MY BIG FATSARAZZI
An Interview With Photographer Fats Shariff
By Laure Brosson

 

 

Under a spell he is Fats Shariff a.k.a. Fatsarazzi, from creative director to photographer, Fats is everywhere in the fashion industry. With his witty personality and modesty, he talks with Art Nouveau Magazine about his endless and impressive changes, expanding horizons, London and other city scapes and culture he comes across.

Art Nouveau Magazine: Fats, where are you from, and where did you grow up?

Fats Shariff: I was born & raised in this fair city of London to Indian Parents. I have lived in Chiswick (West London), Richmond (South) & then Kensington (West London). My folks divorced when I was 4 & I moved to the West End of London, Gt Titchfield Street smack bang in the middle of London's Garment industry, with the man that would become my Stepfather & the man I consider my Dad...Marty a nice Jewish Boy from Brooklyn! Went to Pakistan for 4 years and came back after Bhutto was Hung in 1977 & the military took over. Tuffnell Park, Islington, North London is where I would grow up as you say.

ANM: Have you always been involved in fashion? Is it a family business?

FS: Yes, my mother Jubilee was in it & was a face in the scene back in the 60's & 70's. When I was 18 & in St Martins doing Photography I would work for the family business, dressing windows & generally doing what was to be done to earn some fun money. But in the end I worked for them for about 10 years & in many capacities...sales, design, production...a real education to the business.

ANM: You've worked for so many companies; What is your position now in the industry?

FS: Now I am the creative director of my Company What, When & Now. We are a Style Inspiration site, not Trend Forecasting as such, more along the lines of inspiring people to take the chance to be different. Using some creative analysis to give an alternative direction that runs along a parallel road to the big gun fashion trends. Rather than designing & making for people, we now advise what people, clients should do. That & pushing the photography more & more. I love to document. Can not get enough.

ANM: From your company Factor 3, a production base, to What When and Now, a consultancy company, how did you work the transition?

FS: We were consulting behind the scenes with all our clients, from production on up, but never offered it as a service. It was something that I wanted to do ever since I saw the 1st Audio Visual at Premiere Vision Paris when I was 18, way too long ago now. But it was easy to stop...Production is a nightmare & extremely stressful. The only thing that has been hard on us in the transition are the finances. We were earning alot of money at Factor of 3 & when we switched to What, When & Now we were attacking a different client base, so it has been tough but it shows so much promise. So we persevere as much as we can & it is baring fruit. You have to be patient & ride it through...every new business will take 2 years minimum to see any major growth or return.

ANM: How did you decide to become a writer? You are known as "the Blogfather", you seem to be everywhere on the net these days.

FS: I do not know, I just fell into it...people were blogging & when I set up my site I started a new section to tell people about my life, observations on life, & some of the workings of our industry...I also tend to get very political & I found that this was a good avenue to let people know what was going on in the world. So many people in the scene have no knowledge of what is going in this world of ours, it is shocking sometimes. So it just built & built, I was invited to join blog after blog, & I try to give you something different on each one. I just got so much to say I could talk for Britain in the Olympics...so it was another avenue to rant the rants of a mad fool. And people seem to like it. It makes me laugh when I ask for my analysis for all the blogs I write for & on any given month between all my blogs I reach an average of 75000 individual readers...that is something.

ANM: How are things going in terms of the fashion business?

FS: There are so many facets to the Fashion Industry it is hard to keep track of them all. Sometimes it feels like the industry is this living being that evolves into many carnations. But like most things, Fashion is like a wheel, the same point always returns but the more it goes round the edges get scratched away & it is at these edges that all the creativity & excitement exists. I do not like the way Fashion has become A. Celebrity Lead & B. Disposable. The designer is important, but not as important as the celebrity that wears it or endorses it. That leads to the High Street to copy the Designers & make clothes at such a cheap price that we the consumer do not care about it getting ruined 'cause we can buy another one. Crazy, have you heard of all the clothing landfills that we are creating from all this disposable fashion. That side kills me. But then the subcultures within our city, where the real creativity & expression lives is inspiring beyond belief...this is what I live for...what people wear on the Street, the Clubs etc...that is where it all comes from, that is where it is real.

ANM: It looks like you are always in a perpetual evolution, always growing, changing. Where do you find the desire, and the strength?

FS: Ever evolving, there is so much to learn on a daily basis, & I am like a child when it comes to all this, I want to know, I want to understand. I have always said if you do not learn something new each day, no matter how trivial, the day has been a waste. The creativity & people around me inspire me & give me the strength to seek out the new & by doing so add to the evolution of Fats. I still feel it all...when I stop feeling & breathing this game...I will stop, but I still have the desire & the drive to make London more than it is & let the world know who creates in this Industry.

ANM: You call yourself "the Urban Cyclops", photography is now a big part of your career; will there be another new project/activity coming up?

