Meet 33 year old Swiss native Yvan Rodic. 

What are you wearing, Melbourne?

He’s the brains and discerning eye behind fashion street blog, Face Hunter and he’s been trotting around the world taking pictures of hip looking people since about 2006.

Surprisingly, he thinks Australians aren’t that bad when it comes to getting dressed, even Aussie men. But here’s the really big shock…

Despite having just spent several days drinking short blacks in Melbourne, Rodic says Sydney kicks Melbourne’s butt when it comes to everyday style and elegance.

“I find people in Sydney more refined [when it comes to fashion], they have a high standard of originality, elegance and beauty,” he says.

“More people look incredible and there is a higher quality than when I visited last time [2009]”.

He’d also like to set the record straight on his perception of Sydney men.

It’s not that he thinks they’re bad dressers, it’s just there are less men “generally everywhere that are worthy of a photograph”.

And they’re not alone.

Teenagers and older people rarely grace his lens either; the first group tend to “clone” each other, leading to “stereotypes” while the later have less and less need to “define themselves visually”:

“Careers and family responsibility largely defines who you are and how you dress as you get older, we have less need to show the world who you are through your clothes,” he says.

Young women, on the other hand, are ideal subjects for Rodic’s work.

And while often awkward, protective or “seeking compliments” when approached for a photograph in the street,  Rodic says, in the end, most become willing subjects of the hyper-fragmented, throw-it-all-together and define-your-true-self fashion mix that is the focus of his work.

“I like to photograph people who express who they are not just a fantasy of what they want to be,” said Rodic of his body of work to date; a collection of photographs, a bustling blog (begun back in 2006) that has attracted the attention of great fashion stalwarts like the houses of Dior and Chanel, a visual diary that has since expanded into a television show and now a book, Face Hunter, that he’s here in Australia to promote.

To the untrained eye, Rodic’s collection of photographs are a striking combination of the eccentric, kitsch and bizarrely beautiful.  They also stand alone, at least on his blog, where images are posted without explanations, stockists or the bitchy banter of more generic fashion discussion boards:

“There are just too many things to say about the photographs and so many words and explanations in fashion magazines that I decided to say nothing at all,“

“I wanted this project to be pure visual inspiration” he says.

But the philosophy behind Rodic’s work is deeply rooted; linking contemporary fashion to pre-war history, street culture and the global reach of the internet and is divided into three stages.

The first is pre World War Two when people were limited by their social status that determined who they worked for, what they did and therefore what they wore.

“Your social ranking was a fatality, most people had no freedom to choose how they appeared to the world,” says Rodic.

This was followed by the post-war years right up to the first stages of the internet when fashion was defined by “consumerism”.

“[The} emergence of sub cultures and tribes, like punks, hippies and mods; it was now possible to choose who you wanted to be but you were still tied to some degree to how you were raised and your family structure. For example, my mother was a hippie but then again forced by social convention to get married,” he said.

Bringing us to the third and present stage that Rodic describes as “hyper-fragmented”.

“Our identity now is all about free choice and just like we use our iPods, so that we can listen to all kinds of music all at once.

“We sample and mix a hybrid from all cultures and all eras, without consideration or rules and with little value or care for the meaning,” he says.

Rodic in person appears soberly well-dressed. And while happy to admit that he does not adopt the style of his photographic subjects, he assures me his life is “eccentric” enough.

“This year alone I have taken 104 international flights and visited 35 countries. Just last month I touched down in Turkey and Colombia in the same week.”

It’s a hectic and privileged pace of life that reflects the philosophy of his business and also brings him great personal rewards:

“It has helped me understand the world, in the sense it has shown me just how diverse it can be, an awareness of culture, commodities and different ways of thinking.”

32 comments

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    • iansand says:

      01:18pm | 09/12/10

      Wait til he gets to Brisbane.  Or Darwin…

    • Sheedy's Left Foot says:

      01:21pm | 09/12/10

      Wow. After reading this and then looking at his blog I am so glad I am a million miles from fashionable.

      Jesus in a trenchcoat, the dude with the skinny jeans and clown shoes and Mr look at me i’m an advertising creative’ in a bike are the clear winners.

