Long before Scott Schuman
became The Sartorialist, friend of Kanye West and influencer of the world’s Anna Wintours, he folded sweaters at Chess King in Castleton Square Mall. The menswear chain was as close as Schuman (pictured above) could get to the fashion industry while growing up in Indy. “It was hard to see any photos from the runways,” he says. “Now you turn on my website or style.com, and you can see the looks minutes after a show.”
Schuman’s website, TheSartorialist.com, is often credited with starting the online street-look movement, one way the world of couture has become accessible in the Internet age. Since 2005, he has posted portraits of people whose outfit and spirit catch his attention in Paris, Milan, Tokyo, and other diverse places. The blog now attracts around 12 million views a month, and it has turned Schuman, a fashion marketer in his pre-Sartorialist life, into an internationally respected arbiter of personal flair. His mere presence at a runway show magnifies its relevance, and in June, Schuman was the co-recipient of the Media Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the highest honor for the industry’s journalists. Out August 28, The Sartorialist: Closer ($30; Penguin, 2012) is his second book based on the blog.
Currently living in New York, the father of two and his girlfriend took a spontaneous road trip to Indy last year. Here, he reconnected with some hometown comforts: Hart Bakery doughnuts and Bazbeaux pizza. Perhaps his next visit will be work-related. “I would love to come back and take photos of people who do vintage well,” he says.
SNAPPY DRESSERS Style photo-blogger Scott Schuman, an Indianapolis native, meets his muses on streets around the world. Among them (L-R): a gamine Parisian in leather and feathers, a pattern-mixing model in Seoul, and a ribbon-bedecked Londoner who embodies the modern romantic.
Photo of Scott Schuman by Garance Dore; photos by Scott Schuman
This article appeared in the September 2012 issue.
