Albrecht Tübke's Fashion Photography

Photographer Albrecht Tübke's new perspective and forthcoming work will be exhibited at the James Hyman Gallery this September. His fashion photographs will be revealed coinciding with London Fashion Week as his first solo exhibition in the UK. Tübke who has photographed the likes of top fashion icons including bloggers Diane Pernet and Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist), takes on street photography with a distinctive flair and eye for detail.

This 2009 series Personae documents the dress and fashion-entities of various nationalities and genders on their way through Florence and the centre of mode. Having premiered the show to the fashion community during Vogue's Fashion Night Out last week, the show will now be open to the public from the 15th September 2010.

Dazed Digital: How do you pick your subjects?
Albrecht Tübke: I hang around in streets and public spaces and wait for people to pass by, who I feel possess a strong presence, a strong energy and individuality.  I really use my instinct here, my working process is defined more by my emotions than by pragmatic parameters.  I make few images that I am not happy with, because over the years I have learned only to ask the 'right' people if I may take their portrait. 

DD: What are the themes that run through your first solo exhibition?
Albrecht Tübke: All of my work is concerned with the individuality and singular persona exuded by each subject - about their personal power and energy - and in this way how a person's choice of attire and physical stance also help to convey the innermost qualities of their creation.  The social structure one can read into the images (village or city people, women...) of my different series would be more incidental or of secondary concern to me.  
 
DD: What makes someone stylish?
Albrecht Tübke: Until now I have not thought of 'stylish' as a classification in my work.  Honestly, I have no idea what makes someone stylish.  Paradoxically, for this reason I can imagine that my type of portraiture could be interesting for the fashion world.
 
DD: Are being 'fashionable' and 'stylish' different things to you?
Albrecht Tübke: These concepts have not been important to me in my work; a strong portrait does not depend on the fashion or style of its subject.  In general, I believe that fashion photography focuses too little on the individuality and inimitability of the model.

DD: How would you describe your own style?
Albrecht Tübke: My style could be described as comfortable and unspectacular. 
   
DD: What is your working relationship like with Diane Pernet?
Albrecht Tübke: I do not know Diane Pernet, I only realised afterwards that she has a famous blog.  When I met her during a recent fashion show in Florence she was passing by in the street.  A thunderstorm was approaching and there was a strange wind, sending everyone into the nearby houses.  It was just Diane and myself there, she did not speak with me at all, just posing quickly for the portrait and then disappearing immediately before the rain descended.  It was quite surreal experience, I will never forget it.
 
DD: Is there anyone you'd love to shoot but haven't?
Albrecht Tübke: I would like to create a series of portraits of the best-known fashion designers in the world.  I could also imagine that the ethos of my photography could cross-over into the commercial fashion world, perhaps in magazines and advertisements.  Even Juergen Teller or Wolfang Tillmans stay true to their style of photography in commercial assignments.
 
DD: What's next?
Albrecht Tübke: I will revisit working with photographing twins.

See Diane Pernet and other photographs from Albrecht's series Personae (2009-2010) on view through 6 November at James Hyman Gallery, London. The private view of Tübke's show the evening of Tuesday, 14 September from 6pm - 8pm.