January 9, 2020
2020-01-09-real-men-do-not-rent-clothes
2020-01-09 Real Men Do Not Rent Clothes
by Jessica Testa and Jonah Engel Bromwich
There’s only one problem as the growing clothing rental market inches toward offering men’s wear: Guys may not buy in.
A little more than a decade ago, a pair of Harvard Business School students founded Rent the Runway, a platform for renting special-occasion evening wear that has since expanded to all kinds of wear: leopard-print blazers, bright red ski pants, Swarovski crystal necklaces and leather fanny packs.
By the spring of 2019, the company was valued at $1 billion and had spawned multiple competitors.
But Rent the Runway has never carried men’s wear. Despite the popularity of renting, there are no companies of its size that offer men’s apparel. Because aside from prom or wedding tuxedos, men do not rent — for now, at least.
Why don’t men rent? Are they fearful that borrowed clothing carries the unsanitary residue of other men? Do they dread the logistical planning required to return a pair of cuff links? Or is it just that their renting options are so few and little known that they didn’t know they could?
The New York Times asked a dozen stylish men across the United States (and one abroad) about their attitude toward renting clothes. Nearly all were dubious, and not because of hygiene or laziness.
Through their explanations, they provided a window into how fashion-aware men think about clothes in 2020. Their stated values — individuality, ownership and longevity — were at odds with the ever-rotating closet pushed by the rental market.
Still, leaders and new players in that market are plotting expansions into men’s wear, each on slightly different paths. Whether men know it — or want it — the race to make them rent is about to begin.
The Post-‘Metrosexual’ Moment
Sometime around 2007, it became easier for men to talk about their appreciation for clothing, according to Volker Ketteniss, the director of men’s wear at the trend forecasting firm WGSN. Marketers began pushing a more “technical approach” to shopping for men, he said, placing the idea of heritage brands and craftsmanship front and center.
(The implication is that men wanted to talk more about clothing and the fashion industry was there to help us. In other words, marketing did not create the demand; it released it.)
“This became a guy’s way of being into fashion,” Mr. Ketteniss said. “The same way you could be into cars, stereos and other gadgets.” (Before that time, men who liked clothes were more often called “metrosexuals.”)
Their interest often starts with flashy accessories, like sneakers and watches. That’s how it worked for Ty King, a shoe enthusiast in Nashville.
“Especially early on, with shoes, you didn’t want the shoe that other people were wearing,” said Mr. King, a 43-year-old music and sportswear writer known online as John Gotty.
In mid-December, when Nike released the new Air Jordan 11, Mr. King decided to skip the drop. Too many people were lining up for the $220 red-and-black retro sneakers.
“Even if I did buy them, I’m probably not going to wear them for a year or two,” he said. By then, he expects everyone else will have moved on.
Mr. King’s individualist attitude extends to renting clothes, which he said he would never do. Through years of digging and researching, he has developed his own “strong sense of style.”
“I truly know what I feel works best for me,” he said.
Mr. King fears that renting will lead to herd mentality, and he’s not alone.
“How much of truly being stylish or expressing oneself with clothing is going to be left?” said George Lewis Jr., the 36-year-old Angeleno who makes music as Twin Shadow.
Mr. Lewis said he was familiar with the concept of renting clothes, and he knows women who rent clothes, but that he personally thinks the concept is strange.
Mr. Ketteniss of WGSN has a theory about men’s skepticism toward renting: Women are accustomed to the idea because they have been swapping clothes with their friends since they were teenagers.
This pastime never really caught on with men. And the women’s wear market has always grown at a faster pace than men’s wear. Why would the renting phenomenon be any different?
Pride in Ownership
On Instagram, under the handle ThePacMan82, Phil Cohen has amassed 770,000 followers, with posts that show a neat collection of clothing and accessories, styled as if for an advertisement.
Though Mr. Cohen appears on lists of prominent fashion influencers, he prefers to leave himself out of the pictures. The spotlight belongs to the clothes themselves.
In an interview Mr. Cohen, 37, expressed pride in his clothing and the work it took to obtain it. He said that renting a nice pair of boots or a hard-to-find jacket may thwart the proper way of things, which for him is a four-step process: Man wants garment. Man saves up for garment. Man purchases garment. Man wears garment.
“I like the idea that you save up and buy something that then becomes part of your life, part of your wardrobe,” he said. “I think that there’s a genuine sort of appreciation for the product when you’ve put yourself into it.”
Several men agreed. A few said that being outed as a rental customer may be embarrassing. It would be as if they were pretending to have more money than they did.
