In contrast to the glamour usually associated with Fashion Week, Yu Fujiwara’s series of portraits taken during the Paris Men’s shows more closely represent the industry reality. The photographer, who was born in Kobe, Japan, but now resides in London, has established a reputation for his candid images which offer a more real depiction of show attendees and models off-duty than the various “street style” segments we’re used to.

Fujiwara is keen to emphasise the difference between these glossy portraits and the analogue, documentary-style images that he chooses to create. “For me, street style is a brand, an extension of a fashion show. On the other hand, documentary photography is more focused on the human character and the surroundings – capturing the person, the crowd, the moment, the scene, the drama... it’s one hundred per cent real.” Fujiwara sees his work as existing somewhere in the middle, and cites his own love of fashion as the driving force that made him follow the shows to Paris. 

The resulting images present not only a collection of the week’s strongest aesthetics, but also an idea of the personalities behind the shows. As the photographer explains, “I like fashion, but I like people too. I don’t want to take pictures of people based only on what they are wearing. I’m drawn to people who might have a story to tell.” Fujiwara credits Gosha Rubchinskiy and his street-cast faces as a particular highlight – “There was a strong influence of the early punk movement,” he recalls. “So the people who came to see it not only had the look, but they also had the young, gritty, energetic attitude.”