http://www.annadellorusso.com/
HOW DOES HE KNOW THAT?
The fashion blogger and photographer Tommy Ton has risen from cyber obscurity to become one of the big players in the industry, with his unique take on the clothes the fashion editors wear.
By Sophie de Rosée
Anna Dello Russo, the fashion director of Japanese Vogue, admits that before the appearance of bloggers she never used to change her outfit between fashion shows. She now changes three times a day, often in the back seat of her chauffeur-driven car, purely to please the bloggers – inparticular her favourite, Tommy Ton. ‘Tommy is special because he is an incredible pho- tographer, plus he has a knowledge about fashion that others don’t have. The first time I met him he knew the vintage skirt I was wearing was Rochas from the Olivier Theyskens collection. He’s so young, how does he know that? I understood that he was as obsessed with fashion as me.’ In a profile of notable bloggers, American Vogue declared Ton’s blog to be ‘as much essential viewing during the collections as the shows’. The Canadian blogger and photographer Ton spends fashion weeks in New York, London, Paris and Milan snapping the outfits of the industry’s most chic and outlandish individuals. His subjects range from dapper, cigar-toting silver foxes to leggy models dashing between shows. But the real stars of the show are the fashion magazine editors, the experts, such as Dello Russo, who showcase the forthcoming trends and hottest brands. Ton has said that ‘Whereas in the past, the icons of the industry were models and designers,today editors are the new fashion icons.’
Ton’s photographs, which he uploads daily to his blog, Jak & Jil, as well as style.com and gq.com, are undeniably addictive. According to Mark Holgate, the fashion news director at American Vogue, what sets Ton apart from the other bloggers is that ‘he instinctively understands what makes the way someone got dressed that morning interesting and arresting and worth recording. And he frames and fetishises the look brilliantly too. I love the way he can capture all the subtle nuances of an outfit in a second.’ Ton does very little retouching because he prefers the reality of his subjects. He shoots many more photographs than he can post online, but he develops distinct points of view for each site he uploads to. Every month Jak & Jil gets in excess of 1.5 million hits. (The much talked about blog Style Bubble gets half that.)
Born to Vietnamese parents in Oakville, Ontario, Ton, 26, stumbled across the fashion world at the age of 13 and quickly became obsessed. ‘It all started with a Tom Ford Gucci collection. When I saw that collection and heard the way he spoke about it I knew I needed to immerse myself in that world.It was spring 1997 and it was a heroin chic collection.’ He has since learnt every outfit of every major collection, worn by which model and when. Having tried his hand at fashion design and completed an internship at Holt Renfrew, the Canadian equivalent of Selfridges, Ton decided in 2005 to launch a web magazine, which he called Jak & Jil. (the name is so formed because the cor- rect spelling had already been taken). Despite his lack of photographic training, Ton took to the streets of Toronto with a digital SLR camera, but was soon bored by the city’s limited fashion pool. In February 2007, on a whim, he flew to London and Paris for their fashion weeks. Inspired by the- Sartorialist, Scott Schuman’s successful photo- blog, Ton thought, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.’ He has photographed every fashion week since. The Jak & Jil blog was officially launched in 2008. ‘A small percentage of the world gets to see this mon- umental event called fashion month, so I just do my best to share my experiences with everyone.’ Competing with so many other photographers for the standard head-to-toe shot proved very difficult so he decided to start shooting ‘random candids’, close-ups on accessories or a backwards glance of someone walking away from the camera, from a documentary perspective. Within three months of launching, Ton had a phone call from Lane Crawford, the luxury department store chain, and was flown to Hong Kong to shoot its ad cam- paign. Since then he has photographed campaigns for Sergio Rossi, L’Oréal, Saks Fifth Avenue; edito- rially, he has contributed to Japanese Vogue and French Vogue. ‘Funnily enough when I first started I said that if I ever worked for French Vogue I could end my career a happy man. And I shot Tavi [Gevinson, of the Style Rookie blog] at her home in Chicago for their February 2010 issue.’ He describes the new editor, Emmanuelle Alt, as a barometer of the times; she is a regular in front of his lens. In September 2009 Scott Schuman left style.com, where he had been blogging about fashion week, and Ton was invited to take his place. ‘Being on style.com is like being in the bible,’ Ton says. ‘It’s what everybody looks at during the shows. ‘I’m a complete mess during fashion month,’ he adds. He wakes up at 8.30am and is out of the door and at the first show with his Nikon D5000 in hand by 9am. He then chases the fashion pack from show to show, shooting them for as long as the light will allow. He stays mainly outside the shows to photograph his subjects but occasionally goes inside to watch a show, such as Céline, Lanvin or Proenza Schouler. There was a time when Ton wasn’t invited into shows, but he now has the pick of the bunch. Dello Russo describes Ton in action as ‘a fierce animal, like a shark, waiting and con- centrating so hard to catch the right person at the right moment. He can catch the season’smost per- fect shoes in a sea of 2,000 people.’ At night he goes out for dinner, usually with fellow bloggers such as Susie Bubble, then heads home to edit his day’s work, which can take up to six hours, before falling asleep most nights with his computer in his lap.
‘These editors look like aliens. They are so beau- tiful in the way that they dress and the way that they are. I never expect them to be so nice or funny.’ Over the years he has built up relationships with all the main editors, who in turn adore him. Carine Roitfeld, the former editor of French Vogue, plays a ‘guess what I’m wearing today’ game with Ton, which, given his vast knowledgeof the collections, he nearly always wins. Dello Russo is his fairy god- mother. Giovanna Battaglia, a freelance fashion editor, raves about his personality and vision. Kate Lanphear, the style director at American Elle maga- zine, enthuses, ‘Tommy is one of the sweetest souls on earth. I’m endlessly inspired by his dedication.’
Despite Ton’s stratospheric rise to stardom in the past three years, he remains grounded. ‘I didn’t expect this,’ he says. ‘I still feel like a nerd who’s been allowed access to this world. I’m lucky that I get to speak to the peopleI looked up to as a young enthusiast.’ He now works alongside style. com’s show reviewer Tim Blanks, whom he grew up watching on the Canadian television show Fashion File. He has done his 13-year-old self proud, even if he does still live at home with his parents. Source: Telegraph Magazine
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