Alexi Lubomirski .. THE INTERVIEW

Doing what I do affords me many intangible assets; some of them being self- gratification, access to authors, designers, genuine influencers and some of the greatest fashion and fashion related books that ever come to print.

This interview was posted almost 2 years ago upon release of Alexi Lubomirski's book Diverse Beauty but since then, Alexi has most recently been enjoying some extraordinary new attention caused by being named photographer of the year by The Daily Front Row  and of course his appointment as the official photographer for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In case you were wondering what else and who else Aexi works with then you need to know he has become an established name within the fashion industry with an impressive client list like Harpers Bazaar US, Harpers Bazaar UK, Vogue Mexico, Vogue Germany, Vogue Russia, Vogue Spain, Vogue Korea, Vogue China, Vogue Nippon, Men’s Vogue China, Numero Tokyo, W Korea, GQ USA and Allure.
He has also become a favorite with celebrities such as Beyoncé, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lopez, Selma Hayek, Katy Perry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson

As far as access, let's speak of the books that are offered to me for review and in turn the access that is can happen when an author actually finds me to thank me for said review. Furthering the point or possibly increasing my gratification is that these moments offer me the chance of forging a new friendship so many people who i might never have come inn contact with.

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So, with all this in mind, today is to honor a new friend whose name is Alexi Lubomirski. Not only is he a celebrated photographer but he is also an accomplished author, father, and husband, humanitarian and now a newly found friend. It is a rare find to meet people who are as gracious and forthcoming as he, let alone one who has achieved notoriety but has not lost sight of being a human being who walks among us; in other words he is humble, self-deprecating and genuinely generous on all levels.

So, it was my great honor that he consented to speak to me on this occasion which serves as a celebration of his oeuvre which now includes his latest book DIVERSE BEAUTY which was released in October 2016. 

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Jeffrey Felner: Will you share one of most memorable assignments, projects or collaborators and tell us what and why?

Alexi Lubomirski:  I love the challenges of shooting different characters every day. One day you get to shoot a model and you can create any character you want.  The next day you shoot an actress who has more boundaries involved with the shoot, whether it is because they don’t want to be shown in a certain way, or they have insecurities, or they have zero time to give you.  Sometimes though, they give you something that you could not plan for and this is when it gets fun.  Shooting Lupita Nyong’o was one such subject.  We had set the lights and the props.  We had each shot planned out and we had a certain time limit.  Then she comes on set and rather than just “slotting in” to the pre prepared shot, she came on set and blasted all that was planned out of the water with her presence.  She has such a radiance that you almost don’t need anything to “help” her in the shot.  She dances, she has an incredible smile, there is a natural ease to her.  Those are the shoots where it is just 100% pleasure and not work. 

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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why?

AL: Firstly I can’t do a dinner with more than 4 people, so someone would have to drop!  Anymore than 4 people and it becomes a larger group of small talk rather than in smaller group of in depth conversation. In truth, I always prefer a one on one! I am terribly antisocial outside of work hours and always prefer to be with my wife and sons, but if I am forced to go out, then I try to get as in depth as possible in to that new person’s life and what they do and why… I try to learn as much as possible about that person.

So in order to learn something, and be as nosy as possible into each of their lives, my choices would be: 1-My paternal grandfather.  I never met him and he was the last link to the polish part of my ancestry and everything the title stood for.  Every description about him, from various people, always describes him as an elegant, charming, patriotic, gentleman and someone who was the very definition of what a prince should be. 2-An “in the field” representative of the charity Concern Worldwide.  I am an ambassador for Concern and when I have talked to people who have been in the field, you are massively inspired to do more.  It puts your entire existence into perspective. The job we do the life we live, the things we worry about. 3- Dr. Shefali Tsabary who is the author of The Conscious Parent. I am a spiritual self-help junkie, and this plus the impossible task of trying to be a good parent, would make for an interesting chat with her. 4-Nelson Mandela as when I was growing up in Botswana during apartheid and Nelson Mandela was always spoken about.  Having survived such hardship and hatred, and then be able to come out on the other side with love and understanding is something that I would love to delve into.