Jason Ryan Lee, a 38-year-old editor at the black celebrity gossip website Bossip, said renting feels almost like cheating.
“I would hate to walk out in a rental and get all kinds of compliments and in my mind be like, ‘This is cool, but this isn’t mine,’” he said. “‘Now I feel like an impostor of some kind. I’m not as cool as people think I am. This $2,000 jacket, I just rented for $35.’”
Through clothing, people project their wealth, status and work ethic. For men, being caught in clothes they don’t own could threaten those projections, and their masculinity. (What about cars? Almost no one with a shiny new vehicle owns it.)
Mary Blair-Loy, a sociology professor at the University of California, San Diego and the founding director of the Center for Research on Gender in the Professions, said that men often still see themselves as breadwinners. Owning their belongings helps support that image.
“Ownership is a sign and a signal of wealth and status and success in a precarious capitalist competitive world,” she said.
A Double Standard
There is also less pressure on men to own extensive wardrobes. At work, they are less likely to be scrutinized for wearing the same outfit every day. And they take pride in wearing their clothes for a long time.
Dylan Walker, a 20-year-old welding student who lives in Georgia, said that he owns about 10 pairs of cowboy boots and would never think about renting an additional pair.
“Boots last for a really long time,” he said. “One pair of boots for six years. When I buy clothes, I’m buying them for the long haul.”
Stanton Coville, a 29-year-old software developer in Ohio, said that he takes a utilitarian approach to his clothing, to the point that he calculates the cost-per-wear of individual pieces. After wearing a $300 pair of Japanese jeans for four years, its cost was justified, he said. His wife makes fun of him, but he has had to get the jeans repaired only once.
Gert Jonkers, the 53-year-old editor in chief of Fantastic Man and a publisher of The Gentlewoman, spoke of the double standard women face when they repeat outfits. For women, it’s thought to be a faux pas. For men, it’s unremarkable.
Women also have a harder time getting away with informality, he said; they are more liable to be judged for ignoring fashion trends.
“Last night I was wearing a Missoni jumper I’ve had for 10 years, and people were saying ‘Oh, wow, I love that jumper,’” Mr. Jonkers said. “Nobody notices that it’s from fall or winter 2008. It just really doesn’t matter.”
Pride in ownership and longevity combine to create sentimental value. Mr. Lewis said that he appreciated the way personal possessions become “weathered by the energy of your household, or physically weathered by you wearing it.”
Of the white jeans he was wearing during an interview for this article, he said: “I love them and hate them, because two days after wearing them I have to wash them to make them fit the right way, and every time I wash them they get a little bit worse, and my mom overbleached them so they’re looking slightly pink now.”
“But it’s important to me because these have a story to them,” he added.
Thinking About Men
Major rental companies nevertheless look at men as an untapped market, even if they’re not quite sure how to go about tapping it.
Nuuly, a Rent the Runway competitor founded in 2019, is “actively looking” at expanding into men’s apparel, said Sky Pollard, the head of product.
Owned by URBN, the parent company of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, Nuuly is “talking to customers and trying to figure out a program that would work for them,” Ms. Pollard said. “We really see no reason to believe that they wouldn’t respond to it and love it as much as our women customers.”
Rent the Runway said it has also been thinking about men for a long time, albeit less urgently. The company believes men want variety in their closet, but it is still determining the best way to introduce men’s wear.
For example, should it advertise to men directly or target existing female members who buy clothes for the men in their lives?
Either way, Rent the Runway could give style-conscious men what it has already given to women: the ability to cycle through trendy clothes at a reasonable cost (its cheapest plan is four pieces for $89 per month), without resorting to lower-quality, questionably sourced fast fashion destined for a landfill.
Unlike other men interviewed, Khalid El Khatib, 34, was enthusiastic about the idea of renting. Ever since Mr. El Khatib, a marketing and communications professional in New York, learned about Rent the Runway from his two sisters, he has wished he had access to something like it.
A few years ago, when he went to Cuba on vacation, he brought a brand-new Reiss floral button-down shirt.
“I never wore it again,” he said. “I bought it for Cuba, I wore it in Cuba, and then I retired it.” He appreciates fashion, but he isn’t attached to owning pieces no one else owns, or owning them for a long time.
In November, a New York start-up began experimenting with renting men’s wear to a list of 50 family members and friends. The company, Seasons, was founded by Regy Perlera and Luc Succés, who were also behind an app that allowed users to text each other Drake lyrics.
