What happens when purse meets art? Something special. Taikan‘s new Taikan By campaign saw the bag co. collaborate with Vancouver-based photographer and film-maker Mandy-Lyn Antoniou, who infused three silhouettes from the suede collection with her own artistic twist. We had the pleasure of chatting with Mandy-Lyn about her work and her inspo for this unique partnership. Enjoy! —Noa Nichol
Hi Mandy-Lyn! To start, tell us a bit about yourself and your art.
I’m a 28 year-old analog photographer and film-maker born and raised in B.C. I’ve been shooting photographs since I was a kid and have wanted to take movies for just as long. My work is a reflection of my personality, my life, my interests, what makes me happy, what excites me—almost always, the theme is powerful, supernatural women.
How did you hook up with Taikan?
Through two of of my favourite people—Garret "GMAN" Louie and Paul Ismirnioglou, the creative forces behind Taikan. I met Gman first, about eight years ago when I started deejaying and, since then, we’ve worked together on a lot of fun collaborations. I love Gman, I love Paul, I love the team—I love Taikan!
As an artist, what made this collab interesting/intriguing?
I really resonated with Taikan conceptually and stylistically, so when the team suggested the collaboration I could immediately sense where our vibes could meet. And of course, Claire, the model, was a big inspiration!
How did you settle on your "bags of choice" and what inspired/motivated you to photograph them as you did?
I see a real rock ‘n’ roll edge in Taikan, especially with minimalism meeting the luxuriousness of the suede collection. The suede bags reminded me of classic leather biker jackets—so straightforward, pulling no shots, but totally powerful. The perfect leather jacket is all you need sometimes, and it goes so many ways without being complicated. It was that thinking that brought me toward the idea of having Claire photographed wearing very little but the bags—in a way where she needed very little but the bags. You know what I mean?
So, what’s in your (Taikan) bag right now?
A quarter of indica and an external hard drive full of photos. All I need 🙂
share:
Be the first to comment