FS: Photography is a passion, it is in no way a new project, it is something that I want to do more & more of. I love to document what is taking place. I want people to see my pictures & feel the energy & life in that moment when the shutter opened. I travel everyday with 3 cameras minimum...all to do different things, one for portraits, one for snaps, & one to be a little creative. I believe that I take great pictures & capture the subcultures in our city & around the globe in my own way. I tell a story that many seem to enjoy & want to be part of. But that is not to say I have a big head about it. I still get embarrassed when people come up to me on the street & compliment my work. I never want to get complacent about it...if I did I would lose my eye & my confidence...then I would hang up y cameras.

ANM: Based in London, where do you find your inspiration for your photography?

FS: To be seen as a respected documentor of our time & movement. I just want to be known for taking pictures that are real & have a sense of life & style about them. I want people to look back at my work & really get a feel & sense of what it was like to be in that situation, place & moment. And as for my shoots, fashion or conceptual, I want the same...a real sense of the culture, London & other cityscapes I come across.

ANM: Which artist(s) influence you the most? Photographer, painter, designer?

FS: This could be a really long answer but I will try & keep it short.
Photography - Henri Cartier Bresson, David Bailey, Ansel Adams, Ricky Powell, Howard L Bingham, Hoppy Hopkins...the list is endless....

Painter - Mark Dean Veca, Dany Sangra, Antony Micallef, Roy Lichenstein, Patrick Caulfield, Mode 2, Futura 2000...again there are many more including a few masters : )

Designer - Ralph Lauren, McQueen, Comme Des Garcon...you know there are loads, but I like the small labels too, the ones making a change, Albam, AINT, Cassette Playa, Trapstar, Kesh...the new school they are so inspiring...I can not list them all.

ANM: You mainly do portraits, do you find your models in the street, or do you sometimes require them from some agencies? I mean, are they professional model/actor for your project? As all of them look quite special, with lots of charisma.

FS: Most of my subjects are real people, there are one or 2 that are models, but I know them & have yet to use an agency. I try to do all my casting on the street with people that talk to me visually. Their style & character comes through. So I have yet to use an agency. With a model you get a sense of professionalism, they know how to look, pout etc...but your everyday person, gives you a sense of realism, they only know how to be the way they are and not how they are trained to look. You get the person, & that is what I like to shoot. Real People.

ANM: When you take photographs in the street, how do you approach your subjects "the real people"? Do you introduce yourself? 

FS: I walk up & ask if I may take their picture. Sometimes you get a straight up yes & others you get a question or 2 of who & what you are doing with them & you get the shot. Of course there are a few no's, but not that many.
 
ANM: Do you have any interesting stories about it?

FS: I know some people can be a little funny about it...when they are photographed... A story, I did manage to convince this girl at a party who really did not want her picture taken. She was so beautiful & I was feeling a little demanding, but cavalier. I boldly turned on what charm I have & coaxed her into taking the picture. Now to get a picture you can pass a 'No', but if you are pursuing anything else, Gentlemen...when a Lady says NO...it means no. There you go, that is a story with a touch of Morals thrown in for the Men that do not know ha hah.
 
ANM: Where could we see your work? Any magazines or exhibitions?

FS: Mostly online, on my blogs or on the blogs of others...just Google Fatsarazzi & see what happens (wow that sounded really egotistical didn't it). But I have been in Print, & they were for Trace Magazine, Clark in Paris, Streetwear2day, PIG & I was in UNTITLED 7. Have had 2 solo shows so far, 1 in Bern at the Milieu Gallery, the other in London at Beyond the Valley. Have been in 2 joint shows, & both for Daydream Network @ MC Saatchi. I would like to do more shows, I like working on specific projects, & some that are a little more conceptual.

ANM: How have your works impacted the street culture? From Street wear, to Street photography.

FS: I just do what I do & be who I am, & that gets me in here & there to cast my opinion on the creative waters & see what I can catch. Streetwear & Streetphotography go hand in hand. The street photography affirms the streetwear culture. Without it there would be little or no creative development. People want to see what people are wearing on the street to aid their design in streetwear...does that make sense?

 

ANM: London seems to be a really good context/background for your work, are there other cities you'd like to insert your work in?

FS: For sure...I have alot of pictures that have been taken in Tokyo & New York, but I love shooting everywhere I am. I can not help myself...where ever I am, I am snapping on the street, events & even on shoots I am shooting things that are not part of the job...it is just my nature. The world is my playground.

ANM: Where would you go these days, as a photographer? 

FS: I am fascinated with the growth of India's economy & the huge gap between rich & poor. And in India it is all the more visible due to the fact that Poverty has always been part of their existence. I would like to travel around India & document this, get a visual emotion & try to capture the High's & Low's. Enough to Provoke Joy & Pain. That is my Dream Photo Project.
 
For everything Fatsarazzi please visit www.fatsarazzi.co.uk/