curatorial Instagram accounts. “The Art of Choice is a fun and inspirational way to look back at timeless images of people and style for today’s fashion inspiration,” says Holli Rogers, chief brand officer of FARFETCH. It also comes at the perfect time. “We’ve all been through this extraordinary period in time where so much has changed and we’ve reflected on what’s important to each of us. I believe this will translate into people wanting to express themselves in different ways through fashion – gravitating towards choices which are unique to them, and informed by their own experience and that of the people who have inspired them from times past.”
Find out more about The Art of Choice project on FARFETCH’s official website.
