Nan Goldin captures club kids for McQ SS16

The subjects of Nan Goldin’s work are more likely to include drag queens and friends engaging in drug use on the streets than they are to include models. However, this season Goldin has once again turned her hand to fashion photography (she previously lensed Bottega Veneta SS10) to photograph McQ’s SS16 campaign.

Shot alternately against the backdrops of London’s Spitalfields and Islington’s iconic Electrowerkz club, these models include Mayka Merino (who opened Prada’s SS16 show), Taj Figeroa, Jonah Larrington and Zach Robinson, drummer for the band Swim Deep.

“I usually use my own friends in my shootings but, to my surprise, I made a real connection with these kids and really enjoyed them – especially watching Taj playing football with an apple,” says Goldin, expanding on the shoot. This rapport is evident in the resulting imagery, which is intimate enough that it more closely resembles Goldin’s usual style of subculture documentation than it does a traditional fashion campaign.

The photographs also perfectly encapsulate the youth-driven aesthetic of McQ and, with their club setting, a nod towards the intrinsic link between music and fashion. It is a link that has been explored regularly by the likes of Raf Simons and Hedi Slimane in the past but in this particular shoot, it is referenced in the casting of Zach Robinson, drummer of Swim Deep, alongside professional models.