Mark Ascoli: "People alone are advertising Chanel and ZARA"
Founder of the Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days and video director Nowfashion.com Daria Shapovalova continues to talk with professionals from the fashion industry. In the new interview - Mark Ascoli, the great creative director, who prefers to stay in the background. He opened the now legendary photographers Nick Knight, Merth and Marcus, David Sims and Craig McDean, shot advertising campaigns Yoji Yamamoto and Gilles Zander, who became part of world history, and devoted most of his life and work to his muse and his wife, Designer Martin Setbon.
Daria Shapovalova
contributor to Style.com and Nowfashion.com
Mark Ascoli
creative director
You work in the industry for a long time. TELL ME, HOW DID THE FASHION AND PHOTO FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS CHANGE?
It is difficult to answer, because I want to be optimistic, but things are like this. Now I am finishing a book for Chloé, and this is very interesting, because for 60 years the house has been run by quite a few designers: Karl Lagerfeld, Martin Sitbon, Stella McCartney, Phoebe Faylo, Hanna Macgibbon, Claire Keller and others. To create advertising, they worked at various times with Craig McDean, Inez and Vinood, and earlier with Guy Bourdain and Helmut Newton, which I was recently able to see when studying the archives of Chloé. The level of fire in the eyes has recently decreased, people are not so aggressive; Photos are sexy, but not as provocative as before. Photographers are not looking for poetry, surrealism, art nouveau. Something like doing in the design of Gareth Pugh, who seemed to be transferred to another world, creating their own clothes; the same can be said about Rick Owens. I need to feel the incarnation of a person in what he is creating - now it happens less and less. Most often, I feel that people are just doing a great job, trying to earn more money, without thinking about what they can give the brand. Now brands need a lot of people in the photo so that you have the opportunity to see most of the collection. Everything is thought out: you see clothes, shoes, accessories. Perhaps at the root of the problem is the desire to attract more and more buyers.
Another problem is that everything has become available. Stella Tennant can be shot simultaneously for both Chanel and ZARA, and the same photographer and stylist can work on the shoot, you just have to pay enough. Today there are many ways of self-education, much more than ever. Work must be done at the highest level, which is really difficult: these are tears, nights without sleep. We do this not because we like to scoff at ourselves, but because we like what we do. If you are a creative director, it is important to have a goal. You must clearly see what your aspirations are. I am sure that Gareth Pugh knows perfectly well what he aspires to, like Martin Seatbon, like Phoebe Faylo in Céline. They know that their work is collective and together they will achieve what they want. They spend a lot of time thinking, they dream of ideas, they suffer from insomnia. Fashion excites people. Thanks to the Internet, some designers follow the work of others, there is a rivalry, which is interesting to watch. Someone may say that he is tired of the "fashion circus" or parties. Why? They, too, in their own delightful! In addition, no one forces you to visit them.
FOR MANY WORK OF CREATIVE DIRECTOR OUTUTAN SECRET. FOR THIS PROFESSION NEED EDUCATION?
My education is the fruit of my curiosity. I am happy to wake up in the morning and do what I like - this is one of the secrets of my work. It is important to love what you do, meet gifted people in order to learn from them. Admiration comes precisely from this creative dialogue. I love to give interviews because it teaches me a lot: when people ask me questions, I start thinking about my work and how I do it. I believe in friendship. I have friends who are not connected with fashion, and they help me to stay balanced and not lose my head.
WHAT ARE YOUR TASKS AS A CREATIVE DIRECTOR?
For many years, I got the opportunity to work on numerous advertising campaigns. I imagine myself as a conductor, film director, choreographer, trainer who stimulates people and makes them feel comfortable. The more you invest your strength, the better results you will get. That is why you should not work if you are nervous or tired, because you invest all of yourself. You can not be superficial or do not pay attention to others. Remember: the more you give, the more you get, and each time the resulting only grows.
LET'S TALK ABOUT MEDIA. WHAT MODERN EDITIONS ARE THE MOST PROGRESSIVE FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE VISUAL CONTENT?
There are a lot of them. I respect genuine editions, remaining true to their point of view. If you follow this criterion, many publications simply disappear. There are good independent magazines such as Love, Pop, Garage, Purple, Double. But when you flip through them, you can't help but think that they lack advertising. I would advise the less avant-garde press to look at things more broadly. No one is obliged to do the same steps. Now everyone is delighted with Cara Delvigne. Yes, she is cute, young, cheerful, but too beaten and even managed to turn into a cliché. Fashion consists of all this: magazines find one person and give him all their attention. But then this same person bothers everyone, and for him this is not very good. I also like the Signature magazine. I am impressed by the manifestation of personality. I love this feeling - when I open a magazine, I see a photo and I can say with confidence who its author is. Today, the photos are more reminiscent of pictures from the catalogs, there is no depth in them. The problem is that now all the niches are occupied and there is no room for fragile new photographers.
Fashion consists of all this: magazines find one person and give him all their attention
How do you understand that this particular photographer is ideal for this particular season? Do you just feel it?
It is necessary to thoroughly analyze everything. This is not a spontaneous decision; preparation takes time; Need to view books, understand the strengths of the photographer. Sure, they are all talented, so you need to read between the lines. Everyone has something to say to the world, but you need to clearly see what you want to get in the end. This is what should be explained to your friends in Moscow or Kiev. You should always strive for a specific result. If I have to create a snapshot for this collection of Rue du Mail, I need to define the concept and understand what feelings I want this photo to evoke, and what is the history of creating clothes, what attracts people to it. Advertising campaigns are extremely important because it is they who best convey the essence of the brand and make you fall in love with it. In addition, I have the opportunity to communicate with those who understand this philosophy. When you create an advertising campaign, its goal is to give people the opportunity to better understand the brand, look into its essence. Just looking at the picture, you are transported to another world. The work of creative directors in the fashion world is helping to open a brand to people, and subsequently they begin to look forward to the new season to find out which model will be chosen or how the new collection will be presented.
And how to maintain a balance between the business and art?
The purpose of fashion shooting is to sell, no matter what - a bag, shoes, clothes. But it’s boring to show things as they are - you should always be at the forefront of visual solutions. What really matters is creating the right mood. We can not justify the fact that the majority of consumers - stupid, because it is not true. You may say that I am naive, but I am sure that people know exactly what they want.