Portrait Session

In this episode, I connected with Cesar Cueva and Daniel Narvaez — two life long friends with a common urge to make things. Their shared creative drive has kept them in each other’s faces for over a decade, whether they've liked it or not.  Now with their own respective business’s under the same roof of Sydney’s Strand Arcade, the two reminisce about the journey that got them to where they are today — a tailor and a metal smith (amongst a few other endeavours ) — creating beautiful things that are authentic to them. Head over to meninthistown.com to view selects from our portrait session and in the meantime I hope you enjoy the conversation that took place.

In this episode, I connected with Dan Brophy — a film maker and content creator based here in Sydney. We met while working on a project together and hit it off right away. His positive lens on life and how he makes it work for him is a breathe of fresh air in a time when negativity seems to reign supreme. With creativity at his core, he seems to have found happiness in his work but how does translate in his own time, or is it all the same? Head over to meninthistown.com to view selects from our portrait session and in the meantime I hope you enjoy the conversation that took place.

In this episode, I connected with Carlo van den Broeck — a leather maker who recently setup shop in the same building as my studio. His laid back yet classic Italian style caught my eye when he moved into the building a couple months ago and the fact that he was going to be producing leather goods just two floors up, I knew I wanted to get to know him better. Head over to meninthistown.com to view selects from our portrait session and in the meantime I hope you enjoy the conversation that took place.

This podcast is the first in a new series called Off The Cuff with Ali, based off of Ali Asghar Shah’s new column in MITT magazine. A month after a new issue is released, we will host a book club of sorts at the Men In This Town HQ at Fine Fellow, where Ali will lead a discussion revolving around the topic he wrote about. In issue 7, he delved into the world of classic menswear in a ‘A Class in Classics’. During the Iive discussion, he explored what classic menswear is, their brief history, what gives them their elusive status, and whether we have exhausted them. Have a listen and if you want to read Ali’s full piece, you can pick-up a copy of MITT magazine issue 7 at menithistown.com.

Today’s portrait session happened by chance after meeting Jé Hooper here at Fine Fellow. Him and his friends were visiting from New York City for few days and popped in to browse around the shop. His personal style caught my eye right away but it was after a couple minutes of chatting, I knew I wanted to pick his brain even more, so I pulled out my mic and got recording. Enjoy the conversation.

This portrait session coincides with launch of MITT magazine issue 6, which features a former art director of The New York Times, Richard Aloisio, as we celebrate his wonderful Instagram selfies in the illustrated form. You can pick-up a copy at www.meninthistown.com to view his feature but in the meantime, have a listen to our conversation which took place at The New York Times building, during his last days at the job he held for 35 years. We discuss his expansive career as a graphic designer; from his early days at Penthouse magazine to his last post at The Times. His infatuation with colourful clothing that brought him Instagram fame, plus his relationship with the iconic street style photographer, and personal hero of mine, Bill Cunningham. This is one of my favourite portrait sessions to date, so I hope you enjoy!

This week’s Portrait Session was with Johnny Li, founder of the Sydney based accessories line Dappertude. When it comes to hashtags, Johnny is the embodiment of the #menswear movement here in Australia. Although his personal style isn’t just for show, it’s how he leads his life, as I got to know from our time together. Have a listen and I hope you enjoy.

I have a new portrait session for you this week and probably the last for the year. I first met American expat Peter Leto a couple months ago. He had just moved to Australia, hailing from Florida, and made a visit to The MITT Mrkt. pop-up for our MITT Studio Talks. Peter easily stood out from the crowd and I knew right away I wanted to get to know what he was all about. Here’s a taste from our session. Music by Daddy_Scrabble

In this week’s Portrait Session, I photographed Ben Juzwin, the man behind Excursion Co.; an outdoor lifestyle brand whose first product, "The Ultimate Picnic Backpack" was launched via Kickstarter a couple weeks ago. In our session at his co-working space in Surry Hills, he spoke a bit about his new venture and the path that got him to where he is now. Hope you enjoy. The Ultimate Picnic Backpack: http://kck.st/2fC16hL Music by Daddy_Scrabble

We launched the 5th issue of MITT magazine a couple weeks ago and to celebrate, we held a MITT Studio Talks at The MITT Mrkt. pop-up over some cocktails and bagels. We talked to the bagel man himself, Dave Young, one half of Smoking Gun Bagels, who are profiled in the issue plus a couple of our writers talked about their amazing pieces. If you haven’t picked up a copy of MITT issue 5, you can do so at www.meninthistown.com/magazine where you can order online or find a stockist near you. Hope you enjoy the talk!

This month’s MITT Studio Talks focused on the art of collaboration. Clara Ho from Burton Metal Depository and I shared our story along with Tom Fereday and Leighton Clarke of Mister Wolf.

We celebrate the opening of The MITT Mrkt. Pop-Up by talking to some of our designers about custom made goods and what the future of it looks like.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Victoria native Steve Barkla in Sydney a few weeks ago at the new Oscar Hunt Tailors post in the CBD. We of course discussed all things fashion and tailoring amongst finding your place in life.

Giuseppe Santamaria talks with Sydney based creatives Leonard Mattis, Eric Ng and Pablo Chappelli in our second MITT Studio Talks.

On the eve of my Sydney book launch for Women In This Town at Jac+ Jack, I’m happy to share with you my recent Portrait Session with the creative director and menswear designer himself, Patrick Blue. It was a true pleasure to talk to one of the brains behind the Australian label that is elevating fashion to a whole new level. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/132962699895

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine recommended I check out a new menswear shop called Belancé. On my visit, I was lucky enough to meet one half of the brains behind the operation, Theo Ēnglish, and of course we got talking shop. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/131039421837

I was invited into the home of artist and model Rainer Andreesen and talked about his humble beginnings as an artist in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, modelling in Milan for Giorgio Armani and much more. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/98176852260

This week, the fascinating life of Geoff Cresswell, a hairdresser originally from the U.K. who brought the mod movement to the eastern shores of Australia. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/97596804455

This week, I’m excited to have finally met that man on the cover of the Men In This Town book. I was always a bit hesitant about putting somebody on the cover but I felt that the photo of Idris really epitomized what the state of menswear is like at this moment in time. To say the least, I’m glad he’s happy about it, listen to out conversation below. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/96910878030

This week, Dion Horstmans; a talented sculptor whose rugged exterior is the result of making beautiful things for a living. http://www.meninthistown.com/post/96299539700