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JF: With the new book just out how will that affect your future work and do you have another book on the back burner?

AL: I am hoping that this book will be just one more “tap - tap” on people’s head to remember to push the diversity factor in fashion.  I believe that the more people see fashionable and aspirational images of a more diverse range of beauty, that it will just become the norm.  Rather than having to do a “Black Issue” or an “Asian issue”, hopefully we will start to see magazines representing what we see around us, which is a constant, glorious, textured tapestry of differing looks and colors.  So hopefully my future work will reflect this change.

I have about 3 projects going at one time, not necessarily to do with photography.  About 3 years ago, I came to the conclusion that if you are a “creative” then you should allow inspiration to manifest itself in any creative manner that fits.  You shouldn’t handcuff yourself to your “professional title”, be it photographer, writer or painter.  If I, as a photographer am inspired by something that I cannot translate to its full potential via photography, and then I try to allow it to come out in whatever way seems best.  That is how my first written book came about in 2014.  That being said, I have always written poetry and if I ever have the guts to share those poems, maybe that will be my next book!

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JF: Do you have a professional bucket list and will and you share and explain?

AL: People always ask me this question and I always bore them with the same answer.  There is no particular person that I have an aching desire to shoot.  The only thing I hope is that sustainability and responsible manufacturing continue to grow in the industry and that I am able to use my photography to help that grow.

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JF: Would you care to comment on the current state of the media or fashion in general when it comes to appeal; who is the intended audience? Agree or disagree and why?

AL: I think in the last year or two everything has changed. Budgets that were set aside for a campaign of 12 images for a whole season are now being ripped apart and sent into 10 different directions, be it for Instagram videos, YouTube channel, Facebook etc. and then the image tally also goes up 3 fold in order to have constant new content for all media channels.

The public’s appetite for content is insatiable and if you are not present in some manner on practically a daily basis, you are out of sight and out of mind.

 One has to move with the times and get on board with this changing landscape. I was dragged kicking and screaming 4 years ago into the social media world, but quickly realized how important a role it is for any aspect of the industry. I now have a YouTube channel which has tutorials, behind the scenes and other projects on there, along side all the other media channels.  In order to survive and thrive in this industry you have to have more of a brand mentality. 

As to whether I like it or not, I see it as an exciting new challenge, as well as adding more outlets for being creative. So yes J

 

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JF: Do you have any style mentors or mentors in general who influence your work on a daily basis and why them?

AL: When I assisted Testino, he said to me that as a photographer, one had to find one’s “woman”.  What is her style, her personality, her character? Who she is will determine your voice as a fashion photographer.  So in terms of my style mentor, my wife Giada is my “woman”.  She is Cuban Italian, grew up in Rome, speaks Italian, Spanish and English and has a very international outlook.  She has amazing taste and individual style, a fashion lover who is simultaneously an advocate for sustainability in fashion and environmental awareness. She has an understated elegance and grace to her that is effortless plus a romantic side and an easy, luminous smile.  If that wasn’t enough, she is gorgeous inside and out! So she really inspired me in terms of who my “woman” was to be in my work.  Added to this and as cheesy as it sounds, I think that when you marry, you want to be the best version of yourself for that person.  This in turn made me a better person at work and allowed me to find my voice in terms of what I wanted to shoot, how I wanted to shoot it and how I wanted to be perceived on set.

Freddie Leiba .. the interview

Freddie Leiba is a name that has become synonymous with international fashion for over thirty years that I can attest to. There are scant few whose body of work, as a stylist/créateur, that can hold a candle to this man on any level. His taste and his “eye” are above and beyond the scope and skillset of more than just the majority of those who think themselves to be in the same league. It is my pleasure to call Freddie a friend and I can honestly say that he is a man who “walks softly and carries a big stick” when it comes to his reputation, on both personal and professional levels.  He is the proverbial cream that rises to the top. 

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It is my privilege to have been able to call upon him to collaborate with me for this interview as he is a man whose name is rarely seen but his presence is indelible especially since he is constantly on a new project. He has been and continues to be a pervasive presence in magazines, media and behind the scenes for decades and yet his work is as contemporary, fresh and as modern as any. By the way, if his name is not familiar then you should hide your head in shame and certainly you can’t call yourself fashion savvy. Freddie Leiba is a treasure whose legacy has been and will be felt for lifetimes to come.

