Inside fashion week photography: catwalk, backstage and street style snappers on the ruthless world
- Kim Weston Arnold, Sonny Vandevelde and Lee Oliveira are key figures in the realms of catwalk, backstage and street-style photography, respectively
- They reveal how they got into fashion week photography and what it takes to stand out in a scene that is getting ever more competitive
Given the enormous volume of photos that today’s fashion weeks generate, it’s hard to imagine that 20 years ago most of the images were of po-faced models looking straight down the barrel of the camera, taken by photographers standing in a “pit” at the end of the runway.
Today, before models even step out on the catwalk, their hair and make-up looks and first outfits have been exhaustively documented backstage by a large cohort of photographers working behind the scenes. Mid-show, as the models return to change outfits, another barrage of camera flashes fires off from photographers given permission to shoot during the show.
Then of course there are the off-duty looks outside the venues that are captured by yet another set of photographers whose ranks have ballooned over the past decade: street-style snappers.
With so many photographers looking to capture the fashion action, it is no surprise that fashion week photography has become a ruthlessly competitive arena. The Post spoke to three photographers who are part of the photo pack every season – one covering the catwalk, one backstage and one street-style – for their perspectives on fashion’s never-ending photo circus.
On the catwalk: Kim Weston Arnold
Based in Ibiza, Spain, Weston Arnold is a 30-year catwalk veteran. Born in Wales to parents from New Zealand, she studied fine art at London’s Goldsmiths college, specialising in photography.
