THE EVOLUTION OF STREET STYLE: CAN YOU KEEP UP WITH THE NEW NORM?
Simbarashe Cha, a renowned street style photographer, has been capturing the pulse of fashion week and the city’s dynamic style for The New York Times.
Street style photography, tracing its roots back to the daguerreotype era, has always been about capturing the essence of the public. Cha, like his contemporaries Scott Schuman, Phil Oh, and Tommy Ton, began his journey with a blog, gradually taking up larger assignments with brands and publications. Since 2020, he has been contributing to The New York Times, documenting the various fashion weeks and the city’s ever-evolving moods, much like the legendary Bill Cunningham.
Cha’s approach to his work is unique. He navigates the city with music in his ears, yet never in noise-canceling mode for safety reasons. This blend of private pleasure and public observation is integral to his practice, reflecting his self-description as a child of MTV.
Post-COVID lockdown, Cha has observed a shift in New York’s energy. He has theories about trend cycles and TikTok, but the most significant change he notes is in the city’s atmosphere and the fashion week ecosystem. The game has changed since his first venture in 2012, but he embraces the change, always ready to capture the next moment.
When crafting a style story for the Times, Cha’s process is meticulous. He photographs over days or weeks, depending on the weather. From about 100 images, he selects around 40 or 45, which he sends to his photo editor, Christy Harmon, along with notes on the trends he’s considering writing about.
Cha believes in the value of documenting trends in a specific place during a specific time. He noticed that New York City operates on a natural trend cycle of about three weeks. The trendsetters buy an item, their circle tries to find similar items over the weekend, and by the end of the week, people on the subway are looking for it.
The most seismic change in how New York dresses, according to Cha, was brought on by COVID. While the trend cycles remain, the way New York dresses now is fundamentally different from pre-COVID times. When Cha thinks about trends, he considers even a single belt as a trend, not necessarily an entire ensemble. He believes that these micro-trends will always endure.
Photo credits: All photographs used in this article are the property of their respective owners. Special thanks to Simbarashe Cha for his invaluable contributions to the field of street style photography. His work has greatly enriched this piece. All rights reserved to the original photographers.
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