So now it’s my honor to offer you Freddie in his own words: 

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Jeffrey Felner:  You have worked with some of the greats of fashion, who would you say are your top 3 favorites and why?

Freddie Leiba: There are three people I have to say that were most memorable, two of them are sadly dead. One is still alive ... Irving Penn and the project was for L’Oréal cosmetics.  I was very nervous when I was brought to Penn by his agent Peter Schub; Penn sat with me looked at cosmetics and we worked together on an image. This first one was a still life and I had to find a small mirror to fit in the girls hand but it had to be the most perfect mirror however after going to every glazier in town, only one man in a little shop suggested the mirror that is used in a Xerox machine.  That was the suggestion and that was the deal breaker as then I was invited to work with Penn for many years. Horst heard about me and wanted to meet me about a perfume project. I had to study the individual perfume bottles, there were 12 bottles...  example Dior, YSL etc. and from that I then had to build sets of neo classical to 18 century style and also style the girls.  I still have the original photos in my flat from Horst that were given to me from that project. Last of the three would be meeting Ian Schrager in the latter part of 1980 after Steve Rubell and post Studio 54. Till this day I have designed the uniforms for his hotels all over the world starting Royalton and continuing to the present with uniforms for Schrager’s latest property, the Editions Hotel in NYC.  Ian has remained one of the most loyal of collaborators from the very start

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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner, who would they be and why?

FL: Dinner … most of them have died but…  Ava Gardner for her beauty which was almost haunting as well as her gowns. I met her briefly when I lived in London; she was of course already older but for me she was bliss to this day. I remember Norman Parkinson telling me later on that she was the most beautiful woman he ever photographed. I can still remember her beauty as a child seeing her in a movie called Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Alfred Hitchcock, who to this day I still love his style which was dark but there was glamour, was in every frame while every location was perfect. Picasso, well he was and is my favorite painter; I adore every period, but the closest I came to meeting him was when I was friendly with his daughter Paloma. She, at the time, resided in New York City on Park Avenue. I got to know her while working with Harper’s Bazaar. One day I was speaking to my boss Tony Mazzola about photographing her siting around her personal portrait painted by her father and that was a great thrill. Diana Vreeland, well, I owe her everything! She was daring, she was fearless and there weren’t many rules. She was my biggest inspiration and an endless source of admiration. I ended up buying some of her library from her estate and her personal photos by Louise Dahl Wolfe which I still have in my flat. Lastly, Cecil Beaton because of his costumes, his photos, his London house and his gardens; He was a multi-talented man in the extreme.

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“Freddie has been part of the fashion world in which I grew up and inhabited for most of my working life. We share some of the same teachers, especially Diana Vreeland, who was my mentor ever since she arranged for me to work for Glamour, Vogue in Paris and New York. Freddie’s taste, loyalty, and discretion are legend in a world full of false fame grabbing insipidity. Anyone who has had the unique experience of working with him or can call him a friend is truly fortunate as he is a most reserved humble man.” Mary Russell, former editor at Glamour, WWD, American Vogue, Paris and American Elle in New York

JF:  What is your opinion of the state of fashion today and if it was in your power to change it, how would you go about doing it?

FL: Fashion, today everyone is a designer.  Today some of them never had a needle in their hands. It’s all about money, Instagram sensation like who has the most followers and are popular for behaving badly. The sad thing is that there are some talented among them however they are puppets to the business of fashion.  Everything is in transit and onto the next also disposable fashion; No one is building a brand as they seem to be just moving through an assembly line of clothes. It’s very difficult when one becomes puzzled by the changes every season regarding designers and their collections. My ultimate answer is that something has to change!

“Whilst working on my book DIVERSE BEAUTY, I was looking for someone who had 2 assets: One, a history of working with all the greats, be they magazines, photographers or subjects and secondly to have a reputation of supporting diversity in fashion through the years.  Freddie checked both boxes, so it was with great delight and excitement when he told me of his interest in collaborating with me on this project.” Alexi Lubomirski photographer and author of DIVERSE BEAUTY

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JF: Do you have “little voice” in your head that speaks to you when you work on each new project, or do you have some inner inspiration that you carry with you at all times? Could you share that with us?