In an interview, Mr. Perlera said that “men are very ownership oriented.” But, he said, “the concept of ownership is changing drastically and very quickly. We used to think that we needed cars, and now we have Lyft and Uber and Car2Go. We used to need homes, and now we have Airbnb.”
Mr. Perlera hopes to make fashion more available to people for whom the cost has traditionally been prohibitive. The Seasons website says it has inventory from Yeezy, Off-White and Gucci.
But at the moment, it plans for its cheapest subscription package to be $155 per month, which lets the renter get three pieces.
Mr. Perlera said he has been studying Rent the Runway’s successes and missteps. When asked if he was concerned that these lessons may not apply to men, he said that the Seasons inventory is actually not particularly gendered, despite the language on its website: “A members only rental subscription service for menswear & streetwear.”
“It’s really a category of fashion that really doesn’t have gender boundaries,” he said.
January 5, 2020
2020-01-05-can-you-be-a-photographer-with-a-bad-memory
2020-01-05 Can You Be a Photographer with a Bad Memory?
So many photographers explain what they are doing by referencing other photographers, often from the past. For example, a photographer said that they had been inflenced by August Sander.
I’m unable to remember even the famous photographers listed below, much less the hundreds if not thousands of photographers active today.
Here is a list of influencial photographers that doesn’t include Sander:
In 1825 he created what is generally considered the worlds first photograph. So he should rank as #1 on any list because without his invention, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Niépce should be the most famous photographer, all things considered.
Prominent photographer in history, he played a large part in photography becoming thought of more as art at the turn of the century (1900s). He was married to painter Georgia O’Keefe and his iconic images of New York City of the period are true works of art.
Gandhi by Margaret Bourke-White ©LIFE
One of the early women photojournalists and photographer for LIFE magazine, she is one of my own personal heroes. If you can get your hands on a copy of the movie depicting her life (she’s played by Farrah Fawcett brilliantly) do so and watch it! She was known to be fearless (or crazy) and she created the last portrait of Gandhi hours before his assassination.
French photographer, considered by many historians to be the “father of photojournalism”. He was a master of street photography or “candids” and coined the phrase “The Decisive Moment”. His is the standard to which many journalists aspire still to this day.
Combat photographer that covered 5 different wars from the Spanish Civil War to WWII. One of the founding members of Magnum Photos (the world’s most prestigious photographic agency)
Moon over Half Dome by Ansel Adams. Image scan courtesy of Master of Photography6. Ansel Adams
Probably one of the most famous photographers in the nature and landscape niche. You’ve likely seen his images whether you knew the maker or not. His black and white photographs of Yosemite Valley CA are well spread in galleries, on posters and in books. A search for “Ansel Adams” on Amazon yields over 5600 results! He also created The Zone System with Fred Archer (a complex system for creating the correct exposure using black and white films and papers).
Known for this pioneering work in motion photographic studies and motion pictures, he is often credited with having created the first movie projector. He also studied animals and motion and through his images discovered the horse’s gait includes all four feet off the ground simultaneously.
Master portrait photographer of the 1940’s through to his death in 1979. He holds the distinction of having more covers of LIFE magazine than any other photographer at 101. He and surrealist painter Salvador Dali had an ongoing collaboration and friendship for 37 years, from which he published the book “Dali’s Moustache”. His portraits were creative, innovative, and thought-provoking. His book “Halsman at Work” is one of my favourites, especially when I’ve needed inspiration. He photographed everyone from Marilyn Monroe, to Winston Churchill, to Alfred Hitchcock and even Albert Einstein. He was also quite well known for making his famous subjects jump in front of the camera. You can get a feeling for his sense of humour, his sense of playfulness, of willingness to experiment and look foolish — by browsing his family holiday cards.
World War II photographer for LIFE, and master of the photo essay, producing such notable tories as: Country Doctor, Spanish Village and Man of Mercy (on the work of Albert Schweitzer). I was fortunate enough to see an exhibit of Smith’s work. It was even more powerful in person, and effected me profoundly.
Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. Image scan courtesy of Master of Photography
Documentary photographer and photojournalist known for her images of the Great Depression humanizing the plight of the workers and those most affected by the depression. Her iconic image “Migrant Mother” was taken in 1936 at a migrant farm workers camp.
One of the most influential photographers of the 20th century; Weston is famous for his images of natural forms, nudes, close ups and landscape photography. Take a look at his images of bell peppers and his abstract nudes, then tell me what you see? His legacy is now a three generation span of photographers, his sons Cole and Brett, and grandchildren Kim and Cara.
12. Louis Daguerre– inventor of the Daguerreotype, the first commercially used photographic process. Known as one of the fathers of photography.
