IU alumnus shoots fashion photos for popular blog

Fashion is not about trends. It is not about wearing what’s popular or copying the celebrities. Fashion is expressing who you are through the clothing you wear and looking cool while doing it.

This might not be the standard definition for every fashionista, but it encompasses what fashion means to Scott Schuman.

Schuman, more popularly known as The Sartorialist, graduated from IU in 1990 with a major in apparel merchandising and a minor in costume construction. He had originally planned to follow a more business-oriented path, he said. However, he didn’t have much fun in his business classes.

“Once I discovered apparel merchandising, it seemed more natural and not like school,” Schuman said.

He said part of the reason the new major appealed to him was because he had always been interested in fashion.

“I actually learned a lot about photography, subconsciously, from looking at magazines for so long,” Schuman said.

IU taught him how to study and find information. He said when he first started working in the fashion industry, detailed information about fashion was not as readily available as it is today. But now, with the Internet, it’s easier.

Like now, recruiters from fashion companies came to meet students in IU’s apparel merchandising program. Representatives from Bloomingdales liked what they saw in Schuman and hired him. For a period of about 10 to 12 years, Schuman worked for designers in New York before opening his own showroom.

Then, he slowly started shooting photos on the street and capturing images of people he thought looked interesting. Soon, he launched The Sartorialist, a blog where he was able to share his pictures and reach an audience that shared the same interest as him.
“I know what I like and just figured out how to communicate that through photographs,” Schuman said.

He said he does not necessarily act as if he is a photographer. Instead, he acts like his work is a brand, and he tries to embody that brand.

He said he has a deep appreciation for craftsmanship and likes key items such as jeans, custom suites, Brooks Brothers cardigans and Converse items.

Schuman said he does not pay attention to trends. Instead, he thinks looking good is all about having the right cuts that fit a person’s body type. Mixing high- and low-end pieces is the real trick to style, he said.

When photographing, he said he likes to shoot in the moment. His photographs are not about perfection or of-the-moment fashion, but he finds it more interesting when people are wearing items that have not been popular in a while.

Although his photographs and success might tell you otherwise, Schuman did not start taking pictures until he started photographing his kids, who are now 6 and 9 years old.

He admits it took a while to figure out how to go up to complete strangers and ask if he could take their picture. But as he did it more, he was able to read which people would say “yes” and “no” through their body language.

“The excitement about getting a picture is more rewarding than being worried about the embarrassment of asking,” he said.

His photographs are based on reaction and abstract inspiration, Schuman said.  

Schuman photographs on the streets of Milan, New York and Paris, and said his subjects can be rich, poor, famous or unknown. It is not about the person’s economic status, but instead the clothes he or she wears and style they convey.

With such an intense message, it is no wonder The Sartorialist was selected as one of Time magazine’s “Top 100 Design Influencers.”

The Sartorialist racks up about 90,000 visitors a day with about 200,000 page views, Schuman said.

As an IU graduate, Schuman advises students to do what they love and look for what comes naturally to them.

“You have to have an idea where you fit in, but keep your options and eyes open,” he said. “Never would I have imagined that I would become a photographer.”

He said people are successful if they enjoy what they do.

“I don’t feel like I have a job,” Schuman said. “It is a hobby where I make money.”