      Proud to be Mr fashionable average.

    • Eno The Wonderdog says:

      01:22pm | 09/12/10

      He’s obviously never met me.. in Melbourne..

    • Chewy says:

      01:29pm | 09/12/10

      All global fashion trends finish in Australia.

    • Reslemo says:

      08:54am | 10/12/10

      Most global fashion trends aren’t relevant to our lifestyle or climate in Australia.

    • Justin says:

      01:42pm | 09/12/10

      “This year alone I have taken 104 international flights and visited 35 countries. Just last month I touched down in Turkey and Colombia in the same week.”

      With that schedule, I’d have pegged him as a global warming campaigner.

      But seriously, he’s just spent several days in Melbourne? It’s been pouring with rain, so it’s hardly a fair sample.

    • tipster86 says:

      01:51pm | 09/12/10

      I thank the researcher for his prescient warning of this terrible scourge and wish him well in his search for a cure.

      Until then, how doe prevent ourselves being infected with the hipster disease? Is the virus airborne? Should we wear facemasks if forced to venture into Newtown or a weekend flea market?

      Please help.

    • Macca says:

      01:58pm | 09/12/10

      Where’s Zeta? he loves a good Sydney > Melbourne rant

    • NicoleG says:

      02:28pm | 09/12/10

      Macca, I think he’s still got his Serious Buisness Helmet on and is still dissecting the Wikileaks.

    • Zeta says:

      03:04pm | 09/12/10

      I’m crotch deep in darkness. You wouldn’t believe how deep this goes. Freemasons. Circus Performers. Train Guards. Bankers. The Military-Industrial Interactive Entertainment Complex. They’re all in on it. Mark Arbib is a puppet for forces you wouldn’t believe existed and to even say their name in their alien tongues would drive you mad. This is just the beginning. I’ve spent the last 24 hours locked in a bunker beneath a Korean internet cafe using a sophisticated psychic botnet to take down websites that don’t exist yet except in children’s dreams. We’re on the cutting edge. It’s where crime isn’t quite art and art isn’t quite crime. We’re in bat country now gentlemen. Bat country.

    • AnthonyG says:

      03:31pm | 09/12/10

      zeta sounds like he is still taking ‘trips’

    • Shifter says:

      04:55pm | 10/12/10

      @Zeta - I hate train guards man. Always looking at you strange. Thinking they’ve got tickets on themselves. The Freemason chap I met the other weekend at an engagement party was a rather lovely chap.

    • Tex Ranger says:

      02:01pm | 09/12/10

      Yeah, but more importantly who does he think should be in the next Test team?

    • Macca says:

      02:43pm | 09/12/10

      Probably Brett Lee with his Blonde Tips…

    • majid says:

      02:39pm | 09/12/10

      You can tell he saw only Australians who spend their entire days shopping and sipping short blacks at Mayer and David Jones of both cities…

    • Dan says:

      02:53pm | 09/12/10

      He should come to Canberra, noone ruins a good suit like we do!

    • AnthonG says:

      03:02pm | 09/12/10

      Melbourne people are far nicer than Sydney people. I suppose when you spend your life living in shoe boxes with no gardens or back yards it must have an affect on your wellbieng.

    • Horthy says:

      03:08pm | 09/12/10

      “He’s the brains and discerning eye behind fashion street blog, Face Hunter and he’s been trotting around the world taking pictures of hip looking people since about 2006. “

      Oooh how original. What a go-getter!

    • Weary says:

      03:14pm | 09/12/10

      So if he has such a keen eye for fashion how come he looks like a rejected extra from Miami Vice?  Still, if he’s content splashing around in that shallow little pool that’s his handicap.  As a person from Sydney I’d prefer that Melbourne had the title “city with the most generic human cattle” - cos that’s all this headline says to me.  Maybe I’m just not gay enough to care.

    • Peter says:

      03:28pm | 09/12/10

      Although i haven’t been to Sydney for some time now, i have been back and forth my fair share of times. I can only say the following. For weirdos, Sydney is no. 1. For straight out dick heads, Melbourne is no. 1…

      It’s a tough one..

