Archival photography is a long and expansive lens on style, subculture, and social temperatures – from Peter Marlow’s frenetic documentation of Notting Hill Carnival in the 70s, to Richard Kalvar’s capturing of shirtless jazz players sweating and jamming in New York’s central park. An ambitious new international photography project from FARFETCH has launched that reflects on, celebrates, and pushes forward how images and iconography of the past inspires fashion and style today.

The luxury modern fashion destination announces The Art of Choice, a new global photography experience with both IRL and URL activations. 

The campaign sees pop culture figures and modern auteurs FKA twigs, Tyler Mitchell, and Carl Gerges curate a globe-spanning photography series from Magnum Photos’ archive with support from curator and artist Antwaun Sargent, and featuring photography by Eve Arnold, Ernest Cole, Bruno Barbey, Chris Steele-Perkins, and Herbert List. The photos traverse 20th century culture, community, and style – avant-pop artist FKA twigs handpicks images from her beloved London, acclaimed photographer Tyler Mitchell selects from New York, and architect and musician Carl Gerges distills his own ode to Dubai.

“When you look at photos from the past, you can see a link to the present. And that can be really inspiring, especially as an artist. Life is about curation of things that you love and things that make you happy,” says twigs.

“Fashion for hundreds of years has been a vehicle for people to express themselves,” says Mitchell. “This project, and the images and the clothes that the people in them are wearing, is an extension of that. These images I chose depict leisure, freedom, expression, and love in New York City, are sort of integral to how I think about this city.”

The Art of Choice also brings impromptu street art installations to London, Dubai, and New York, while the project extends digitally in Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, Moscow, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo via the FARFETCH community and its Instagram accounts.

“The Art of Choice is a fun and inspirational way to look back at timeless images of people and style for today’s fashion inspiration and bring to life this  concept of infinite choice,” says FARFETCH’s Chief Brand Officer Holli Rogers.   

Ronojoy Dam, FARFETCH’s Global Brand and Culture Director said: “The Art of Choice introduces the idea of an advertising campaign drawing on nothing short of the history of modern photography. The  photographers featured are some of the world’s most renowned. The interaction between hyper-localized presence and universal themes, artistic viewpoints, and social storytelling, all underpinned by a digital mindset, is a reflection of times that call for new forms of communication. FARFETCH is about empowering diverse fashion perspectives – and we hope this simple act is a small way of celebrating that.” 

The continent-hopping campaign was developed by FARFETCH with New Systems for Ideas, a recently formed international collective focused on pioneering the interaction between fashion and technology through innovative ideas. The Art of Choice also marks FARFETCH’s newly launched TikTok channel.

From the sand dunes of Mhamid to the street style of Algeria, Central Park jazz jam sessions and balmy Coney Island excursions, Notting Hill getdowns and Wolverhampton discos, this spotlight on photography highlights the enduring choice and inspiration that comes from our dappled pasts and celebrates the artists and their art that captured it. All that can only bolster a renewed and reinvigorated perspective for fashion, at a time when it’s most needed. Check out the gallery above for some Magnum Photos treasures from The Art of Choice campaign, and follow along with the FARFETCH community.