Color Palette: Orange, yellow, powder blue, pink and neutrals

Mood: Nostalgic of summer days and looking forward to next spring

Statement Pieces: Black stilettos with a deep V and cuff around the ankle. As simple and casual as it was, a pair of coral high-waisted trousers with a white crop-top grabbed my attention

Front Row Name Drops: Leandra Medine, The Man Repeller, was in the show, but no famous faces in the front row

Gossip: “Wedges don’t do anything for me,” said the burly security guard to his colleague

Runway Music: Florence and the Machine, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) in French, Foster the People and Pulp

Sonny Vandevelde is a European-born, Sydney-raised photographer. Fed up with the unimaginative “tunnel vision” of his photography instructors, he dropped out of college and learned his craft his own way. His father did lighting on film sets, so Vandevelde picked up equipment and technical knowledge from working with him.

Vandevelde started in sports photography for Australian magazines and moved onto catalog work for Quiksilver. From his personal photography of friends, he got into documenting local night life and learning about the fashion world. At this point he’s more of a Cobrasnake than a Leibowitz, focusing more on the personality of the models and subjects than the technicalities and traditions of his work. In much of his backstage work, models are smiling!

A “lifestyle-fashion photographer,” Vandevelde describes his work as “colorful…energetic…vibrant”

Vandevelde’s portfolio includes campaigns for Lucky Brand Jeans, Lee Jeans, Billabong, and Tommy Hilfiger, and his work has also appeared in Pulp, Link, Hint, Cosmopolitan, and other publications. His signature is documenting the backstage at runway shows and speaking out against formulaic magazines whose editorials don’t let the personalities of the models shine through.

Interview with Vandevelde here.