For previous generations older than me, several fashion photographers probably inspired them. And while I acknowledge that they’ve done the same to me, I also follow different photographers. For me, no one’s work has quite hit me in the heart like Scott Schuman — otherwise known as the Sartorialist. In fact, his work consistently comes to me at times when I’m lacking creativity and simply want more of it. As an American Desi realizing that I can truly reclaim parts of my culture and flaunt them against traditional American menswear, the photography in The Sartorialist India reminds me that I never need to conform both in how I dress, and how we approach street photography.
The book is a massive tome of photography that you can page through endlessly as you sit in your office or at a kitchen table. And for $65, it’s a gift that keeps on giving year after year.
When you crack open the book, you’re treated to a bit of an introduction and then get immediately into the images. You’ve probably seen some of these on Scott’s website or even his Instagram. But several others are ones that I’ve never seen before — and I’ve spent lots of time on Scott’s website researching and admiring the images for various reasons.
The paper feels fairly premium, and it’s a heavier stock than what you see from many other publishers. If you’re not used to holding prints, you’ll be surprised at this. Turning each page is a task in and of itself. That tells me from the design that the images and the book is meant for you to sit there and study — not just page through and scroll through like you’re going through an Instagram feed.
The pages are glossy. And because of this, you should truly experience the book without reflections. So I recommend looking at this by window light and slightly propping the book up to cut down on said reflections while providing the soft light that the book needs to give the images the beauty they hold true.
Most of the images take up a single page. Sometimes you’ll spot an image alongside another while at other times you’ll see an image right next to a giant white space. Rarely are landscape photos violating the cardinal sin of photography books — splitting the image down the middle of the fold. And I’m pretty happy about this, but I truly wish that it didn’t happen at all in the first place.
The Sartorialist India features tons of different people across the subcontinent. Scott showcases the lighter-skinned desi folks from the North as well as the darker ones from the South. Additionally, there are a few folks not natively from the area in the book that you’ll spot. It goes to show how diverse the country really is.
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Most of all, Scott does something that truly touches me. The images and overall presentations feels like National Geographic but far less like it’s from the colonial point of view. Instead, it’s admiring men’s and women’s fashion in here. Scott seems more like a collaborator and observer in the scene rather than a documenter. But in truth, he’s a documenter that also interacts with his subjects. The predecessors from Nat Geo did as well. However, there’s a kindness in Scott’s photos that I don’t often see anywhere else.
There’s no text in this book other than the introduction, and that’s a sad point for me. Scott rarely talks about his subjects as they are anymore in great depth. Originally on the blog, he had short stories about each person — especially when he lived in NYC. On his Instagram now, he doesn’t do this much from Milan. Here, there’s nothing more about each person, and that leaves me wanting more. However, I understand how it can be limiting with modern layouts.
Overall, I really like The Sartorialist India by Scott Schuman — and I think that any photographer that wants to get more into printed work should pick it up.