Google the term “war photographer” and you’ll find this man, due in part to a documentary of his life by the same name, produced in 2001. However, many people do consider him synonymous with the phrase. For over 30 years he covered war torn areas, civil rights struggles, famine, and socio-political issues. I highly recommend watching the film, even if you aren’t interested in conflict photography. It will provide insight into what it takes to be a photographer under those conditions, and how difficult it really is to shoot a camera while the other guys are shooting bullets back.
Marlene Dietrich by George Hurrell
Master portrait photographer to the stars since 1929 when he was hired by MGM Studios. He has photographed every major Hollywood star since the early 30’s until his death in 1992. If you want to learn about portraiture and lighting I highly suggest you become familiar with his work. If you aren’t, go have a look at his glamour style portraits anyway, and learn a few things about light.
Documentary photographer whose images were instrumental in helping change child labor laws in the United States through his work with the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) in the early 1900’s. He was also hired to document the building of the Empire State Building, often being hung in basket 1000 feet above 5th Avenue. Early in his career he photographed the arrival of 1000’s of immigrants to Ellis Island. Don’t think photography is important or makes a difference? Watch this video on US Child Labor Laws 1908-1920 then tell me it doesn’t. It’s easy to get lost in the stories of these kids, especially in the Lewis Hine Project!
Swiss-born photographer and film maker, his 1958 book, “The Americans”, not only ruffled some feathers, but was influential for many other photographers looked through their viewfinders, and how Americans viewed themselves. It was an America that wasn’t quite so pretty, or popular. See an inside view of some images from the book in this video.
Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry
American photojournalist famous for his image “Afghan Girl”, cover of the June 1985 National Geographic. The image was named: “the most recognized photograph” in the history of the magazine. McCurry has been honoured with many prestigious awards for his work photographing conflicts, disappearing cultures, and ancient rituals. His stunning portraits of people from six continents are what he’s most known for. In researching this article I just spent over 30 minutes on McCurry’s site browsing his images, looking at expeditions he offers, being in total awe, and dreaming.
French born, New York City implanted photographer known for his sense of humour, and for photographs of ironic and bizarre situations in everyday life. His passion for dogs shows, having published four books with images of canines. He is still working and recently created an alter ego for himself (André S. Solidor which abbreviates to “ass”) as a satire to contemporary photography.
Controversy surrounded his erotic images of male nudes, but they are technically masterful. He received acclaim for his large format black and white portraits and images of flowers.
Technically not a photographer, he is credited with developing the strobe light from a lab instrument to a photography tool capably of freezing fast moving objects such as a bullet piercing an apple, and a balloon exploding.
Churchill by Karsh
Armenian by birth, but claimed by Canadians as our own. Undisputed as the best, most famous portrait photographer in history. He not only photographed 51 of the most notable people of the century (named by International Who’s Who in 2000), but himself was included on the list! His iconic portrait of Winston Churchill launched him to star status and led to him photographing world leaders, royalty, hollywood celebrities, artists, religious leaders and anyone of any importance. You’ve likely seen his portraits.
Famous for his documentation of American life in the 1960’s, especially in his home city of New York. He was extremely prolific and died way too young, at age 56. He left behind a legacy of over 300,000 images that were found after his death including 2500 rolls of unprocessed film, 6500 unproofed rolls and others he just hadn’t gotten to yet. The archives of his work can be found at the Centre for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. For street photography tips his work is inspirational and there’s much to learn from him.
Fashion and portrait photographer from 1941 until his death in 2004, his obituary in the New York Times read: “his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America’s image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century.” His work was highly influential on me as a new photographer, especially his book “In the American West” which is among my highly valued possessions.
Actually started as an illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar and went on to be one of the most prominent photographers for Vogue magazine. His fashion photography, nudes, and still life images were ground breaking and innovative for his time. Coffee table books of his work grace many prestigious homes.
Possibly the first photographer to embrace and practice “environmental portraiture”, Newman went to his subjects milieu to create not only a likeness of their face, but to capture a sense of the inner being of the person. He photographed politicians, artists, musicians, actors, and even photographers in his over 60 year career. He was a master of composition, lighting, lens selection, and background for effect. One must only seek out his portrait of armaments manufacturer Alfried Krupp to see how masterfully he controlled the elements to make a statement.
Gandhi by Margaret Bourke-White 
Moon over Half Dome by Ansel Adams. Image scan courtesy of 
Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. Image scan courtesy of 
Marlene Dietrich by George Hurrell14. 
Afghan Girl by Steve McCurry17. 
Churchill by Karsh21.