FL: Yes I have a long list of inspirations that I store, some from art exhibitions, some old photos and some new observations whether from the street, travel or history but it is my eye that is my tool and hopefully my memories can be translated and infused into my work.

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LOYDFORD Spring 2017 paris

They inspired me to coin the phrase designers who design …

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“making an entrance” was how Franck Ford spoke of the inspiration for the Spring 2017 collection; Sondheim said it best when he said “making my entrance with my usual flair” as do all the ladies who swear by LOYDFORD for dressing up. My take is that making an entrance is easy when the clothes silently scream LOOK AT ME without being tricked out or lit up like a Christmas tree!  Women can wear the LOYDFORD signature style tutu dress, the current accordion pleated skirts (made for spinning like a dervish) or the newly designed cowl back halter and they are almost assured of entrance making and, in some instances, exit making attention as well as sidelong envious glances. 

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The unpredictable aspect about doing seasonal collections is that these designers operate from instinct and occasionally they just happen onto a trend without realizing it or trying to jump on board with it. LOYDFORD has never been a collection that relies or focuses on trend. They are of the independent spirit variety that eschews trend at all cost. It was only by happenstance that one of their newest signatures has been gobbled up by retailers and consumers alike. 

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LOYFORD is evolutionary, unique and distinctive as it is a constant work in progress. Both designers feel that they would prefer to offer more new styles rather than elongate the lives of their best sellers. The growth never ends but they retain their DNA no matter what. Even the color range has morphed over the seasons going from an all-black palette to the addition of ivory and a few colors and now to a full blown range of color options. During this growth process they have expanded their expertise from being strictly “lace masters” to introducing hand beading which has become a signature (totally designed by them, confined to them and engineered for their collection),   as well as a variety of fabrics and prints which make  “guest appearances” each new season. What you must keep in mind that despite the lightheartedness of design, the collection is always meticulously constructed as befits their position in the fashion hierarchy ... top tier!

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The reasoning behind all their design practices is simply so that the clothes will never grow stale when there is newness in silhouette, fabrication and embellishment season after season. One of their most potent secret weapons is that the clothes will, more than likely, outperform their “neighbors” on the retail selling floor. As the saying goes why fix what’s not broken? Apparently Loyd and Ford are not shopping for a new client every season but rather expanding their customer base with each new season’s offerings.

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Louis Vuitton spring 2017 Paris

 Let it be known from the start, I have never really been a fan of Nicholas Ghesquiere nor the brand of Louis Vuitton, not even when Marc was designing it. BUT… something struck me this season, something good. Something like ... Yes I really like some of this collection and so here we are!

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The opening salvo of dresses (they sort of conjured TF’s first collection for Gucci) made me believe that this collection would be aimed at the idea that women might actually want to wear these clothes... Oh and let’s get this straight as well, we are not discussing price here, we are speaking strictly about the esthetics! So, yes I liked the dresses... Well not all but a lot more than usual, I even liked the checkerboard fish scale sequin number. Next would be the riff on tailored pieces which for the most part looked fresh and a nod to the current trend and mood that seems to be pervading international runways. Yes, I know some of the pieces were a tad over designed, but again, everything is relative so I am speaking in comparison to past collections from the brand.

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 The problem arose when the designer got crazy and took a wrong turn to and over the top tricked out. One can only imagine the reasons but I’m guessing they are backed up by some arcane esoteric inspiration to justify their existence. If the collection is dissected, there are pieces here and there than can be aptly termed classic and in some cases new or modern, at lack of better words.

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 Just as an FYI, I try very hard to find something positive to write about in many collections even though it may seem that I am a misanthrope of fashion espousing nastiness at every opportunity. Well, quite the contrary, I try to offer a view of fashion that is informed, hopefully somewhat impartial with some bits of humor and sometimes caustic as all hell.  If the truth be known, I’d rather write a good review and not a bad one and so here we are... A half and half review.