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In Montique's work, human stories & material dimensions collide.

In Montiques work human stories & material dimensions collide

If you've been around the metcha.com universe, you've seen FABIEN MONTIQUE's trajectory on becoming an uprising creative, snapping editorials for names like Off-White & Kanye West. So, it's time for the 2nd part of our exclusive talk with the creative.

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Fabien's work speaks for itself through narratives worth telling. Taking the saying 'if you don't like your work, change it' seriously, he wanted to create the spark he didn't see in the images he worked with as an art director.

Driven to create human stories with the power of well-crafted images, Montique uses the versatility of photography to bring dimension & to explore things he never experienced when younger. ALL CONNECTED WITH THE POWER OF HIGHLIGHTING TRUE EMOTIONS.

His creative work gets to dive into many forms of imagining brand new narratives, from photography to directing & shooting videos that capture the essence of brands & materials.
If you're asking yourself how he manages to feature the many sides of strong leather pieces in such a natural way, Montique may have a few secrets up his sleeve.

Continue scrolling for the exclusive chat we had with the creative. 🔥

Of all the artistic mediums out there to capture people, why is photography the one for you?

What's specific to photography is that it allows me to experience life by capturing other's people lives and feelings. I am in love with the idea that I can document a moment in time forever. Photography is one aspect of how I create, I also paint and direct videos. When I paint, it's more an expression of my inner self, an exploration of some themes I'm obsessed with. When I shoot videos, it's more inspired by the news around me.

Your style is very distinct - simple but super straight-forward and honest. What’s the intention behind capturing people this way? What element is meant to be consistent across all your work?

My work documents things I want to learn about, things I want to explore and understand. You must see the people being photographed and not the idea of the shoot. People stimulate me.

"Across my body of work, I hope the viewer sees real emotion from people, who are opening up to the camera and in turn, to me. "

What roles do clothing and accessories play in a photoshoot? How do different materials change the process and the narrative?

They play a significant role in conveying the story I want to tell. In that way, leather can provide harshness, lust, coolness, or softness to the narrative that the finished photos will express.

Can you describe the message that leather conveys in a piece of fashion, and ultimately in the photos taken of it?

Leather has a lot of dimensions, and it can support many different narratives to reach a variety of end results. Leather can be sexy, hard, soft, practical, comfortable, and much more. And, for this versatility, it's one of my favorite materials to photograph.

You shot several leather pieces in this campaign, how did you go about figuring out the ideal way to capture them?

I get to try various light settings and choreography during fittings, as many of these looks are from runway shows. That process that extends over several days allows me to see the clothes in action, it's a luxury to have so much time and many models to come and try on the clothes.
But, what I feel is the best to capture leather is natural continuous daylight with a little flash approach to enhance the aspect of the leather.

That material is reaching a new peak in street-style culture. For the fashion brands that you collaborate with, what potential does it bring to the table for them?

I think the many dimensions of leather are attractive to streetwear brands. The spectrum that leather has from its durability to the sex appeal aspect works for the brands I work with.

D o n ' t m i n d u s, j u s t searching some fits so we can start practicing his tricks.

Continue to dive into Fabien's work right here or go deep on [metcha originals] 🏊‍♂️.

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