Text: Susmitha Suresh    Photos: FWD Media

Fashion, Photography & the Streets. Staying sharp in casuals that are stylish and upbeat is no easy deal. Maybe that’s why most fashion shoots happen behind close doors, and on runways where the glamor is reflected off of the models with spotlights and camera techniques. Transcending beyond that, Kochi born celebrity photographer Sanoj Kumar shot a series on the theme ‘Step Up To Fashion’ with Shani Shaki as the model. With over 17 years in the field, his choice of the backdrop for the shoot was not specifically tailor made for the shots. They were grimy back alleys and bustling marketplaces, all bright with life but seemingly devoid of the glamor of fashion. The streets gave you the freedom to break out of stigma, the team explored it in fashion that defined the wearer no matter where they were.

Step off the pavement in white loafers that attracts all eyes. The streets are never too grimy for a splash of white.

With his leg up against the wall casually striking a pose of ease, the model stands out against the blant brown backdrop in his trendy simplistic attire.

When everyday gets a little too monotonous, why not spice it up by adding a denim jacket to your style.

The walls may be faded, there might be rust all around, yet style always makes it presence known.

Your style defines you, mark your presence in denim and light coloured casuals. Wear a pair of shades for that extra dash of oomph.

Amidst iron, oil and rust, the white loafers and the printed shirt mark a contrast. Fashion and photography can bring out glamour even in grimy, gritty, raw backdrops.

The costumes for the shoot from True Life was styled by Jackie. The model, Shani Shaki, being a photographer himself, knew how to pull off each look, even against the unusual backdrops he had to shoot in. An altogether multi talented personality, he recently ventured out into a new business called Dos Caminos Picture Company, a production house along with Director Vinay Govind. His style, and ease of carrying off the garments combined with the skilled photographers careful and artistic shots gave life to an array of photographs that are eye catchy and undeniably trendy.

Digital version : https://goo.gl/HGTOLN

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Anoodha Kunnath
Director, Curiouser

‘Curiouser’ that she is, Anoodha is charmed by Mattencherry’s crescendo of bustling streets and its handsomely quaint streets. Characteristically anexplorer, she fell in tune with a medley of casual and high-street, influences that she picked up from the sprawling souks and malls in Muscat, where she grew up. Across the sea, her journeys to the rural villages of India instilled in her a sense of nonchalant fashion. “A lot of style has been inspired by indigenous fashion, like mismatched blouses,” she notes. Similar to her compositions and frames, she looks into subtlety in her ensembles. Her anime eyes lit up when she reminisces her fashion crush – her Sudanese neighbour who used to sashay on the streets with her cascading kaftans and matching lipsticks. After relocating to Kerala, her trysts with linen and cottons have gone beyond an acquaintance, and she jests about being in a live-in relationship withher palazzos and cotton dresses. What would she never be caught wearing, she quickly quipped, “Those bright orange Om-print shirts!”

SHANI SHAKI
Photographer and Restaurateur,Qissa

Shani is unapologetically fashionable. Seated comfortably in a pair of paisley trousers and a charcoal gray Fedora, he muses, “You can buy fashion, but never style.” When asked what surprises him with style, he picks men’s impeccable street style in Milan and Ranveer Singh’s fashion audacity. He enjoys sitting at an outdoor café and taking the role of a flâneur, observing the parade of high end fashion on the streets. Being a photographer, travelling has become a part of his agenda. Unlike being ensconced in the walls of hotels, travel to him is where he gets to meet people, engage in conversations and explore streets and local haunts while soaking in styles and fashion from
different cultures. To him the streets flaunt its beauty with the way lights fall on it, something truly photographic to him. One of his favourite treasures from one of his trips abroad was, “A vintage bird cage I bought in Budapest.” Fresh off his memory, Budapest is lined with a stunning meta-story for him to re-discover and re- capture.

ANN BENJAMAN
Chocolatier, A’s Chocolate Factory

While stiletto heels are a constant in high-street fashion, Ann is rather comfortable in a pair of her Prada platform shoes; a style making its way back in trend. She loves the fashion culture of sunny Dubai for its myriad pool of trends and style. Yet, something she feels swears by for summers is her undeniable loyalty for cotton.

KIM HASSAN
Couture Designer, Kim India

He adorns matching buttons to his tartan trousers and claims that his blazing orange hair is all natural. Kim remembers, “Once while on a trip to Vietnam, this girl rushed to me and asked if she could take a selfie with me. She had the hair colour as mine. I guess orange is the new black.” If Kim’s luggage is ever misplaced, you wouldn’t need a passport for identification; you just have to look into his suitcase. Classic beige trousers, crisp white and blue shirts, khakis … and pink socks. Kim is a fan of fashion from the streets of Moscow, Russia, where women and men cleverly pair formal with casual, as well as the ‘effortless’ style in the Philippine. He believes that a fine belt is a shortcut to high fashion, as well as a shiny pair of shoes. What’s a fashion jaywalking crime to him? You will never catch him on the streets wearing “floral pants.”

Preeti Nambiar
Chief Consultant & Founder, Banyan Tree

Her street fashion moment? While in Rome on a holiday once, Preeti spotted a woman sashay down a flight of stairs in a pink dress, her dress flounced in the gentle breeze – the Ellie Saab moment. At For Kochi, she whizzed in a dhoti and a Danish milkmaid braid while catching up for a coffee date with us. She looked straight out of a catalogue from the Marathi Theatre Association. Faux statement, but her attire was far from a faux pas. This funky ethnic outfit was an inspiration by readymade dhotis which characters used in plays to swiftly change their attires. Interestingly, this ensemble was tailored at a temple. Tokyo and Milan’s street fashion is eclectic and electric to her. So watch out for her fearless fashion looks – could be the D&G power prints and opulent accessories look or a traditional chattu-mundu to beat the heat.

Tanya Abraham
Art Curator, Kashi Café

Beyond the art galleries, the streets are books with endless narratives that illustrate antiquity, tradition, art and alsostyle. The wanderlust in Tanya relaxes on the beaches of islands far, far away that also love their art and fashion. Like Thailand and Sri Lanka. She is a fan of aesthetic fashion, such as the batik prints available in these nations. Her jewellery is a collection that constitute a rainbow of materials like bone, stones and glass. In her trove is a set of wooden bangles she picked up on a trip to Vietnam. She’s even put a spin to the traditional Keralite kashumala, stringing small coins on a thin chain and giving it a versatile and contemporary look. What she loves most about street fashion is the chance to catch something out of the blue. “I once saw a woman wear a khadi kurta with white straight cut pants, which I found quite interesting. Another time I saw this woman wearing a necklace that had huge crystal chunks interwoven with jute threads. I just had to go up to her and compliment her; which I did.” Now, that’s street art appeal.

Nuthan Manohar
Yoga Specialist, Me Met Me

As Madonna sings ‘strike a pose’, Nuthan can get into any complex matsyendrasannas (spinal twist yoga pose). She laughs it off by saying she doesn’t like clothes with ‘joints.’ Her fashion code is free-spirited, from sarongs to halter necks and a pair of comfortable footwear. She loves ‘sole wandering’ in the flea markets of Seoul and Hong Kong. She picked her favourite sun dressfrom one of those streets. Nuthan loves the Hanuman yoga wear and
cardigan. Always on t he run, from her yoga studio to workshops, she finds the key to comfort dressing in pants – harem to cotton.

Conceptualisation and Words by Atheena Wilson     Photographs by FWD Media

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