    • BobbyDan says:

      05:56pm | 09/12/10

      Sydney and Melbourne butts are all black and shining trousers in Perth they (the Butts) are in mini skirts of many colours with sun tanned legs sticking out.
      So good for an Old Blokes dreams of his youth and how fashion has changed over the years.

    • Daniel says:

      08:02pm | 09/12/10

      I dont think that Sydney dressers are better than Melbourne.This has all come about due to the new Westfield in the city and some very cool euro designer shops thats all. Melbourne is still miles ahead in style. The whole concept of a greedy Westfield shopping center selling unique designer wear is foreign. Get real.

    • Cool Story Bro says:

      08:16pm | 09/12/10

      Sorry. This guy has no credibility. The tipification of fashion will always be found in girls aged 16-21 and boys ages 18-21. To say teens don’t know fashion goes against the premise of fashion. I am from Sydney, and sorry, Melbourne beats us in fashion. Its obvious this guy isn’t a fan of the whole Indie/Alternative vibe, which celebrated by many teenagers and Melbournians. If he doesn’t like that style, thats his problem, but it is the IN-FASHION style.

    • nosthow says:

      08:39pm | 09/12/10

      Well look who is the Premier of NSW and Queen of Sydney Lucy - the lovely Kristina ! Now how anyone would vote against Ms Kristina and send their vote to the uncharismatic Barry O’Tool in the next Sate election is beyond me. Let NSW voters make a fashion statement and return the lovely Kristina not make a fashion boo boo of monumental proportions and vote in the “Prince of Dull”, the “Count Of Mediocre”, Basmond O’Tool!

    • sam says:

      08:43pm | 09/12/10

      is he 33 or 23?? ^

    • Davo from St Kilda says:

      10:05pm | 09/12/10

      Yawn… More Sydney envy over Melbourne lifestyle. The writer here claims that someone no one has ever heard of thinks ‘Sydney kicks Melbourne’s butt when it comes to everyday style and elegance’. Well that’s good enough for me! Some 33 year old from Sweden judging people from another country he has never met? And that is the basis someone from Sydney uses to pretend that their city is better than another city? It never ceases to amaze me how insecure people from Sydney are. Anyone who needs to put his or her fellow Australians down just to feel better needs to take a good look at themselves.

    • Lazy Jesus says:

      12:14pm | 10/12/10

      @ Davo - You say ‘Anyone who needs to put his or her fellow Australians down just to feel better needs to take a good look at themselves’. Then you do the exact same thing your railing against by calling people fro Sydney insecure.

      Take a good look at yourself champ.

    • sol says:

      01:30am | 10/12/10

      From the looks of his blog he’s more interested in pretty girls with long legs than fashion or art. My guess is he got more phone numbers in sydney than melbourne, and think that makes them more interesting.

    • Sarah says:

      08:18am | 10/12/10

      It’s just clothes. They’re not important. Its who you are that counts. When I was at Macquarie Bank, the CEO Allan Moss wore $50 van heusen business shirts from Grace Bros and a $100 casio watch.

    • stephen says:

      12:20pm | 10/12/10

      Well who you are is what you buy and what to look like in.

      And Allan Moss is only worth a hundred bucks.

    • Martin G says:

      11:24am | 10/12/10

      Who cares, they clothes.

      People who spend the whole day preening themselves have no life and serve no purpose.

    • Curtis says:

      06:37pm | 16/12/10

      Melbourne’s style and fashion is FAR more superiror to Sydney. Since it is generally a little more cooler and less humid down here, we can dress in the most elegant and sophisticated of clothing. When I was in Sydney during winter this year, people were still walking around in thongs and singlets. In Melbourne, people would dress in stylish coats and scarves and jackets. In summer in Melbourne, people still wear stylish dresses and shirts and hats, etc.
      Seriously, Sydney does not even come CLOSE to being more fashionable than Melbourne. We ARE the fashion capital!
      And I hear Sydney-siders complaining that Melbournians do all the ‘jealousy’ and ‘trying to prove their city is better’ thing, but SERIOUSLY, I have only ever heard Sydney-siders trying to prove they are ‘still’ the best city. Get over it Sydney! I’m only here just because I thought this article was a joke.

 

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